Good Bye London!

To start with Michelle and I knew we wanted to milk the last bit of our London pass for all it was worth so we went with the Kensington Palace, Tower of London, and the zoo.. And my Lord did we fit it all in.

 

The first stop was Tower of London. I would like to be able to gush about the place and rave about my experience there but the reality was that we just weren’t that into it. It was a large castle type place with walls enclosing it.. and yeah they had these great exhibits demonstrating what life must have looked like back in the day but to be honest I wasn’t really all too excited about it! I’m not sure if it was just because it was swarming with people or I put myself in a position where I had high expectations – But I just couldn’t enjoy the experience. In fact it took Michelle and I an hour to figure out how to get out because they only had one exit in one of the castles! But hey – I’m happy I tried it. It was good to realize what I do and don’t enjoy and I’ll remember that next time I try and plan a trip!

  

Next up was Kensington. Honestly I knew nothing about Kensington palace prior to going on the trip but I am so, so happy I was persuaded into making the trip. It was a rather far tube ride, taking us about 45 minutes to get there but when we arrived I felt like I was in another world. We started off walking down this street where all the international embassies were. We then entered into the garden/park where there were so many people just lounging around and soaking up that rare England sunshine. It was stunning. Immediately we felt at peace – we’d been feeling a little rushed because we were trying to fit in so many different activities and both of us were a little sweaty and a lot of frazzled. However once we walked into the Palace the receptionists were sweet and calm and immediately put us at ease.

 

 

The rooms were a muted pink and the carpet was so thick that although there were a number of people the noise level was muffled and it was such a peaceful atmosphere. Both of us just kind of floated through the whole experience in a state of calm and I loved seeing all the British people there to support their royalty. It’s such a fascinating part of their culture that I, as an American, will obviously never understand. I loved hearing little girls getting excited in the “dress” room and I don’t think I’ve ever appreciated the special place the royalty (especially modern royalty) has in the hearts of the English people.

  

 

So a somewhat random stop on our trip was the London zoo. Michelle and I just stumbled upon it in our booklet of free stops with the London Pass and we just decided we had a mutual interest in animals and it would be better than a stuffy castle or snapping a picture in front of Big Ben. So we went!

 

Ohmygod the zoo. It was incredible. I don’t remember the last time I went to a zoo but this place was so stinking awesome. It had GIANT gorillas, tigers, zebras, giraffes, and penguins! They had every type of animal you could want to see. I saw my first porcupine. No big deal.

The two highlights from my zoo adventure was
1)   I touched a donkey
2)   A butterfly landed on me in a butterfly garden

This was such a fun and unexpected stop during our London trip and I’m so happy I got the opportunity to go!

 

On our last full day in London we were set to go to Stonehenge at about 1 in the afternoon, leaving us with only half a day to venture out into the city.  So knowing this we slept in because we’d had a pretty fun wine night the evening before.

 

After we woke up and did our typical egg breakfast we headed over to the London Eye and went to Trafalgar Square. We had an absolute ball in Trafalgar Square watching tourists like ourselves trying to climb on top of the lion statues situated around the large monument.. and then we proceeded to climb on top and take pictures too. The hypocrisy.

And then we were off to one of the wonders of the world.

  

Remember when I mentioned expectations? Well Michelle, Renoli, and I decided it would be one of those things that we regretted if we didn’t see Stonehenge while we were England. To be perfectly honest my expectations didn’t even exist. I knew they were rocks. There’s no arguing that. I was paying a small fortune to see a pile of rocks. The logic just wasn’t there for me.

 

However when we got to the place I was absolutely blown away. It helped that I had the option for an audio tour and so before I even reached Stonehenge I knew about its history and significance – When we arrived a small part of me wanted to cry a little bit. I have never appreciated the size of this “pile of rocks” or the history behind it. It is a standing formation that is thousands of years old, and at some point in humanity’s time, people gathered in the very spot I was standing to partake in some ceremony or another that had importance to them. I’m not sure what it was but I felt a massive amount of respect for their genius for being able to assemble and create something of that scope and exactness (the rocks all aligned to be situated around the sun to create effects with shadows). We took our time and we laid out on the grass surrounding the rocks and learned about the culture of the people who built it. We learned about what must have gone into it, speculations on the meaning of the rocks, and just took in this giant, beautiful peace of humanity’s history.

It was one of the most stunning things I have ever seen and I could not be happier with this pile of rocks.

That night the USA was playing against Belgium.. Spoiler alert: we lost.

It was fun to go to an English pub with Michelle and Renoli as our last hurrah before we were off to London and I think one of my favorite moments was when a stranger at the bar thumbs upped me for ordering a Guinness. I think I must have made my dad proud in that moment.

After we left and cried a little bit about the state of the world, we headed back to our apartment.. and then we went for our last round of McDonalds. 20 nuggets, medium fries, and a large milkshake please.

 

 

The London Experience

I could live in  London. Aside from the fact that I paid 1 buck 80 for a pound, things could not have gone better! I’m a fan of the cold so the weather is ideal, I’m a fan of british men so the dating field is spot on, I’m even a fan of really cool museums and big cities so London may or may not be my perfect place.

The last 4 or 5 days have been some of the most fun in my life and I’m so happy to share my London half of my 9 day vacation!

