London, The Gateway to Magic

Right now my mind is refusing to believe that it actually is May. I only have three more weeks of class and then I’m done. This thought is just too painful so instead I’m going to pretend its February and that I just went to London.

First off, I would like to say to Aunt Jean and Uncle Chris that I am very sorry that I didn’t have enough time to visit you guys. I feel like the worst nephew of all time. My excuse is that I was with my friends from my program and I only had three days in London. Also, I thought that I could weasel my way into another trip to London since I still haven’t seen Cambridge. Pretty sly huh?

Alright, now its time to talk about my trip. I have to say that I was really worried about the pound and running out of money so I took the poor man’s tour of London. Luckily for me, most of the museums are free. Hurray! So the first day in London, my friends and I went for a super walking tour around the city. The weather was so nice which was surprising cause I thought for sure it would be raining the whole time. We walked by the houses of Parliament, Westminster Abby, Big Ben, and went across the river. Standing on the bridge and looking at Parliament was unbelievable. I felt like I was in a movie and not actually there. Basically wherever I go in Europe I feel this way since all the famous sights just remind me of pictures or movies. I guess I should read more books.

After we crossed the river we walked by the London Eye. Unfortunately we never got the chance to go up it. We planned on going later that night but it didn’t work out. There’s always next time! Then we walked by the giant cathedral, I forget the name right now, St. John is what I want to say but I have seen so many basilicas and cathedrals that they are blending together right now. Whatever it was called was really awesome from the outside. We didn’t go inside for some reason, probably cause we are poor college students. Sorry, this is a really boring entry so far. I’m going to try and include actual details from now on.

We headed over to National Museum to check out some FREE artwork. There were so many incredible painting in there. In the basement there was a new exhibit with Van Gogh, Monet, and so many other awesome artists. The one bad thing about these museums is that the first time you go, you are overwhelmed with all the artwork. You feel the need to see everything and so you try and run around while absorbing an incredible amount of art that your brain ends up shutting down. So after about two hours, we all needed to rest our brains.

We walked over to the Royal Palace and were surprised to see a sort of military parade walking through the park towards the palace. Even now I don’t know what it was but I have a picture of them. The palace was so pretty but we only had around five minutes there before guards came and escorted all of us away. We heard them saying that there was a suspicious package left outside the gate. As we walked away we kept our ears tuned for any sound of explosion but luckily nothing happened.

For dinner the first night, we found an all you can eat Indian restaurant. It was my first Indian food experience and I thought it was amazing. It probably wasn’t the best Indian food around since it was pretty cheap but after two months of measly spice-less little Spanish dinners, it was heaven to engorge myself on as much spicy food as my stomach could hold.

The next day, my friends were set on going to Stonehenge but it was going to be an all day trip and I really didn’t feel like wasting one of my three days going to see a pile of rocks. So I set out on the town by myself which was really exciting. I loved traveling in the subway and getting lost around the town. I went to my favorite place in London today, The Tate Modern. This is a modern art museum in a giant building. I’m not sure what the building used to be but I would guess a shipbuilding plant cause the main room is enormous! The art was great and everything but the best part were the giant slides that were up to five stories tall. My biggest regret is that I didn’t have enough time ride the giant one. When I wasn’t riding the slide and giggling like a little schoolboy, I saw some beautiful and often times incredibly confusing modern art. I’m trying to think of something to describe but there is really no way I could possibly explain any of the things I saw there. Just go.

After my museum trip, I bought a sandwich and went to the park. I ate on a bench and watched birds land in the pond. It was so peaceful. The parks in London are some of the best that I have seen. Hyde Park was so peaceful and pretty that I probably could have just walked through it all day. I did for a solid two hours but then I met some other friends who happened to be in London the same weekend at the British Museum. There is way too much stuff to see in the British Museum. I really think they should share some of their stuff to less fortunate museums. I was only there for about an hour and a half and I think I went to about three rooms. I saw mummies, Japanese drawings, a Michaelangelo sketch, and the Rosetta Stone. Somehow I think I missed the Parthenon. I definitely need to go back there.

That night I went to a discoteca called Fabric. It was crazy! There were four rooms with different live DJs and so many smoke machines and lazers that I never was sure where I was. I danced for what seemed like forever and then crashed into my bed. My legs have never been more tired.

Since my friends were back the next day, we did some more museums and saw more sights. We walked over to the Tower Bridge and I went inside the Tower of London. This was another place with way too much to see. By far the coolest thing there were the Royal Jewels. I didn’t know that the biggest diamond in the world was there. I went on the conveyor belt thingy at least three times.

The rest of the day we just enjoyed the city and then we left early the next morning. Sorry this was a really vague description of London. I’m sure that I missed a lot of stuff cause it did happen a while ago. Get ready for my next belated vacation!

This last one is for all of you Harry Potter lovers. I'm off to Hogwarts!