Adventures in London

London. The world itself sparks feelings of excitement, joy and adventure....at least for me. I have had the desire to go to England for as long as I can remember, possibly due to the fact that I am a huge Harry Potter nerd, and this past summer that dream finally came true.

In August, I travelled to London for a week with my mom and aunt. The flight, being overnight, was not ideal, as none of us slept a wink. However, we had such an adrenaline high the next day (or at least I did) that we were kept fuelled until we made it back to our hotel room around 5pm for a power nap. The whole day, despite encountering a bit of rain that first afternoon, I had tears of joy and excitement in my eyes, and could not keep a smile off my face.  This attitude, no matter how sleep deprived I was, displayed an accurate representation of how much I loved it, and continued throughout the trip. 

We were staying in Earl's Court, a suburb not far from downtown London, and it was absolutely beautiful. We walked down the main road later that first evening to find a place to eat, and it was something out of a movie....the cobblestone sidewalks, typical English pubs (where we ended up eating) and both tourists and residents all around.

Having slept pretty well that night, we mapped out the events of the upcoming week in order to make the most of it all, and decided what the desired destinations for that day would be. We had gotten a somewhat good idea of downtown London, and had the knowledge of my aunt who lived in the city for a year, so we continued - hyped up on caffeine, and in my case, sugar - to find all the gems, both hidden and obvious, of the city. 

The rest of the week was taken up visiting significant British landmarks; Buckingham Palace (where I have decided I would like to live), Kensington Palace (a good second option for a home), Hyde Park, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben and London Bridge to name a few. We also travelled around Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, rode the Tube, explored King's Cross Station - which I LOVED as they have a Harry Potter shop, as well as having participated in a bus tour and a Beatles walking tour. There were also many little shops to be visited; candy shops filled with traditional British sweets, little pubs full of locals and cute souvenir huts, for example.

You know how when you really look forward something and you build it up in your head, a part of you examines it and thinks, "well it can't be THAT great"? For me, this whole experience was MORESO. I had it built up in my head and it exceeded expectations.

Needless to say, the whole trip still seems surreal to me, and looking back on photos I still ask if I dreamt it all, as I was so lucky to have such a great time, despite jetlag. If given a ticket to a destination in Europe, I would choose to return to the beautiful city London. Of course I'd love to explore new places but my time in London wasn't nearly long enough, and I'll scoop up the next chance I get to return and continue my seemingly storybook adventure.