Winning London

Its hard to believe that just one week ago, Pam and I were on our way home from (a freezing cold) London. Our first traveling weekend was definitely a success. We flew to London last Thursday night for an early birthday celebration with my parents, our two friends Carolyn and Lauren from home, and Carolyn’s mom, Mrs. Toll.

After jamming our carry ons with a weekend’s worth of clothes, Pam and I headed off to the airport. For future reference, don’t expect there to be an electronic self check-in station like there is at LaGuardia. Even though we weren’t checking bags, we had to wait in line with everyone else who was checking luggage for our flight on Meridiana Air. This was quite the procedure that made us appreciate our airports in New York (who would have thought that we’d ever say that?)  After getting our seat assignments (another thing we didn’t like about airport check in: getting assigned middle seats) we got a quick snack at the snack bar and a bag of M&Ms to share on the flight. Mom, they don’t have peanut butter M&Ms over here thank god! We followed everyone upstairs to the security check point, where Pam got full body searched and proceeded to get her beloved Chi hairspray and Aveeno facewash confiscated. We then went straight to the gate. We had only been sitting down for two minutes when another security guard asked Pam to do another security check. What a joke…she didn’t even ask her to bring her carry on to check, but just her purse (which included a stuffed animal…embarrassing)  Finally, we boarded the plane and were off to the UK!!

Upon our arrival in London, we quickly realized that we were not dressed for the weather. Both in shorts and flip flops, everyone around us was wearing pants, boots, and jackets! We can't help it we have sunny, 80 degree weather everyday in Florence ;) When we finally got to the hotel around 11 that night, all we wanted was some food and sleep. We ordered some room service and settled in with some London broadway preview TV (it was either that or Arabian television).

After an amazing night’s sleep, we met my mom and took the tube to reunite with Carolyn, Lauren, and Mrs. Toll! It was so good to finally see people we recognize over in Europe! After a round of hugs, we set off to see Carolyn and Lauren’s room and classrooms in South Kensington (or South Ken as the Brits call it). The girls’ room was adorable, looking like it was straight out of the pages of Pottery Barn Teen. With a polka dotted rug and beautiful view, it’s hard to call it a dorm. Pam and I envied the girls’ spacious (and clean) kitchen. After seeing where Carolyn and Lauren lived, we set off to the London Eye. It was the number one attraction on our London to-do list. While crossing the bridge to the London Eye, we even made a friend! We think she thought we were British and wanted a picture with some locals! 

New friends in London

Wilton on the London Eye!

We boarded the Eye in no time and spent the full 30 minutes taking pictures and taking in the view. We were so lucky to have such a sunny and clear day and Carolyn and Lauren pointed out all of the landmarks like pros. After deboarding the Eye, we decided to grab some lunch at Harrods! Of all the restaurants in the store, we chose a quaint café and had some sandwiches and salads before touring the store. My favorite section was definitely the ball gown room, complete with gorgeous floor length gowns. We also tried to sneak a peek at the wedding dress section, but it was roped off for appointments only. Maybe Harrod’s can be my first stop when looking for a gown? (kidding).

After a quick run through Top Shop, it was time to head back to the hotel and get ready for my birthday dinner! We made a quick pitstop at Boots pharmacy to get some blister band-aids because our feet hurt from walking around all day. There was no time to rest, as we quickly showered and threw on our dresses and heels and met my parents downstairs. We took a cab to Notting Hill and headed straight to Beach Blanket Babylon for our dinner. Upon our arrival, my mother insisted on pictures outside of the restaurant. Talk about personal paparazzi. We were taken to our table on the second floor, heading up a windy staircase and traversing a drawbridge, all in heels, to get to our crescent shaped table. As the Tolls arrived, we had a toast of champagne with strawberries and contemplated the choices on the menu. For those of you who know us well, we already knew what we wanted to order because we looked up the menu online prior to dinner. After some bread, risotto, and vino, our dinner concluded with a decadent chocolate cake and fresh fruit. We then parted ways with the parents, opting to go back with Carolyn and Lauren so they could do a quick shoe change and then go out in Picadilly Circus! We ended up at a bar I went to in July when I visited Melissa, which wasn’t very crowded, but allowed us to chat and dance. I requested my favorite song (Dynamite, obviously) before deciding to call it a night!

The next morning, we met my parents at breakfast downstairs before heading to Buckingham Palace. We took plenty of touristy pictures before deciding to head across the river to the Tate Modern. The Pope was in town, so we were redirected to another tube station to get there (bring on all of our blisters from walking). We finally got to the museum and Pam, our designated art history major, gave us her two-cents on the exhibits. To continue on with our day, we took another tube over to Notting Hill, as my mother insisted on going to the Portabello Market. We wandered the streets of Notting Hill (yes, it looked exactly like the movie) and browsed cute antique shops. Pam and I decided that in the future, we need to pack half as much in our carry on luggage so that we have room to shop! After the market our stomachs were growling, so what better way to satiate our hunger but with some tea and sandwiches? Our recommendation for tea was at the Orangery Restaurant, in Kensington Gardens. Little did our concierge know that the restaurant was closed that day for a private event, so we were panicked and asked a local where their favorite spot to get tea was! We ended up at Liberty, a department store with a tea room on the 2^nd floor. We had to wait a half hour, but boy was it worth the wait. We had tea sandwiches, scones, and desserts galore. Needless to say, we left very satisfied.

Buckingham Palace

We had to rush back to the hotel yet again to change for “We Will Rock You,” an award winning musical in London. As an avid “Bohemian Rhapsody” fan, I was very excited to hear this song performed on broadway. We took our seats just in time before the play began. Although the first act was very “out-there” and difficult to follow, the second act made up for it, including all of the well known hits from Queen. We felt as if we were in the front row at a rock concert, with people waving their hands in the air and clapping along. After the show, it was time to part ways, as Pam and I had an early flight out the next morning. We were sad to say goodbye to Carolyn, Lauren, Mrs. Toll, and my parents, but it was definitely a weekend filled with plenty of memories! We hope to see Carolyn and Lauren in Florence soon so we can continue our euro-adventure together!