I spent a month in London for my summer abroad last summer through my school, UC Davis. I did the Shakespeare Live! program. I chose to do this program because I did get a minor in English while I was in college and this helped me out with units and I was able to spend a month in the city of my dreams! I've never done a former blog post about my time there so I figured I could do an overview for this blog :)
I lived on this amazing street in a beautiful town house in Kensington, which is where Queen Victoria was born and lived! It was right around the corner from Hyde Park as well as the amazing museums that surround the park. We were also very close Notting Hill and Notting Hill Gate, where the very very rich of London live! We were staying in student dorms basically, we had a small TV and luckily our section of the floor had a little foyer with a bathroom.
The view was amazing as everything there. The only downside of my time there really was the exchange rate from dollars to pounds and the fact it was like $5 to take out money from my account and use the ATM. But luckily my parents had saved up enough to keep me pretty comfortable while there, and then some!
We did all the touristy things the first couple of days before the program started - Buckingham Palace and Tower Bridge and Piccadilly Circus! Honestly there isn't much to do around those areas so it only took a full day to go and look around, the Tower of London, is also quite quick to do.
Westminster Abbey is also something that doesn't take long if you don't go inside (it costs money to go in!)
Kensington Gardens, which is apart of Kensington Palace, is absolutely beautiful and luckily while we were there it was warm enough to have a walk around.
The Italian Fountains are apart of Hyde Park. The lawn chairs stay out there and you can lounge and eat and just watch the fountains all day. I did a majority of my homework here :)
This is from Harrods, my FAVORITE place in London!
Harrods has a food court with such luxurious food! These macarons were basically the size of my head.
My room mate and I went to the Hard Rock Calling Festival at Olympic Park. I honestly just wanted the experience of going to a music festival in London! I drank a whole lot of cider and watched Crowns, Zac Brown Band and Alabama Shakes. I also got a massive sunburn but I mean, it was worth it!
We rode the London Eye on one of our last days there and it was magical and surreal. The views are breathtaking, we were able to watch the sunset and I have never seen anything so brilliant.
Also, the clothing in London or in England is just better than America. I basically lived in Top Shop high waisted shorts and River Island jumpers.
We were able to watch 4 Shakespeare plays at the Globe as apart of the program and I realized that that is the only way you can even consume Shakespeare plays! The Globe isn't the actual Globe obviously, but it was constructed in almost the original location, the south bank, and it was built as a replica. It is gorgeous.
The program also allowed us to take a trip to Stratford upon Avon, where Shakespeare was born. This picture is a picture of a little tunnel constructed out of leaves and twigs - it was soooo tiny! But my room mate and I ducked down and went through it!
Regents Park, which is quite a tube ride away from central London, is beautiful and has the London Zoo in it. It is worth the trip and was a lovely day trip!
I honestly had the most amazing experience in London and I want nothing more than to move back, really! Traveling and being away from everything you know is such a learning experience not only concerning different cultures and ways of life - but also with yourself. To be on my own was so liberating even though at times I hated it, I learned that I can be on my own even in a different country.
If you have any questions about this post, my trip, other posts or life in general please feel free to message me via my tumblr or even my email ♥
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