One must first realize that the United Kingdom is an ISLAND and therefore, one must find other means to reach this land aka by boat, by plane, or by CHUNNEL! The Chunnel, a train that goes underwater, was my mode of transportation by choice for this solo journey. I'll admit I was a bit nervous, but the hundreds of people surrounding me paying no attention to the fact that we were riding underneath the ocean made me feel a bit more calm. Arriving in London was another story. Since I am without European phone (considering I never used mine and decided it was a complete waste of precious Euros), Abi and I made a strategic plan to meet at the top of an escalator. (We also had a backup plan in case Plan A fell through).
Good thing we had Plan B, however, considering little miss Abigail failed to realize that my train would be arriving in an international terminal and as a result, there was no escalator nearby! I soon realized this as I walked off the platform into St. Pancras (I still want to call it St. Pancreas) and saw not a single escalator in sight. No worries mate, for I headed straight to Plan B where I awaited anxiously for my British-American buddy. A hop, skip, and 2 tube rides later, Abi and I were in her cozy apartment getting ready for a night on the town!
But don't forget, for on this very night was St. Patrick's day, and we had to go out with a bang. We met up with her friends at an apartment and began to drench our wine in green dye in preparation for the night ahead. Once we were warmed up, we headed over to O'Neill's, an Irish pub conveniently located in the center of London. Lots of dancing and some beer drinking later, we had eventually had enough and headed back to Abi's tiny excuse for a bed to sleep. Little did we know that we would fit perfectly in this little cocoon of a bed and had some wonderful slumbers.
The next morning started off with some breakfast and then a trip to the Tate Modern Museum! Probably one of my favorite museums that I have seen in Europe yet, it was filled with good Ol' Picasso and Dali (some of my favs), with explanations in ENGLISH (which I thoroughly enjoyed). We then walked around to Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, whether I got to experience some London rain! After walking past the Globe Theatre, we came across an old Prison Museum and decided to give it a go. We learned a lot about all the horrible things they do to you in prison, which was just lovely. Although the London rain was a lovely experience, we were getting a little fed up with the moist (great word) air and headed back to Abi's flat.
A shower, some Uncle Ben's rice, and a few hours later, it was time to head back out in Londontown. Our first stop was to meet Jimbo and Jenny to see Grease the Musical. Although it was a little different from the movie, it was still very entertaining and to this day, I am still singing the songs. Abi had heard of a really cool club to go to, XOYO, so we figured we would give it a shot. However, this was not the raging club we were expecting; it was kinda creepy. So Abi and I ducked out, met up with her best friend Emily, and went to a different club that was latino themed. As this is more my style, we danced the night away with some drinks, staying until the club closed.
The next day was a much lazier day. Abi and I walked around to Abbey Road and Kensington Gardens, and wandered our way everywhere in between. It was great to spend my last full day in London relaxing and walking around a beautiful part of the city. Nothing too eventful happened that night; a lot of sitting around and eating Uncle Ben's rice ;-)
I awoke 6 A.M. the next morning getting ready for the 8 A.M. Chunnel ride I had awaiting for me. Racing home and grabbing my books, it was nearly time for class! I must say it was a fully-packed trip, and probably one of my favorite cities yet!
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