London, United Kingdom
It was such a bittersweet week in Reggio. I finished finals, packed up all my stuff, and left my new friends that had become family. Every night seemed to be the "last dinner at the pasta place" or the "last Italian gelato". We had to get as much of Italy as we could in our final hours.
Friday night after all of our finals were over, we had our end of program dinner. All 40 of us sat down at one long table to have our last traditional Italian meal. It was delicious and filled with laughter and fun stories about the past semester. I really am going to miss all of these people. They are all so sweet and so kind, that it's hard to say goodbye knowing I will probably never see them again.
On Saturday morning, Emily, Christina, Ciara, Lauren, and I all went for our "last coffee date" in Reggio. We went to our favorite cafe where they make the best croissants. We walked around Reggio one last time before saying goodbye. We even signed the graffiti tunnel that we would walk through everyday to get to class; we had to leave a permanent mark on Reggio. After that, we got on a train to Bologna for the night, before we would head out on our next adventures. It was a circus just trying to get all of us girls and our luggage on the train. Christina, Ciara, and our friend Madison were taking all of their luggage from the five months abroad with them. I'm sure the Italians thought we were nuts, but we made it.
Early Sunday morning, Emily and I flew to London, UK. After we got there, we had to go through customs, where they asked a million questions. It was more of an interrogation if you ask me. The officer was skeptical and asked me to prove that I was a student. It was very weird.
We met Emily's sister Erin at the airport. She flew in from Denver early that morning and was at the gate waiting to meet us. We made the mistake of taking uber to our airbnb in London, because it ended up costing over $135 for the three of us. Traffic was insane as the people of London have been preparing for the Royal wedding that is just a few short days away. As we would discover later, the city has been spending weeks and months prepping for this wedding, and it showed. There were British flags everywhere and every little detail of the parks was absolutely gorgeous! It was amazing! After settling into our airbnb, we headed out to explore London. We met up with Erin's friend Jack, who was an exchange student at Colorado State a few years ago, and currently lives in London. He showed us all the tourist spots and gave us a ton of fun facts about the city. It was really cool having him as our own personal tour guide. He was so knowledgeable and could tell us anything we wanted to know. It was kind of disappointing, we didn't get to see Big Ben. Apparently he is under construction for the first time since being built. Jack was telling us the electrical circuits were the same ones that were built into the building, and Parliament has been experiencing blackouts, so they decided to fix Big Ben. It kind of sucked to see the tower covered in scaffolding, but I guess I can say that I was in London the one and only time Big Ben was under repairs. We walked all over the city, and by the end of the day, our feet were sore, and we had walked over 12 miles!
On Monday morning, Emily, Erin, and I set out to visit Parliament and Westminster Abbey. After showing up, we realized we couldn't go inside for one reason or another, and decided to turn around and head to Camden. We didn't realize how long of a walk it would be, but it was a beautiful day, and it gave us the chance to see more of the city. We walked all the way to the famous Camden market, which reminded me a lot of the Portland Saturday Market. There were local vendors, mixed with amazing food all within a small little corner of the city. Some of the venders were set up inside old horse stables, so that was pretty cool. We met up with another one of Erin's friends (she knows a lot of people), Oscar, and he showed us around Camden. He took us to one of the weirdest places I think I have ever been. We went to this neon/alien/robot shop that sold a ton of costumes and clothing that would be fit for a rave or a concert. There were fur bras, foam dresses, and much much more. It was the weirdest place I have ever been.
After our little excursion to the Camden Market, Oscar took us to the National British Museum. You would think that the museum would be all about British history... nope. In Oscar's words, "It's all the stuff the British have stolen over the last hundred years." We saw a lot of really cool things. We saw Cleopatra's mummy, the oldest known body that as been preserved, and the Rosetta Stone. It was actually really cool to see. After exploring parts of the museum we went to King's Cross Station, where the famous 9 3/4ths platform from the Harry Potter series is located. It was actually pretty cool to see. The entire city is a huge draw for Harry Potter fans, and this monument was the pinnacle. The line just to get a photo in front of the statue was ridiculously long. We instead took a picture of the statue, and explored the Harry Potter shop inside. That was enough for us.
