London

Oh London. 

It was my first time ever being there and I loved every second of it. From the moment I got off of the plane.... Okay that's a big fat lie.... when I got off of the plane, the line for customs was soooo long! I definitely did not love that.. Okay from the second I got through customs, it was amazing. 

So here's why I was there. My little sister is a college student and had an opportunity to travel to London with a group of students who are studying criminal justice. They would take a 10 day, study abroad trip in London, for credit, where they would attend lectures and field trips to learn all about the judicial system in London. She must think I am cool or something because she asked if I wanted to go too! Her professors were amazing and included me and welcomed me right in the group! I got a little education along the way too... Though I was really just there for the fish and chips! ... Oh and to spend some time with my little sis! 

Day one. Post customs madness. I grabbed my luggage and headed to... the help counter.. Ha! Here I was able to purchase an Oyster Card, which was my key to all things transportation around London. I paid a deposit and put enough money on the card to last me the entirety of my trip. The nice lady told me that when I came back to the airport I could get my deposit back, as well as a refund if there was any money leftover on the card.

Okay so feeling good, and ready to catch the underground to Picadilly! I try to always be observant and aware of my surroundings especially when traveling and even more especially when traveling alone. I overheard the gals in line next to me say that they were getting on the train to Picadilly, so, naturally, I followed them... The underground was fantastic, signs and maps everywhere to reassure me that I was heading in the right direction. Since I did not pay for international cell service, I was not going to check google maps anytime soon, so follow the signs I did! 

I knew which stop to get off for the hotel that my parents paid for my sister to stay in, that I was going to crash in... thanks mom. So after about 50-11 stops, I made it! Out of the tube and into Central London! WHAT UP?! I knew the name of the hotel, but I had no idea how to get there from the tube station.. My game plan, walk around for a bit... dragging my rolling luggage, and hope I find it! Surprisingly, this worked! I rolled into the hotel, turned on the wifi and texted my sister.... "I'm at the hotel where are you?" She said they were on a tour and wouldn't be back for a bit. The hotel wouldn't let me in my sister's room without her.. worth a try... but they did let me store my bags so I could go exploring without the rolling suitcase. 

First thing's first. A proper London G and T (gin and tonic) and some wifi to google map where to go first! I found a huge mall that was a 20 minute walk and off I went!

The walk was gorgeous. The weather was so nice, too nice... it was warm but breezy enough to not get sweaty. We were pretty lucky that the entire time we were there it was like this. It rained maybe once for about 5 minutes! I loved being outside and seeing the buildings, as my sister described it, it was the perfect combination of old and modern. It felt nice to be in a city so busy with nothing to do.

I made it to Oxford Street shops and looked around. Found wifi and a bite to eat in the Topshop store. This place was massive and fully equipped with a cafe/malt shop, blow out bar, tattoo/piercing parlor, nail salon, hair braiding station, personal shoppers and stylists and levels on levels and racks on racks on racks of clothing! I recently discovered the joys of getting a professional blowout.. basically paying someone $30 to wash, straighten, and style my hair, yes please! So I decided this is how I would wait for my sister! With a little tonging (as the stylist called it). 

When I finally found my sister, it was time for me to get in the room! Take a shower and get ready for the evening out! She told me that we were heading out to karaoke and then out out! Sweet I am DTF! Down to FUN! The karaoke bar/bowling ally, called Bloomsbury Lanes, was pretty great! You paid for a private room where there is only you and your friends to sing to, so the whole bar isn't annoyed by your shenanigans and the fact that you chose to sing Miley's, "Party in the USA," in London...  

After this, a group of us headed out to a place called O'Neills in Soho. This place was great! They had live music and the band was literally playing the soundtrack of my middle school/ early high school life. Blink 182, Green Day, Jimmy Eat World.... all of dat! The drinks were cold and it was a lot of fun! The cool thing was there was such a mix of people here from all over the world, just singing and dancing and having a good time! What a great night. 

