Well today as I’m writing this post I realize that there are only two short weeks left in this beautiful city of London. I’ve looked back at all my posts and went over all of the things I’ve done. I thought about what I wanted out of this wonderful experience, and I’ve pretty much achieved it all. I have most certainly caught the travel bug and I know that this adventure must soon come to an end, but there are so many more to come. But enough of that, I still have two whole weeks left!
This past weekend started off with quite a bang! We went to DeMario’s a pizzeria right down the road which is best known for being Princess Diana’s favorite pizza place in London. We were celebrating Mac’s birthday, who’s in the internship program. Now once you walk past this place (which we have to do everyday), you can just smell the delicious aroma of pizza, and pasta, and garlic cooking and it makes your mouth water. But once you’re inside, oh man, it’s like you were transported to a family owned restaurant in the heart of Rome. The pizza is so delicious and it does bring me back to Italy. After we were all so full from all the food but we found some energy and headed over to our favorite bar, O’Neil’s and hung around there for quite a bit. There was a live band that night so we danced the night away.
Then came Friday and another “Courtney and Katie Date” commenced. We hit up all the big sites! We got lost in Harrod’s, somehow finding ourselves in the food court where we split a delicious croissant (it was similar to a cro-nut, fried with sugar). Then we hopped on the tube and headed to the British Museum where we spent about half an hour, saw the rosetta stone, and then continued to our next stop, Gordon’s Wine Bar. Now this is probably one of my favorite things I’ve done in London. Gordon’s is the oldest wine bar in London and inside resembles a dungeon. However you’re filled with lots of wine and cheese so it doesn’t feel that dreary. But we were lucky enough to find two chairs outside and enjoyed our bottle of Rose with a plate of mozzarella, brie, bread, and cranberry spread. It was so wonderful to just chat, relax, and watch the people go by as we indulged on our wine and cheese.
Next on our date we ventured over to South Bank, one of our favorite places in London. We saw this very large swing ride that we were both intrigued by. Now it’s not your typical swing that you see at a carnival but a much larger version. There are two seats next to each other which they double, and triple strap you into. Then they lower a plexi-glass cover over you and strap that down (for all of those who are claustrophobic this ride is not for you). Then you’re lifted up into the air and it starts to turn around and around. How high up we were was difficult to tell because we were distracted by our screams and holding on for dear life. Courtney did muster up some courage and snapped a view pictures, all of which came out blurry. But it was so much fun to be up that high!
We saw the London Eye, the Thames, the houses of Parliament, and everything inbetween. After our terrifying flight we decided to hit up some frozen yoghurt at a place called Snog, right along the river. They basically revamped a London bus, where the bottom is where they take your order and make it, and the top has seating which looks out over the Thames. After our “guilt free snog” we decided to head back and call it a night.
Saturday was quite a summer day on the beaches of Brighton. We all got up bright and early and headed for the train station which was overly crowded and hot. We somehow managed to squeeze our way onto the train and had lovely seats on the floor. The beaches at Brighton aren’t quite your typical beach. It is actually made up of large stones, not sand, so it is very painful on your feet. But we did dive into the English Channel a few times to cool off since it was so hot out. And you would all be proud to know that I actually got a slight tan (don’t believe me, ask my roommates). We walked along the boardwalk and the pier and had some delicious “99 Pence” which is essentially soft serve vanilla ice cream on a cone with a chocolate flake. It was originally called “99 pence” because way back in the day that’s how much it cost, not so true anymore. Then we pursued the streets of Brighton, hit up a few shops, enjoyed some afternoon iced tea, and headed on home.
That night we hit up this really cool club called Roxy where students get in for a reduced price. The DJ wasn’t that great, but that didn’t stop us from dancing our feet off!
Sunday was a tourist day. We woke up and decided to hit up Abbey Road! We popped on the tube and made our way over. What’s cool is that the crosswalk is still actually in use. Like cars still zoom through it and have no patience for tourists. Quite a few people were honked and screamed at while reenacting the famous Beatle’s cover.
We walked along the road for a bit which was lined with beautiful houses, and that part of town is actually the most expensive places to live in London. After we got tired of all the tourists (ugh, tourists), we headed over to the British Museum for a longer look. My friend John and I explored this amazing exhibit of mummies. They had eight real mummies there, the oldest dating back to 3500 BC, and we got to see it! It was an incredible exhibit because it showed the lives of the mummies as well as what is inside. Now-a-days they don’t unwrap the mummies because it could break the bones or destroy other evidence. So what they do is take CAT scans of what’s inside and the exhibit had the CAT scans showing exactly what was left inside the coffin. In the mummy dating back to 3500 BC you could still see part of his brain in the CAT scan! After we were through with the mummies we explored around a bit more and then decided to call it quits. We headed back to the room, and I got ready to go to Pilates with my friend Katie. Pilates was nothing like what I was expecting it to be. It was so difficult and worked every muscle in my body. I basically couldn’t move the next day but it was a lot of fun!
Monday was a typical work day. I was “coaching” at a camp at one of the primary schools for the week. We did a lot of sports with them, and let me tell you those kids have a lot of energy! But by the end of the week I had actually grown attached to some of them, especially the little ones with their cute British accents. But on Monday night Courtney, two other friends, and I went to go see Miss Saigon. I have never walked out of a show wanting to see it again that badly. We had front row seats (no I’m not kidding) because we did student rush, and the show was incredible!
(that’s the conductor’s head)
The tears, the laughter, the set, the lighting, the dancing, everything was just incredible! The lead female was only 18 years old from America, and the lead male was one of the actors in the movie Les Miserables. If you ever get a chance to see this show, go because it is amazing, amazing, amazing! I mean they even had a real helicopter fly on stage at one point! After the emotional drain of the show we all headed back to our room, not before stopping to grab some ice cream of course.
All in all a wonderful weekend. This weekend Buckingham Palace is number one our list and we are all so excited to get a chance to see it!
Katie Navarino 
Katie, I can’t decide whether I want a Snog or a 99Pence more. You’ll have to help me decide when we go to London together one day. And it sounds like London theater is all it’s cracked up to be. Lucky you to have seen so many shows. I’m delighted for you. We had a GREAT week in Aruba. Robbie almost got a tan, too. Details when we see you. Love you so much and keep taking it all in. Grandma