I'm back from London! I left the day after St. Patrick's Day and rarely updated this blog because there was minimal wifi. I shall use this post to do a full recap of my time spent in London.
Day 1: 3/18
Not much happened. We arrived in London mid-afternoon after a flight that lasted a little over one hour. When we got to the hotel we freaked out over the wifi cost: 5 pounds for an hour, 10 for a day, or 45 pounds for five days. Yeah...I was not willing to spend 70-80 dollars on wifi. Me and my group members found out the password to the hotel's restaurant, and we frequently huddled around the couches right outside. According to Rickey, "the wifi is like crack here. Where can I get a good connection?"
Day 2: 3/19
We woke up bright and early: 6:15am to arrive at breakfast at 7. Then we used the Tube to get to the Tower of London, and toured around for a bit. We were supposed to go on this hilarious tour, but Ashlee, Nic, Laura and I were walking around before the tour, and we lost track of our group, so we did our own tour, saw the crown jewels, and many other cool things. Oh, and I saw a lady get yelled at for trying to take a picture of the crown jewels.
Later, we went to Bloomberg Magazine, which I mostly enjoyed (the free food was great!), but our tour guide was a finance major, and did not know how to relate to us.
After that, John, Hannah, Rickey, Hannah, and I went to the National Portrait Gallery and the National Art Museum. Both were spectacular. In the National Portrait Gallery, there was this exhibit called "Bailey's Stardust" which showcased Bailey's photographs of many famous people, so it was cool to walk around recognizing so many different faces.
Day 3: 3/20
Around 10am, we arrived at Bell Pottinger PR. It was more informational than Bloomberg, but we did not get to tour the facility. We basically sat at a table as if we were at a conference; we were even served sparkling water. WOAH.
Later on, went to some outdoor shopping center in Soho, and although I did not buy anything, I had a nice batch of pancakes for lunch.
I also went out that night with John, Hannah and this kid from another school, Bret. We went to a couple pubs and had some fun.
Day 4: 3/21
I was on my way down on the elevator to meet my group in the lobby, and suddenly, the elevator came to a jolt. We were stuck. Being stuck in an elevator is one of my worst fears (which the 7 strangers in the elevator now know about me), so I panicked. We got out safely and i made it to meet my group in time, but I was a tad shaken up.
We went to Westminster Abbey. It was highly educational. We also saw Big Ben (which I've seen previously as I've been to London before, yet it was still incredible to see it.).
Around 3:45, we arrived at the BBC! I could not have been more thrilled to be there, as I want to be a radio presenter after college. We saw both the TV and radio side, and in the end, five of us were selected to perform a radio drama, which I happily starred in, of course.
Around 7, I met up with one of my co-counselors from sleep-away camp, Jess. We went to grab drinks and dinner at Jamie's Italian Restaurant, and I cannot even tell you how amazing it was to see her! I had not seen her since the summer of 2011 and I definitely hope to keep in touch.
Day 5: 3/22
Rickey, Hannah, Laura and I tried to get tickets for Matilda at the West End, in the morning, but it was sold out, and the line for day of tickets was way too long. It was disappointing, but hopefully I'll see it on Broadway eventually.
After that, we went on a hop-on hop-off bus tour of London. Some of us got off the bus at a market and got the most amazing pad thai, however, after I ate, I was not feeling too well, so I took a taxi back to the hotel. When I was sitting on the couch using the wifi, my professor walked in and asked me why I was back so early (he had gone on the tour with us, and got off early as well), and I told him I hadn't felt too well but was feeling a bit better now. He asked if I wanted to come to a nearby mall with him to help pick out a present for his wife, so I did.
That night, Hannah texted me, and asked if I wanted to join her and Nic for an ice cream crawl. My answer was an immediate "YES!" We were aiming to go to 5 ice cream places, but one was closed, and we couldn't find the fifth, so we went to three ice cream places, and got brownie sundaes from a diner. It was pretty successful.
Day 6: 3/23
We had some time in the morning before our flight, so some people went to a museum, but I walked around for a bit, bought a couple presents for people, and then got on the flight back home. I loved London, but I'm happy to be back, and am waiting for all my roommates to return.
Some Pictures:
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| Tower of London |
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| Westminster Abbey |
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| Big Ben |
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| BBC: Touring there was a dream come true! |
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