We’ve been in London for just over 48 hours and it feels like a week. In the best way possible, of course! We had a bit of a bumpy start, as over half of our study abroad group was not able to arrive until a day later than planned due to weather and flight issues, leaving 8 of us to navigate London without the guidance of either of our professors. Fortunately, when we all met up at the airport after arriving, we were able to quickly navigate the tube system and get ourselves to our hotel.
When we got into the tube, we had about an hour-long ride and quite a bit of it was above ground so we got to see the outer parts of London flash by us as we rode past. After a long day of travel, it was a nice moment of calm to watch the world go by. Our stop was Russel Square, which had a short staircase we all had to drag out very heavy (and very many) bags up, to finally reach a lift to take us the rest of the way. There isn’t an escalator in Russel Square, so the only other option is taking 175 stairs up to the street, which was not an option without extra weight. Still, I am determined to do it at some point before we leave despite everyone telling me it is a stupid idea and infinitely harder than it looks. That aside, we conquered the tube ride and arrived at the hotel safely, with Sarah getting us checked in and guiding us to our rooms.
That night we celebrated Merrit’s birthday with dinner at the pub downstairs called “The London Pub” (how did they ever think of that name?!), and then Claire, Reece, and I went to Waitrose to get a couple of bits and bobs.
The next morning I woke up quite early so I went to the lobby to work on my computer for a while, and then Reece, Ilaria, and I went to the complementary breakfast in the hotel. The rest of our group was arriving at 11, so after breakfast Reece and I went to Oxford Street because it had both Waterstones and Boots in the same area. Those things have nothing to do with each other other than I really wanted to look at books and Reece needed face wash, so why not get both of those things done and do our first touristy thing at the same time!
After our Oxford Street adventure, we went back to our hotel and rested until 4, while the group that arrived was able to unpack and sleep for a few hours. After that, we all met up in the lobby, said hi to our friends we hadn’t seen since class, got out oyster cards, and went to Seven Dials market for dinner. I got a tomato pasta, then walked around for a while until we all met up to head to our first show, Mousetrap!
This show was so much fun. I loved how simple it was. It wasn’t necessarily my favorite show I have ever seen, but I think it was a good one to start off this study abroad with. I didn’t feel super satisfied at the end of the show because the switch was so fast that I couldn’t process it. That’s all I will say so I don’t give too much away!
Our second day was wonderful and we got to see Leicester Square, Trafalgar Square, and Chinatown! We had a wonderful meal in Chinatown, and then went to Fortnum & Mason and Waterstones. We closed the day by seeing The Great Gatspy, which was more than great. I couldn’t have asked for more from a second day!
Theatre in London U of A 