After walking to Camden and back, we were tired, so we returned to our Airbnb for a quick nap and some time to relax before going out to dinner and drinks with Jack. We almost didn't want to wake up we were so tired. Apparently London is known for it's Indian food, which was a complete surprise to me. Jack took us to one of his favorite Indian restaurants for dinner before we headed out to get drinks. Dinner was delicious and so were the drinks. We went to this cute local bar and Emily and Erin got wine, and I got to try a few different beers that are made in London which was super fun. We stayed up late talking and laughing with Jack. He is a really cool guy, and I can see why Erin is friends with him.
The next morning we woke up earlier than we expected to. We decided to go for a "group run" that turned into running 6 miles. I don't think I have ever run 6 miles at one time... but I guess now I have. It was actually pretty cool though. We ran through Hyde Park and ran all the way to Kensington Palace and back. It was a beautiful morning out and we got to see a lot of the park which was cool. It park itself reminded me a lot of Central Park in New York City. It was big and filled with ponds and gardens and had so many fun things to explore. By the time we got back from our run, we packed up our belongings and split up. Emily and Erin were going to visit another one of their friends outside of London, and I was heading to Paris. After they left to catch a train, I went to the coveted Shake Shack for lunch. It was just as good as I remember it! After eating lunch I started to head to the Victoria Train station where I would take a train back to the airport. On my way, I saw a huge crowd formed in front of Buckingham Palace, so I stopped to see what the commotion was. About 5 minutes later, 5 Police cars and 4 secret service cars showed up with the Queen inside. They drove right into the palace and shut the gate. It was crazy! As I was walking away, I turned around and saw Prince Harry and Megan outside the palace. There were TV crews and security guards everywhere. It was actually really cool. * Note... not 100% sure it was them. Found out later they were locked in the palace with all the wedding drama and security concerns. But it seemed legit at the time.
I eventually made it to the train station and the airport with time to spare. It was weird traveling alone for the first time. It's this weird feeling of being unsure and questioning everything you do, as well as this feeling of peace that you can go and do whatever you want because you are on your own schedule. It was kind of fun. After a day of travel I finally made it to Paris. When I landed, I knew that my hotel was at the airport, and there was a quick shuttle that would take me there. Apparently I got mixed up and ended up on the wrong shuttle and showed up at the wrong hotel. So that was fun. Luckily it wasn't too hard to figure out how to get back to airport and to my hotel. It was an adventure non the less.
I am super excited for these next few weeks! It seems so weird that I have three weeks left in Europe. I know it's going to go by fast, and I'm not sure I'm ready for it to end, but I am excited to see where the rest of my travels take me.
Friday night after all of our finals were over, we had our end of program dinner. All 40 of us sat down at one long table to have our last traditional Italian meal. It was delicious and filled with laughter and fun stories about the past semester. I really am going to miss all of these people. They are all so sweet and so kind, that it's hard to say goodbye knowing I will probably never see them again.
On Saturday morning, Emily, Christina, Ciara, Lauren, and I all went for our "last coffee date" in Reggio. We went to our favorite cafe where they make the best croissants. We walked around Reggio one last time before saying goodbye. We even signed the graffiti tunnel that we would walk through everyday to get to class; we had to leave a permanent mark on Reggio. After that, we got on a train to Bologna for the night, before we would head out on our next adventures. It was a circus just trying to get all of us girls and our luggage on the train. Christina, Ciara, and our friend Madison were taking all of their luggage from the five months abroad with them. I'm sure the Italians thought we were nuts, but we made it.
Early Sunday morning, Emily and I flew to London, UK. After we got there, we had to go through customs, where they asked a million questions. It was more of an interrogation if you ask me. The officer was skeptical and asked me to prove that I was a student. It was very weird.
We met Emily's sister Erin at the airport. She flew in from Denver early that morning and was at the gate waiting to meet us. We made the mistake of taking uber to our airbnb in London, because it ended up costing over $135 for the three of us. Traffic was insane as the people of London have been preparing for the Royal wedding that is just a few short days away. As we would discover later, the city has been spending weeks and months prepping for this wedding, and it showed. There were British flags everywhere and every little detail of the parks was absolutely gorgeous! It was amazing! After settling into our airbnb, we headed out to explore London. We met up with Erin's friend Jack, who was an exchange student at Colorado State a few years ago, and currently lives in London. He showed us all the tourist spots and gave us a ton of fun facts about the city. It was really cool having him as our own personal tour guide. He was so knowledgeable and could tell us anything we wanted to know. It was kind of disappointing, we didn't get to see Big Ben. Apparently he is under construction for the first time since being built. Jack was telling us the electrical circuits were the same ones that were built into the building, and Parliament has been experiencing blackouts, so they decided to fix Big Ben. It kind of sucked to see the tower covered in scaffolding, but I guess I can say that I was in London the one and only time Big Ben was under repairs. We walked all over the city, and by the end of the day, our feet were sore, and we had walked over 12 miles!
