the meeting point

My June adventures started off with a stop in England. After making the journey from Paris to London, I met up with Mel. For anyone who doesn't know who Mel is she is this sometimes cool girl who I live with in Kingston. Just kidding, she's never cool (I love you Mello). We hadn't seen each other in over 4 months so we were both looking forward to being reunited.

We spent the next 3 days wandering around the streets of London and perusing the various districts. I showed Mel around the places that I had previously been, and felt were necessary to see and then we saw a bunch of things that I wasn't able to see the other times. 
It was the perfect way to start off our trip. Plus, reuniting with friends is the best.

Beauty London weather

London Eye

Abbey

Legit fan

St. Pauls Cathedral

St. Pauls

Trafalgar square

Harrods

Spice girls anyone?

Hyde Park

Reunited

the beginning of my final travel adventure

My second Eurotrip is in full swing. I met up with Mel a few days ago and we have spent the first little while exploring London. As I have mentioned before I absolutely love this city. I love the vibe, the sights, the accents, and the history. I took her around to a few things that I had done the last time I was here (Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey) and we did a bunch of things I hadn't gotten to do yet (Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, Tower of London). My favorite was the Tower Bridge, aka the one that stars in the spice girls movie. I have been wanting to see the bridge since I saw the movie (aka when I was about 8) and I can now finally check that off the list.
We met up with Sarah a couple days later and spent a bunch of time in Hyde Park enjoying the fantastic weather and catching up on each others lives. It has been so great to finally see these girls after so long. It is always nice to know that you can fall right back into a friendship after being apart.
our next destination was Munich which I was very excited to revisit after how much fun I had last time. I was read to hold that litre mug and eat a pretzel. xo

once in a lifetime

As I mentioned before I was lucky enough to be able to make it down to London for the royal wedding. I was in a complete state of happiness the entire day, so excited to be in the crowd and experience the whole thing. Claire and I didn't think we would be able to see anything too exciting knowing that people had started camping out 2 days prior. But to our surprise we found an amazing place to stand right at Buckingham Palace. We got to see Kate in the car on the way to Westminster, the carriages coming back, and of course the kiss. Well the two kisses. 

The whole thing was amazing. Kate looked beautiful. Her dress was stunning - probably the best royal dress ever. And Will looked as handsome as ever. Although not being into the whole idea beforehand, Claire got really into the royal wedding spirit as we were sitting around waiting to see them. We had celebratory champagne after the whole thing went down, and then spent the night with a few of Claire's friends from USC. Even though our time in London was short, it was absolutely spectacular! And I am so glad I decided to make the trip down for the day :) xo

london town

As I mentioned before I fell in love with London. And this wasn't the type of love that happens instantly. Unlike some of the other places I have been it didn't hit me right as I stepped off the bus/plane. It happened over the course of the day. But I think it is the one that I can see myself heading back to. I will see if that same feeling hits me when I go back for the Royal Wedding :) Here are a few pictures from my way-too-short of a time in London.

Buckingham Palace

St. James Park

So happy

Obligatory

Westminster Abbey

Big Ben

This was just the beginning of our trip around Europe. It wasn't even supposed to be a destination...it was just the only place we could get a flight out to Salzburg. But I am so glad I got to get a little sneak peek at the city before I head back a couple more times. xo

a little piece of my heart

We arrived in London safe and sound, although the overnight bus was just about as sketchy as we thought it would be. It was cramped, hot, smelly and overall one of the least enjoyable sleeps ever (in competition with our sleep in the airport). We grabbed a bite to eat at Pret A Manger, one of my favourite places to eat over here, fixed ourselves up the best we could and got on our way to start seeing the sights.


Buckingham place was first in order and although the building itself is no masterpiece, its gray bulk sums up the imperious splendor of so much of the city: stately, magnificent and ponderous. It continues to be a supreme symbol of Britain, and the Royal Family in particular. After gazing at the building for quite some time we strolled through the beautiful St.James Park. Here we enjoyed the view of the Houses of Parliament in the distance and plentiful fountains.
The politics nerd in me was super excited to see the Houses of Parliament. The seat of Great Britian's government has been argued to be the city's most famous and photogenic sight (the photography lover in me also took advantage of this). Designed by two Victorian-era architects, the buildings arose in 1834. The spires, pinnacles and towers of the great building can't help but keep you hooked. It also has virtually the symbol of London, the 1858 Clock Tower that contains the bell known as Big Ben. This did not seize to disappoint.
Across the street is Westminster Abbey which is a testament to the rich - and often bloody and scandalous - history of Great Britain. Due to the long lines and limited time we did not g inside but I am hoping to do that the next time I head down to London. We did enjoy the view of it risen on the Thames skyline while we took a break from carrying our heavy bags.
The rest of the afternoon contained having delicious Indian food for lunch, picking up some typical London souvenirs (royal wedding paraphanelia for me please), and figuring how to get to the London Stansted airport, which turned out to be very simple - yay us for figuring it out! 


Now a little note about the city as a whole. Let's just say I wasn't sure if I was going to like London - a lot of hype, and a big city - not necessarily my cup of tea (ha a tea joke in reference to Britain, how convenient). But I am amazed to say that I loved it. And yes I realize that I have said this about everywhere I have been so far and will most likely continue to say it about the places I am headed but London was something different. It felt like the place I was always supposed to live in. As if at some point, hopefully in the not so distant future, I will be able to gaze at all of these other on a regular basis. Who knows what will happen in my life but after a short day in London it stole a little bit of my heart. Thank god I have a few more reasons to go back (including the Royal Wedding).