Highlights Tour of London

Well, thesis embarrassing. Sorry I haven't written in forever! I've been so busy between spring break traveling, teaching, play practice, tutoring, writing reflections for my professors and weekend trips that I've barely had time to catch a breath. And when I do, I'm either eating or sleeping! But I have 45 minutes before play practice so I'll try to catch you up.

I got back from London on last Monday, April 9th. After the day Shannen and I did the bus and boat tour and the national gallery, we decided to take a light day. We went to Harrod's, and I must say it was the experience of a lifetime. I was expecting something similar to Nordstrom, but what I ended up experiencing was like a Neiman Marcus superstore. On crack. To say I was overwhelmed would be the understatement of the century. I left feeling pretty crummy about myself because there was no way I could ever afford anything in that store. Except maybe the gift shop, but I thought that was depressing. So then I went to Top Shop and H&M and felt a zillion times better. I had a little retail therapy, and then I went on a mission. I had heard rumors at Santa Chiara that there was a Chipotle in London, so I did my research. Turns out there's not one, but THREE!!!! So Shannen and I hit that up. It was soooo nice to have a little taste of home.

The next day, we were planning on seeing the matinée performance of Wicked. But the seats were awful and expensive, so our day was shot. Or so we thought. We then decided to hit up a few museums. To get to the British Museum, we has to get off at Tottenham Court Road. So once we saw Tottenham on the Tube map, we hopped on the train and headed that way. Well, unfortunately for us, there are two Tottenham stops. One is Tottenham Court Road and the other is Tottenham Hale. Just guess which one we got off at. So we eventually made it to the British Museum, but instead of taking five minutes it took two hours! Oh well. You live and you learn! We saw the Rosetta Stone, an Ancient Egyptian exhibit (mummies and all!) and an exhibit about clocks from all over the world. And then we called it a day.

I'm going to rush through the rest of London now. Think of this next paragraph as the highlights tour of the second half of my spring break. Shannen ate fish and chips, I did not. Shannen got a tattoo, I did not. Shannen ate many crepes, I did not. Jokes. I ate a jillion crepes. I loved the Natural History Museum. I wished we had time for the dinosaur exhibit, but we saw almost everything else. I ate the worst hamburger of my life. I went to Camden Market and found out I am an excellent bargainer. Shannen, Becca and I saw Wicked and fell in LOVE. We also went to Primark and were impressed with the good deals but turned off by the insane lines. And the crowd. Not worth it! Shannen and I went to the Kouloumas family's Easter celebration and loved every second of it. I miss them so much! It was an incredible experience staying with a local, but it was even better because I got to stay with a family that I know and love.

That's all I have time I have right now, but I PROMISE I will finish catching you up soon! Next time I write, it'll be about my ...interesting... time in Bologna and my most recent day trip to Florence. Just in case I don't have time to write before Friday, I am spending the weekend in Cinque Terra. Keep your fingers crossed for beautiful weather!!

I'm truly am living la bella vita here. I am so happy that I've been able to go on this amazing adventure. I have mixed emotions about only having 17 days left. I can't wait to go home but I also know how much I'll miss Europe. So for the next week and a half, I'm going to be a busy Bee! Can't wait to tell you more about my trip!

Ciao y'all!