On Monday morning, Emily, Erin, and I set out to visit Parliament and Westminster Abbey. After showing up, we realized we couldn't go inside for one reason or another, and decided to turn around and head to Camden. We didn't realize how long of a walk it would be, but it was a beautiful day, and it gave us the chance to see more of the city. We walked all the way to the famous Camden market, which reminded me a lot of the Portland Saturday Market. There were local vendors, mixed with amazing food all within a small little corner of the city. Some of the venders were set up inside old horse stables, so that was pretty cool. We met up with another one of Erin's friends (she knows a lot of people), Oscar, and he showed us around Camden. He took us to one of the weirdest places I think I have ever been. We went to this neon/alien/robot shop that sold a ton of costumes and clothing that would be fit for a rave or a concert. There were fur bras, foam dresses, and much much more. It was the weirdest place I have ever been.
After our little excursion to the Camden Market, Oscar took us to the National British Museum. You would think that the museum would be all about British history... nope. In Oscar's words, "It's all the stuff the British have stolen over the last hundred years." We saw a lot of really cool things. We saw Cleopatra's mummy, the oldest known body that as been preserved, and the Rosetta Stone. It was actually really cool to see. After exploring parts of the museum we went to King's Cross Station, where the famous 9 3/4ths platform from the Harry Potter series is located. It was actually pretty cool to see. The entire city is a huge draw for Harry Potter fans, and this monument was the pinnacle. The line just to get a photo in front of the statue was ridiculously long. We instead took a picture of the statue, and explored the Harry Potter shop inside. That was enough for us.
After walking to Camden and back, we were tired, so we returned to our Airbnb for a quick nap and some time to relax before going out to dinner and drinks with Jack. We almost didn't want to wake up we were so tired. Apparently London is known for it's Indian food, which was a complete surprise to me. Jack took us to one of his favorite Indian restaurants for dinner before we headed out to get drinks. Dinner was delicious and so were the drinks. We went to this cute local bar and Emily and Erin got wine, and I got to try a few different beers that are made in London which was super fun. We stayed up late talking and laughing with Jack. He is a really cool guy, and I can see why Erin is friends with him.
The next morning we woke up earlier than we expected to. We decided to go for a "group run" that turned into running 6 miles. I don't think I have ever run 6 miles at one time... but I guess now I have. It was actually pretty cool though. We ran through Hyde Park and ran all the way to Kensington Palace and back. It was a beautiful morning out and we got to see a lot of the park which was cool. It park itself reminded me a lot of Central Park in New York City. It was big and filled with ponds and gardens and had so many fun things to explore. By the time we got back from our run, we packed up our belongings and split up. Emily and Erin were going to visit another one of their friends outside of London, and I was heading to Paris. After they left to catch a train, I went to the coveted Shake Shack for lunch. It was just as good as I remember it! After eating lunch I started to head to the Victoria Train station where I would take a train back to the airport. On my way, I saw a huge crowd formed in front of Buckingham Palace, so I stopped to see what the commotion was. About 5 minutes later, 5 Police cars and 4 secret service cars showed up with the Queen inside. They drove right into the palace and shut the gate. It was crazy! As I was walking away, I turned around and saw Prince Harry and Megan outside the palace. There were TV crews and security guards everywhere. It was actually really cool. * Note... not 100% sure it was them. Found out later they were locked in the palace with all the wedding drama and security concerns. But it seemed legit at the time.
I eventually made it to the train station and the airport with time to spare. It was weird traveling alone for the first time. It's this weird feeling of being unsure and questioning everything you do, as well as this feeling of peace that you can go and do whatever you want because you are on your own schedule. It was kind of fun. After a day of travel I finally made it to Paris. When I landed, I knew that my hotel was at the airport, and there was a quick shuttle that would take me there. Apparently I got mixed up and ended up on the wrong shuttle and showed up at the wrong hotel. So that was fun. Luckily it wasn't too hard to figure out how to get back to airport and to my hotel. It was an adventure non the less.
I am super excited for these next few weeks! It seems so weird that I have three weeks left in Europe. I know it's going to go by fast, and I'm not sure I'm ready for it to end, but I am excited to see where the rest of my travels take me.
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