My friend and I decided weeks before we came to Europe, while still in the States, that we wanted to take a trip to London to see the 1975 play in concert. It also happened to fall on the night of my friends 21st birthday- so it seemed perfect. But like all things in life, nothing is perfect, not even our brilliant plan to enjoy London. So, needless to say we were pretty bummed when we figured out that my friend had another tripped planed for Rome through her program that weekend. But, she wasn't going to miss her favorite band on her special night so she decided to fly from Rome to London for the concert.
This provided me with the opportunity to take my first solo trip the night before the concert. So, I left early Friday morning for London. I stayed at a hostel that was on the east side of London & it couldn't have been more ideal. The hostel was located in a really hip neighborhood therefore I spent my first afternoon exploring vintage markets and eating curry. On Friday night I took myself to see Charlie & The Chocolate Factory at the Queens Theater. I was really impressed and would recommend seeing a live show if you ever go to London!
The following day was the concert but I had all morning to spare so I did all my sight seeing that day. I started out going to Westminster Abbey. The line was really long and it cost 20 euros at the entrance but I don't regret going in. It was interesting to see where former kings and queens lay centuries after their deaths. In the abbey they have the Coronation Chair that was made for King Edward I in 1296
and is the oldest piece of furniture in London that still serves its original purpose (fun fact).
Whats cool about London is that most of the main tourist attractions are all in one area, so from Westminster Abbey I walked to Big Ben. Fun fact about Big Ben is that Big Ben is actually the bell inside, not the clock (I learned that from a cab driver). From Big Ben I walked across the bridge to the London Eye, which unfortunately was not operating that afternoon. But nevertheless, I knocked out 3 of the biggest tourist attractions in one hour. Afterwards I still had time to spare before Maddie arrived so I took the tube (public transport) to Harrods. I didn't spend much time in Harrods because I'm a poor college student just trying to survive and I was trying hard not to lust after all the designer handbags. But, what I did see of Harrods I liked. Maybe one day I'll have enough money to go back and actually do some shopping (probably not, but a girl can dream right?).
At last it was time for the concert, Maddie arrived and then we preceded to have a great time seeing the 1975 at the biggest concert venue in London.
The next day, Sunday, was our last day. Our flight didn't leave until late that night so I had a full day to give Maddie a quick tour of London. We started our morning off at the Cereal Killer Cafe. Yep, you guessed it, it was a cafe that served the best kind of cereal from the States and from Europe. They had tons of old cereal that I used to eat as a kid, and the small restaurant was decked out in 90's decor. Talk about some serious nostalgia.
After breakfast and reliving a piece of our childhood, we went to see the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace. It was so packed with tourists we only actually got a small glimpse of the guards however, it was still cool getting to see the Queens palace.
Later we did the same loop I had done the day before, Westminster, Big Ben, London Eye. On our way back to get our bags from the hostel we stopped by the London Tower Bridge and the London Tower.
And finally we called it a wrap and went back to Madrid. In all, London was awesome; it made its way towards the top of my list of favorite cities.
The only downfall was that it was really cold and because of that I spent the following week in bed sick. Lucky for me my host my was a nurse for many years so she helped me recover quickly.
Tomorrow I'm headed off to my spring break adventure, so I'll have much more to write when I get back.
Amsterdam, Prague, Budapest- here I come!
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Read more from Taylor at http://taylortakestheworld.weebly.com/
To find out more about the Exchange program with University of Nebrija, visit http://studyabroad.uark.edu/exchange/nebrija
