London, England

The conclusion I reached from my three day trip to London was simply that I would have to return to London someday, for an extended period of time (like live there for anywhere from 30 to 365 days before I die).  I need to go back.

I love everything about London, from the incredible public transportation system, to the gorgeous theatres advertising awestricking musicals on every corner, from Cafe Nero coffee shops, to shopping beyond belief, and from insane palaces to beautiful countryside.

Alright on to the highlights of my London trip:

Of course, I first have to talk about the musicals I saw: Jersey Boys and Billy Elliot. For Jersey Boys, Ellen and I got incredible seats, and I enjoyed the show from the very edge of mine. I went to see Billy Elliot on my own, which was an experience I absolutely loved because I got to be so engrossed in the musical and did not have to worry about socializing with the people around me and forcing them to accept mr for how freakishly excited I get about shows.  I laughed, cried, and had my heart filled with that indecribable feeling that only a good play gives me for both of them, but my favorite was definitely Billy Elliot.

Another highlight was running around the British Museum with Liz, trying to see everything in just 3.5 hours and breaking as many rules as possible (basically just climbing on things and drinking tea) without getting kicked out.

Similarly, exploring Harrods with Liz and Anisha was incredible. That store is like a museum of modern luxeries. It was a weird experience though, I will explain how it made me feel by including a part of my journal response to it:

"I am thankful to not have been raised spoiled, to have grown up in a house where we don't waste money on brand names... I'm thankful that as I walked through, instead of thinking about how much I want things, I was thinking about how ridiculous the whole place was and how much world poverty and hunger that store alone could end.  Instead of wishing I was wealthier... I was thankful for not being that wealthy or living that lifestyle.  I'm super grateful for the way my parents raised me to think like that; they are so amazing.  I am so blessed!"

Of course, there are all the London classics: Big Ben, Parliament, and Westminister Abby.

We rode the London Eye (biggest ferris wheel in all of Europe and best view in London) to see it all from above, which was super cool.

And, saw the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, which was so hectic!  There were a bajillion people there, definitely every tourist in London that day was at the palace and then add plenty of locals.  I felt like I was a part of some incredibly important historical event just because of the shear number of people there.

Also, Ellen and I spent a beautiful morning running around and seeing sights while the rest of our friends slept in a bit.  We got a total of about 4 hours each night while in London and Scotland, but it was completely worth it.

That morning while wandering the streets of London with our cameras and map, taking in everything and soaking in the simple joy and peace of sightseeing, we enjoyed the London Bridge (which is hilariously lame, and not the bridge pictured here, but rather the bridge you walk on to get a good view of the bridge pictured above), Shakespeare's Globe (pictured below), and St. Paul's Cathedral (to the right).

I almost forgot!  We went to the London Ice Bar for 40 minutes, and then got cold right as our time ended, which was perfect.  Everything was made of ice, even the cups!  It was cool (literally, ha, bad pun).

On Valentine's Day, we did a bus tour that took us through beautiful England countryside to Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, and the City of Bath.

Windsor Castle was BEAUTIFUL, and the town of Windsor was adorable and very quaint.  Here is my journal entry about it:

"It was super neat to see how the different Monarchs of England contributed to the architecture of the castle--- so there were many different styles in the castle.  And to walk where the queen of Englad has walked was super neat.  It's crazy how the royal family is so glorified and makes so much money just to be a celebrity!  They don't do anything politically really.

The cathedral in Windsor castle was weird.  It was a beautiful building for sure, but a bunch of past monarchs were buried there, and it's where they all get married, and the church feels like it was built more to glorify the royalty than God.  Everything worships the English royalty of the past, and God kind of got put on the back-burner  it felt like.  It was weird to be in a Christian Church that gave the impression that the royal family is greater than God.  

The changing of the guard at Windsor castle was really cool!  and we didn't even plan to be there during it!"

Stonehenge was super neat!  It's crazy how long civilization has been in England and trying to figure out what the ancient people were doing with those stones and why they went through so much effort to arrange them that way.  It's pretty cool. 

Bath (home of the Roman Baths, ancient hot springs) was a fun, quaint city!  Anisha, Liz, and I wandered around together, until I decided I needed ice cream so I separated and went to a little ice cream shop by myself.  I had a nice long conversation with the old man working there; he was super nice and told me all about his life of making ice cream and recognizing the best ice cream.  I love the opportunities I get to chat with locals and get to know the city when I wander around by myself, and the ice cream was fantastic!

We spent our last night in London getting dinner in Chinatown (soooo good!) and wandering around the city at night, which I hadn't gotten to do yet because I had been going to musicals.  It was fun to walk around and see everything!