There was lots of exploring, blisters on feet, touristy things, as well as not so touristy things that we did throughout our time here. I will list and briefly describe the places and things below: 

London Tower- Paid 22.70 GBP- London's castle- There was a lot to see here. Different rooms and areas to explore. We were able to see the family..erh um... the Crown Jewels. We even got to see actors portray the story of Anne Boleyn.  

London Eye package deal- this was pretty good we paid about $60 USD and we got access to the London Eye, the London Dungeon, Shrek’s Adventure, Sea Life London Aquarium, and Madame Tussauds Wax Museum.

Great British Fish and Chips- A restaurant near all of the London Eye attractions. This place was efficient, tasty, and had super cute artwork on the walls with pictures of British celebrities.

Jack the Ripper walking tour- This was creepy and cool! Our tour guide took us near a pub where Jack the Ripper and some of his victims quite possibly frequented - Ten Bells- and so after the tour, we definitely went back and checked out the pub. Ironically we got there just in time for a free comedy show… Who’d have thought?

Bloomsbury lanes-This place was near our hotel so it was nice to go and sing karaoke and bowl! It was so fun, but make sure that you reserve your lane or your karaoke room, they seem to book up fast!

There were quite a lot of lovely parks in the middle of the city- Russell Square and Tavistock Gardens were the closest ones to us and they were nice for a walk, a bite to eat and just some time to spend outside. It was great, the weather was fabulous, and also, I think I may be slightly allergic to the fabulous parks in London as I was non-stop sneezing!

Uber eats - London did not have Uber for a car service, but it did have Uber eats.. we had a few nights where we stayed in and having food delivered to our room was like room service with unlimited options. We sprung for Chinese - Four Seasons Express - and it did not disappoint!

Shopping- wow the shopping in London was so great! I am not a shopper per se, but there were a few stores that were fun and affordable Primark and Zara were stand outs for me!

Tea time- The Morton Hotel- This was lovely, we had the entire room for ourselves with a variety of teas as well as sandwiches and sweets!

We had dinner at Queen's Head- Picadilly Pies- 1738- this place was super old, and super delicious! I most definitely had a meat pie, and a G&T which was the best I have had ever!

Crossed the London Bridge- Not to be confused with the Tower Bridge, which is the big one with the….towers….. The London Bridge was cool, to be able to say that we crossed it, but there really wasn’t anything too fancy about the London Bridge.

Burroughs Market- So cute. So many food and drink vendors. Walk around, try some foods try some drinks.

House of Parliament/ Big Ben- My sister and her classmates took a tour of the House of Parliament, and I walked down the street a bit to check out Big Ben…. Welp Big Ben is under some major construction so… Big Ben had scaffolding and it didn’t really look like much.. womp womp.

Inns of Court -Middle Temple- This was such a neat experience, we got to see one of the four Inns of Court where people go to become barristers, or England style lawyers. This place was full of tradition and some of the coolest coats of arms lining the walls. We took a tour, and got to eat a fabulous, fancy lunch! 

Royal Courts of Justice and Old Bailey - These court buildings have real trials happening that are open to the public. We were able to go in and actually sit in on real trials! The judges wore curly wigs and everything!

Cheapstreet Bookstore- This was a random stop but an awesome one! I am a book person! Though I may not read them all, I definitely have a lovely collection of books and could spend hours in a bookstore. This place was cute and had a wonderful selection. I picked up a couple of books and got a sweet tote bag with the name and a street map of where this place is located!

Buckingham Palace- Yup.

Ballie Ballerson - One part night club with overpriced, gimmicky drinks, one part ADULT BALL PIT!

While we ate and drank and were merry in a lot of places, one stands out for me because of the memories we created there. We had Dinner and wine in the park at Caffe Tropea - Caffe in the Gardens- The weather was beautiful, we were sitting outside in the middle of a park in London. Laughing with my sister and eating delicious pasta, I will cherish this always!

There were so many amazing things to see and do here. The people were so great, helpful, and hilarious! I know that I would love to and honestly can’t wait to visit London again!

I hope that the Oyster Cards don’t expire, because I never did get that refund…. oops!