Life as a Local

Hello all!

The past few days have been full of all things London after spending the past 2 weekends outside of the country.

Friday started with my friend Alyssa flying into town which kickstarted a full 3 days of just about everything you could wish to see and do in London!

We began with a stop at Camden Market, filled with shops and food and lively culture where I got plenty of gift ideas for Christmas time! Then we took a quick stop at the famous Abbey Road, where the Beatles recorded music in the 60's and took the well known cover photo of them walking across the street. It was so funny to see all of these people simply walking across this crosswalk that looked liked all of the others to recreate history!

Saturday was actually spent outside of London in a coastal town on the south of England called Brighton. The weather was perfect to be right on the water, walking the pier and eating ice cream. It was cool to see another side of the country instead of being in the hustle and bustle of the city.

Sunday began with brunch (of course) and then to the Tower of London! The Tower, which dates back to the 10th century, was used as prison at times, training grounds for military and is now home to the Crown Jewels. These jewels are worn during the coronation ceremony of the monarch and WOW are they huge! Being in London at a time where they have had the same monarch for over 60 years is fascinating because these jewels have not been taken out of their case since the 1950's when Queen Elizabeth the second was crowned. You can just see the history in the detailed work of the jewels and equipment used during the coronation ceremony.

Next to the tower is the Tower Bridge. You know, the one bridge that everyone thinks is London Bridge? Fun fact, its not. London Bridge has nothing special about it, unlike Tower Bridge.

We continued on the day making stops at St. Paul's Cathedral, the Millennium Bridge which is featured in Harry Potter and Shakespeare's Globe Theater.

You think at this point I would have seen all of London but somehow even after a full weekend and 3 weeks of living here I still had not even seen Buckingham Palace. With the queen returning from her summer in Scotland next week, this week was the last week of tours of the palace and luckily that is just what we did today! The palace is as beautiful as you would imagine a queen's house to be and its insane to think that in one short week Queen Elizabeth will be living there again.

Visitors are not allowed to take pictures in her majesty's home but it was refreshing to be focusing solely on my surroundings and listen to the history that came along with the palace.

We finished the day with a quick stop to Westminster Abbey, where the royals get married, and Piccadilly Circus, the theater district of the city.

As crazy as it sounds, I still have not done or seen all of the London things on my to-do list so thank god I still have 10 weeks left!

So on that note, its back to classes and even a midterm this week before I head off to Ireland this Friday for another crazy adventure! Thanks for a lovely weekend London!

Aub

Buckingham Palace entrance!

Tower Bridge!

Brighton beach!

#London