Rome Is Where the Heart Is: 2013

Well I have to do one last post for my trip to London post-study abroad. It was my favourite (I actually saw it spelled like this on a poster in the Tube) place that I traveled too (besides the living in Rome part). When I flew to London Heathrow airport and left my friend Anne, it was the first time on the whole trip that I actually traveled alone. My brain kind of freaked out for a second but I knew I was a really good traveler and that I'd be fine. I got my bag, went through customs, got some pounds, got an Oyster card (aka a card to put money on for the Tube), and got on the Piccadilly line to get to the Tube stop by my hotel. The Tube is really easy to navigate. Some of it was outside too so I got to see the British houses and I felt like I was in the movie Mary Poppins. I was so excited that people spoke English that I asked everyone a million questions because I knew they would understand what I needed. My family didn't actually make it to London until two days after I got there because they were delayed from XNA to Chicago and then missed their flight to London. I was devastated because I really missed them!

Fortunately my roommates from Rome, Ellie and Kat, both went to London after our study abroad as well so I got to explore the city with them! We had a fun time walking around (since we were pro-walkers) and seeing Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, the Eye, and the Thames. We walked all the way to the Tower Bridge the first day. I got lots of awesome night pictures too. We didn't realize it didn't get dark until 9:45 pm! I'm so grateful the girls stayed out with me. One Brit saw me taking pictures and said I looked like a professional. He asked me to take their picture and then I got in a picture with them. It was so funny! We explored Oxford Street too with all its awesome shops and there was a Gay Pride parade there the first day and people were having so much fun throwing prizes and candy. Kat and I also went to the Sherlock Holmes Museum at 221b Baker St. It was so great! There was a long line but fortunately we made it in before they closed. They only let 15 people in at a time because the apartment is narrow. But it was just as I pictured it, narrow, dark, and full of stuff! You can tell that real fans put in a lot of time into creating it.

Finally when my family came, I mobbed them. I couldn't stop talking and telling them all kinds of things I learned in Rome. I took them to all the places we saw on the first day and we all rode the London Eye which was really cool. It takes 30 min to go around but the line is really quick. Also, don't believe the lies about London food. I really liked it! You have to be open to trying new things and take as many recommendations as you can. We had barbeque quesadillas, pulled pork sandwiches, chicken pot pie, fish and chips, caesar salad, thai crab cakes, club sandwiches, and we went to the original Hard Rock Cafe! So, there are a lot of places to choose from.

Another day we went to the British Museum which was really manageable. It's only two floors and it has lots of Greek and Roman history! I was so excited to go through it with my sister and tell her about all the art history and Roman history that I learned about from my classes in Rome. We saw friezes from the Parthenon, ancient Greek vases, and busts of the emperors! I felt very knowledgeable.

Then my sister and I went to the most magical place of all, the WB Studio Tour of the Making of Harry Potter! It was every Harry Potter fan's dream come true. They had so many things from all the movies. We got to see and hear about a lot of behind the scenes stuff so I will never watch the movies the same way again! I was like a kid in a candy store. We spent 3.5 hours looking at it all and were absolutely in heaven. We got to learn wand moves and ride a broom with the green screen! The staff were really nice too. To complete our Harry Potter dream we went to King's Cross station and got pictures in our Potter gear at platform 9 3/4!

The next day we went to Westminster Abbey and got free audio guides and walked around. Make sure you ask about the student discounts. They have them at the majority of the ticket offices under "concessions". We got to see the graves of Darwin, Newton, and Chaucer, as well as kings and queens. There were memorials of British writers in the Poet's Corner like Dickens, Austen, Carroll, Wilde, and more. I was in heaven! We also got to see the coronation chair, which isn't actually that grand. However, while I'm on the subject of royalty, we also saw the Crown Jewels at the Tower of London. It's and old fort and it contains the vault with the jewels in it. We waited in a long line but it was so worth it! What's interesting is that the jewels were actually destroyed when the monarchy was overthrown when King Charles I was executed. There are so many gorgeous pieces in there including the swords, goblets, the coronation crown, and my favorite, the sceptre. The Sovereign's Sceptre has a 530 carat diamond in it. WOW.

Some other treasures I got to see were in the British Library. They have Gutenburg's Bible, some journals of Da Vinci, the Magna Carta, journals of Jane Austen, and her writing desk. They also had Aesop's fables, maps, ancient Asian drawings, a Beatles collection, and a letter written by Winston Churchill during WWII. I was totally in awe. Then my sister went with me to St. Paul's Cathedral so that I could compare it to St. Peter's. It was built after St. Peters from late 1600s to early 1700s. There are a lot of similarities and differences between the two. St. Paul's is Baroque style but also has Medieval mosaics. It has a similar altar to St. Peter's and the dome on top is similar as well. However, it has two sections to it. One has pillars leading up to the dome that is similar to St. Peter's. Another Roman aspect that it contains is an occulus similar to the Pantheon where, once you climb the 528 steps, you can see down into the church from the dome. The view from the top was absolutely amazing.

I had a wonderful birthday on July 5th and turned 19. I got a cupcake from Harrods and an awesome shirt from the Hard Rock. We also go to go to Shakespeare's Globe Theatre and see Macbeth performed. It was so fascinating! The actors were very dramatic and looked like they had so much fun. They all danced for us at the end. They performed without microphones and there were people standing right by the stage so we really felt like we were back in the 1600s. We even had to rent cushions to sit on the wooden benches. But my favorite part was when I figured out that the actor playing Banquo was also Pippin in the Lord of the Rings movies! He has such a great accent.

On our last day we went to Wimbledon to watch the Women's Finals. We got all dressed up, had strawberries and cream, and watched Marion Bartoli win with an ace serve on center court. It was fabulous!

Overall, I couldn't have had a greater experience. It was a great way to end all my travels and I definitely want to return to London and see more.

This entire journey has been the trip of a lifetime. I will always be grateful for the people I shared it with, the memories I made, and the pictures I took. I loved studying abroad so much and if nothing else I definitely learned what I appreciate in my life. I feel like a different person and I feel a lot more experienced as an adult. I have that much more in my tool box for life ;). It's trips like these that make dreams a reality and life much more magical.

Now I'll say my last "Ciao!"