Best Friend and a Baby

I am one lucky girl because I got to spend the weekend in London with my best friend, Julie! She's currently studying abroad at KU Leuven in Belgium, so she hopped on a train and met me in jolly old England. We stayed at the University of London's College Hall, which is a dorm that is open to travelers during the summertime. I highly recommend these accommodations for people on a budget instead of staying in a hostel because 1) we got our own (very clean) room AND bathroom 2) it was an amazing location and 3) it was affordable.

Authentically English Fish & Chips!

On Friday, we walked to Leicester Square and went down to the crypt at St. Martin in the Fields to make our very own brass rubbings, which were masterpieces in their own right (just kidding, we're no artists...). We then checked out Duchess Kate's picture at the National Portrait Gallery and walked around Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus. The highlight of the night was definitely taking Julie to Wagamama and PHANTOM OF THE OPERA!!!!!!! Julie had never seen it before, so of course I had to share with her my favorite show of all time. It was amazing and wonderful and everything beautiful this world has to offer. I know I'm being a little dramatic (no pun intended), but Phantom moves me unlike anything else. This is the second time I've seen it in London and fifth time ever (once in New York, three times in Houston), and I can honestly say, I still get excited when Christine enters the mirror and awestruck when the Phantom serenades her with "Music of the Night". I could write a whole post (probably a novel) on just how much I love and respect this show, but I will restrain myself and simply say that I had a splendid time and was so grateful I got to share my greatest interest with Julie (who loved it, by the way!).

Tea time with Julie

We awoke bright and early to go shopping at Portobello Road, a fantastic London market where the streets are lined with antiquity and souvenir vendors (along with much more cool stuff!). Julie and I shopped A LOT -- especially buying gifts for back home. Naturally, I couldn't get the song "Portobello Road" from the Disney movie, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, out of my head..... Afterwards, we walked to Kensington Palace where we had a proper Cream Tea, which was lovely. We found out that Kate and William were back home here; unfortunately, we didn't see them, but we did stumble upon a very cool James Bond sign!

Fisher. Rachel Fisher.

We then hopped on the tube and traveled to the Tower of London, which I felt the need to show Julie because it is such a London staple. I was pleasantly surprised that, despite having only just been there two weeks prior, I was just as engaged and excited. Besides, seeing the Crown Jewels NEVER gets old ;) We got our picture snapped in front of the London Bridge and even boarded a traditional Double-Decker Bus, a first for me! It was loads of fun; after this weekend, I feel as though I've mastered traveling around London.

Julie and I got off at St. Paul's: unfortunately, the church was closed, but that didn't stop us gazing with amazement at the grandeur of this magnificent church. We were lucky to find the perfect red phone booth for our tourist picture, and we walked across the Millennium Footbridge for a great view of the Thames. I was very proud of us because we were ahead of schedule (I made a list of things to do), so we went ahead to Harrods where we took in the Food Halls and, yet again, bought souvenirs.
As two very weary travelers, we made our way back to the hotel and had a light, but nonetheless fun, night in our neighborhood, checking out a few pubs and making an ice cream stop.
The next morning, we got to the British Museum right when it opened, and I showed Julie all the highlights (the Rosetta Stone, the Parthenon exhibit, the "Bog Man" and mummies, etc.). Because this was Julie's first time in London, we desperately needed to go see the London hotspots: Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey and Parliament. Although we didn't venture into any of these landmarks, it was fun getting to show off the iconic London area. We even caught the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, although we were slightly disappointed because we thought the crowds were there to catch a glimpse of the Queen, presuming she was coming/leaving.
I had such a wondeful time with Julie this weekend and was very sad to see her go. She's having an amazing time in Belgium, and I cannot wait to hear about her other adventures abroad! I'm very grateful I got to take Julie around London; not to toot my own horn, but I'm quite proud of myself for playing the role of travel/tour guide quite well. It's reassuring to know I can manage on my own for future trips! We terribly missed Ashley and Haylie (our two other best friends), but this weekend made me that much more excited for our homecoming when we'll all get to live together at school next year!
As for today, we started a new module for the Leeds International Summer School: I'm taking a course on Victorian English Literature, mainly focused on the Brontes. I'm very excited because our teacher seems absolutely lovely, and I'm very passionate about this era, especially in novels -- should be fun! Tonight, we went to play Laser Tag, which I had a BLAST participating in! Aaaaaaaand the big news.......THE ROYAL BABY WAS BORN!!!!!!!!!!! He's a bouncing baby boy who'll inherit the throne of the country that I'm currently living in.......it's so neat to be in England right now! I love this nation so much, and I'm so glad I get to celebrate this joyous occasion with them :)

Thanks and gig 'em,
Rachel