Long Overdue London Update
I know I’ve seriously been the worst blogger for the past few months, but I’m trying to make up for it with lots of pretty pictures from my adventures!
In my defense, I’ve had mono for the last month and have gotten behind on pretty much everything…but I’m catching up and thought I would highlight some of my favorite memories from this semester:
- Edinburgh—My flatmates and I visited Edinburgh in October and the views there were so beautiful—especially from the top of Arthur’s Seat. We stayed with my Vandy friends Aly and Catey, who lived on my hall freshman year and Catey was even the awesome roommate I talked about! (They also came to visit me a few weeks ago but I was pretty sick and a lame host.)
- Adventure Weekend—IFSA Butler planned a weekend getaway to the Lake District near the border of Scotland and I had so much fun! We got to sign up for two activities so I did Via Ferrata in the morning and climbing in the afternoon. Via Ferrata means “Iron Road” and basically involved climbing up and around mountains using harnesses, carabiners, and some iron pegs to step on. By the time I got to rock climbing (on actual rocks outdoors…haha that was a first) in the afternoon, I was pooped.
- Paris—Marissa, Toby, Matt (who goes to Vandy!), and I took the train to Paris the weekend after Adventure Weekend and explored the city with Marissa acting as our tour guide, since she lived there for a month last summer. We saw all the famous sites but I seriously think my favorite part of the trip was all the delicious food! We had chocolate pastries for breakfast, warm cheesy bread-related goodies for lunch, macaroons and tea at Laduree, and the thickest hot chocolate I’ve ever tasted at Cafe Angelina.
- Ed Sheeran Concert—Ed Sheeran is a British singer-songwriter who is definitely gaining popularity (he’s opening for Taylor Swift on her Red tour) but it was great to see him in concert in London, where he got his start. He’s actually coming to the Ryman in Nashville in January and I’m hoping to get tickets for Christmas!
- Mom/Meg visit—My mom and my best friend Meg from home visited me for Thanksgiving and we had the best week! I got to catch up on touristy activities—highlights included the Harry Potter Studio tour, a tour of the Globe, and riding the “Power Tower” at the Winter Wonderland carnival at Hyde Park. So even though I had fish and chips on Thanksgiving, I still got to spend time with loved ones.
I can’t believe that I have less than 3 weeks left here, and while I definitely have some final papers and exams to take care of, I plan on taking in as much of London as possible until I have to leave. First up, seeing the musical Matilda tonight at the Cambridge Theatre, I’ll let you know how it is!
