Hola chicos y chicas! This past weekend I got the chance to visit England with my program, and it was well worth the waiting around for hours at the airport both there and back.
Some highlights before my main stories: we got there Thursday night, and I was especially excited for this trip because 1) my program paid for the plane tickets and hotel which was SO great, and 2) my friends Ally, Kristen, and Alyssa are all studying there through the UNH program at Regent's University! It was so weird to realize that we were all hanging out in London...not Durham, and it was awesome. Me and my friend Katie from my program did some things on our own and some with the Regent's chicas, including the London Eye, Trafalgar Square, the British Museum, Borough Market, Buckingham Palace, walking by the London Bridge on the river, etc. We also got to try classic pub food, eat Chipotle (BEST DAY OF MY LIFEEEEE) and sushi (SECOND BEST DAY OF MY LIFEEEEE). If it isn't clear...it was nice to get the chance to pick out my own food for a weekend.
Anyway, two of my favorite parts were trying to go to Buckingham Palace during the changing of the guards, and being trapped in the pouring rain one night while we were out.
None of the five of us had ever been to the changing of the guards event, so we thought we'd just meet at 11 when it happened and then go to Borough market to get lunch after.
.........DON'T EVER expect to see the changing of the guards or find anyone at Buckingham Palace exactly at the time the whole spectacle is supposed to take place. Katie and I got there a little after 11, and it honestly looked like half of London showed up in front and all around the palace. I was so confused because I really didn't get what the big deal was...but apparently it's a big thing especially for tourists. We basically accepted the fact we wouldn't find Ally, Alyssa, Kristen or their friend Jaclyn at all because it was impossible to see anything. Standing there for 10 minutes I heard at least 5 different languages, and I should have brought stilts if I had been planning on seeing a single thing.
Some how, so, SO luckily, Kristen saw me (I'm still confused how it happened. It would be like trying to find someone randomly at Gillette Stadium) and we decided to leave because it was so pointless and none of us had any idea what the big deal was. All I saw was the top of a furry black guard hat and heard some trumpets; that's all I know. After I write this I'm finally going to research what exactly we missed out on. It was probably some big deal or something....if not, I just don't understand....
My other favorite moment was so typical London and exactly what I expected with the weather. Me, Katie, Ally, and Alyssa all went out that night to an old converted theatre-turned bar, and it was really different than places in Spain so I'm glad we got to experience something new. When we left the weather was fine, there was a 30% chance of it raining later but we didn't really think anything of it since we would be taking the bus back to Regent's and our hotel. We were there for a few hours and decided to head back, and when we walked outside it was literally torrentially down-pouring. None of us had rain coats either (you guys what was wrong with us).
We knew we needed the bus stop on the other side of the road than we had gotten off at, so there was nothing else we could do but run. It was the kind of rain that's freezing and whips at your face and it was AWFUL but we just kept running...and running.......until we stopped and realized there was no bus stop in sight. We had to take the bus back; we didn't have a choice. So, after stopping multiple times to shiver like wet rats under various store awnings, we walked into McDonalds to ask for directions. I explained where we were trying to go, and the guy behind the counter said, "Oh, this is a one way street! You guys have to go behind this building to get a bus back."
It's safe to say that pouring sheets of rain clouded our judgment and apparently our vision from noticing we had been running down a one way street the whole time.
By the time we finally got on the bus, we looked like an absolute mess, but it was hilarious and now I can say that the London rain has gotten the best of me.
This shout out is to the guy who just turned 16 and got his license today!! Felicitaciones! Pero yo siempre conduciré mejor que tú. Necesitas traducir estas frases para practicar más con tu español...cuando estoy en los EEUU otra vez nunca te hablaré en inglés..es una buena idea, no?
Another shout out to Ally, Alyssa, and Kristen; it was great seeing you guys y gracias por todo! Especially Ally, you were a huge help!! Alyssa and Kristen SEE YOU IN ROME YAY!
Me voy a Francia mañana hasta el martes para visitar con Gretchen! Escribiré sobre este viaje la semana que viene :)
-Moll
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