It started like any other Thursday, but after classes and dinner it was a mad dash to get the last minute packing done. With a friend who didn't know what all to take and the amount of stuff I wanted to take I'm proud that I only took my backpack and my weekender. I survived- barely but I did. We stayed at the Royal National Hotel and along with my two other roommates the room was quite quaint and cramped. The only place we had WiFi was in the lobby for 4 hours of use, but luckily almost every restaurant had WiFi if you sat inside which was nice. We took that up quite a bit so we could check in with places and stay up to date on Instagraming things and checking Twitter. Friday night it was raining on and off but we went exploring anyway because you only have so long in London right? Well we got a little lost but it was fun. When we got back to the hotel, we were cold and wet but we had explored London - especially Soho and it had been fun. We then went to bed because we wanted an early start the next day.
I decided it would be a smart idea to wear a dress because I was seeing a show later that night and wouldn't have time to change because I also had a tour of the Houses of Parliament in the afternoon. I loved feeling classy all over London. I do however wish I had been wearing shoes made out of memory foam that massage your feet as you walk. My legs were dead after one day of walking around. We thoroughly explored Leicester Square, Trafalgar Square, the Embankment, some of Covent Garden, and a lot of Westminster. Then I went to go to my tour of the Houses of Parliament, it was interesting but we all wanted to break the British conventions and sit in the House of Lords just to sit down because we were all dead. After exploring the houses for almost two hours, I then raced across the Thames river to try to get to the National Theater on time to see King Lear for my theater class. I made it luckily, although hungry and tired, I made it. It was a long show and rather interesting but I barely understand Shakespeare in a regular accent let alone in a British Accent. Afterwards I ventured back to the hotel through the tube, always 'minding the gap' and fell into bed. I was so tired but again you only have so much time in London, so a friend and I went walking down the street to see what was happening.
The next morning we were ready to spend the whole day exploring and that we did. We started in Kensington Gardens and found the Peter Pan statue. Then we found this amazing little tavern called The Swan. I had my first cup of Earl Grey tea and loved it. The people mistook us as Australians and it was altogether the funniest time I've ever spent in a restaurant. Then we ventured to Buckingham palace and realized it wasn't all it was cracked up to be but still we took lots of pictures. After starving because I couldn't really find food that was gluten free that didn't cost an arm and a leg, we made our way towards Picadilly Circus hoping to find this restaurant called Leon which serves gluten and dairy free food. Yeah, there's not one in the Picadilly area. Thankfully along the way to finding this I had been distracted by the amazing shops and was so happy to find adorable things for amazing prices. Eventually I took a chance on looking at a Pizza Expresses menu to see if just maybe they had anything gluten free. Let me tell you, when I saw they did I was ready to jump up and down but I had less than no energy so I just went in and sat down. I then splurged on lunch by enjoying an entire meal, including a pilsner, of gluten free deliciousness. I was content and ready for more exploring. Oxford street was not too far of a walk so of course we had to go shopping. I literally died when I stepped foot into Primark because it's like Forever 21 only better and cheaper. After that we thought we might try to find a tea shop to feed my tea addiction but it was closed. So then we headed back to the hotel to change for our Big Night Out adventure. Almost all of the Harlaxton students decided to do an event called 1 Big Night Out and it was basically Harlaxton's big night out. It was fun but at 11:30 I was beat and ready to fall asleep because 7am would come too soon.
After about an hour ride in the coach we arrived at Hampton Court Palace and were told to explore for over four hours. That didn't go over too well but eventually we all bucked up and had fun seeing the home of Henry VIII. For lunch I had pizza express again because trying to locate another gluten free option probably wouldn't have gone well in that little town. Then the ride back was utterly silent as everyone napped because the school had worn us out.
Now I sit at my computer trying to upload the several hundred pictures I took and am trying to convince myself to do my homework. I am so ready for some more sleep. I love London and can't wait to go back on the field trips I have there. Time to write this essay I guess, I mean school is why I'm here right?
Bise Bise
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