To start with .. I thought Rome’s public transportation was confusing. Turns out 2 lines are a breeze compared to London’s million. By the end of the trip I can happily identify myself as a master of the tube system. On the first day we were utterly exhausted. Our bus was late pulling in, we struggled to find the apartment, and we were an hour late checking in. During all this time I was messaging my youth minister from Tampa who now lives back in England! 30 minutes after we settled in I had to brave the tube to go meet up with him! It was really great to catch up with him.. over my first English Guinness! It was a great evening and I was happy we were able to meet up.

I got back in the evening and the door to the apartment was locked and nobody was answering – Michelle and Renoli (my roommates) had fallen asleep and left me sitting outside in the freezing cold London air for an hour and a half. I was displeased. However once I finally got in by tailing behind another family staying in the apartment I passed out right alongside them. We woke up at around 2 am and for some reason we were craving some McDonalds. So at 2:30 in the sketchy streets of London we braved the cold to get a 20 nugget pack, fries, and a milkshake. Along the way we saw a drug deal go down, someone snort something at a bus stop, and a fox. Yup – this was my introduction to England!

That big pile of eggs? That quickly became our morning routine. We saved $$$ and got more protein in 4 days in London than we had in a month in Rome.

 

Our first full day in London was incredible! We stopped at Haagen Dazs for coffee and ice cream at approximately 8 a.m. When in England, amiright?

Then our group of 6 went by the National Gallery and saw some beautiful paintings. I’ve become accustomed to the statues of Italy so it was refreshing to see some paint for the first time in a month. I especially loved the National Gallery because it was heavy on the religious art, which I find to be the most interesting. I loved seeing the same scene depicted differently by different artists and I spent a lot of time just speculating on what must have been going on in the artists’ minds as they managed to convey something so intangible into something captured by paint on a canvas.

Afterward we split up (surprise!) because Michelle and I bought the London pass which granted us access to unlimited public transportation and free entry to all the “big” places in London. First up? Westminister Abbey.

So I’ve been in Rome for the past month. I thought I was immune to stunning churches and breathtaking architecture by now – Good thing I was wrong.T o start with I don’t think I’ve ever seen gothic style architecture and if I have, never like this. The church was incredibly calming to stand in and just be a part of for an hour. At some point there was an hourly prayer and it felt so nice to just take a moment out of all the craziness of this summer to stand in such a holy place and offer up a prayer with people from around the world.

I didn’t get any pictures because I’m super lame and boring but we went to something called the London Bridge Experience which was crazy. Take my word for it – It was one of the scariest haunted house experiences that managed to educate me on the London Bridge history and construction. No big deal.

Afterward Michelle and I stopped at a pub and I’m slowly learning to breathe deeply and just order a stinking drink. I don’t think I’ll ever be completely comfortable in a bar but hopefully there will come a day that I don’t break out in hives when a bartender asks me what I’ll have.

Our first real night in London saw pasta, McDonalds, and a healthy dose of sleep. We were absolutely exhausted.

There was a lot of discussion amongst the three roommates. How could we utilize all of our time in London to see the most attractions? Well of course we decide to visit caves an hour away from where we were staying!

Best. Decision. Ever. For starters, I got to take my first train in Europe which was pretty much a phenomenal experience because I felt a little like Harry Potter. Then we found ourselves in the sweetest town that had homes lining the streets and this tiny pub right next to where we were set to explore caves.

Once in the caves I immediately recognized how freaking cool the whole experience was going to be. It was freezing cold and we all had to carry lanterns to see in the caves since the lighting had been removed after the caves ceased to be used as World War II bunkers. Oh, did I mention the caves were dug out thousands of years ago by the Druids, Saxons, and Romans? No big deal.

They were used as bunkers during the World Wars and at one point housed over 15,000 people. My two favorite parts were touching a stone stage where The Who, Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones, and countless other artists played during the time and sitting on an altar that was previously used to sacrifice children for the sun god as we sat in complete darkness as our guide banged on a druid drum. It was such an amazing trip and I’m happy we went there versus another museum or London-type attraction.

More cave adventures.

  

Afterward Michelle and I went on a British Navy ship, the BMS Belfast. It was fun to look at what life must have been like on a ship at the period in English history and once again I just mostly enjoyed the fact that I was able to share in another culture’s history after mostly just being exposed to my own culture’s stories and legends.

   

Since we were on a roll we then went to a small medical museum called the Old Operating Theater and Herb Garret located in an attic above a huge church. It was unique and gave me a whole new appreciation for modern medicine. It was once used as Florence Nightingale’s nursing school and is hundreds of years old!

We were in the neighborhood and heard about a small chapel outside of a medical college so we peeked our heads inside. This was a favorite little random moment of the trip I enjoyed because they had prayer intentions lined up and I was once again reminded of the universality of faith and how it moves people from all backgrounds. We quickly wrote our own prayer intentions and then we were off!

  

We went on the London Bridge Exhibition! So we got great views from the top of the bridge to end our day and we finished with some Chipotle, because we have our priorities straight.

 

That right there in the background? That’s McDonalds. Because it became a nightly event. We have been seriously missing our meat supply in Rome.

Those were just the first two days in London.. More to come in a separate post!