London: My First 10 Days

I truly don’t even know where to begin or how to put my feelings and emotions into words. These past 10+ days have been some of the most overwhelming yet amazing days of my life. I’ve seen sights I’ve only dreamed of seeing, I’ve met incredible people from so many different places (even a celeb…kind of), and I’ve done quite a bit of growing up in the short amount of time I’ve been gone.

I want to try and document my journey abroad but I am not quite sure of the best way to do that just yet. With so many raw emotions and new experiences in my first 10 days, I’ve decided I’m going to lay everything out day by day.

05/01/2022

Attempting to fall asleep the night of the 4th was next to impossible. Whether it was the fear of the unknown or the anticipation of the day ahead, there was too much racing through my head to feel even the slightest bit tired. I woke up the morning of the 5th with excitement that soon turned to anxious tears that my mom was left to dry up. That feeling didn’t leave until I said goodbye at the airport.

The next hour or two was a blackout of emotions as our flight canceled less than an hour before boarding, leaving us with less than 24 hours of valid negative test results (which were needed to get into the UK). Luckily for us, there was a United flight that began boarding within minutes of cancelation. After sprinting through terminals to make the next flight out, and redoing my UK passenger locator documentation, I was headed to London.

06/01/2022

The excitement and anticipation running through my body as we landed in London was unmatched.

First impression: Walking on the left side of the platform/riding the left escalator to move foreword is the strangest thing I’ve ever done.

Once we made it through customs and were headed to grab our bags to make our PCR testing appointment on time, we discovered that we made it to London, but our bags did not. Once I thought about it, it made sense. How would they have managed to sort our bags and get them to a new terminal in less than an hour… regardless of logistics, it sucked.

We had a driver pick us up from our testing terminal (which was impossible to find). His sign read, “Missouri School.” The drive to our flat was not only my first few views of London, but my first time with a driver on the right side of a car.

The rest of the day was spent setting up SIM cards, registering Oyster cards and taking naps we weren’t supposed to take (A.K.A. quarantine day 1).

07/01/2022

Friday day was tough for me. It was hard to wake up feeling somewhat at home with none of my things. I spent the day trying to think positively but I was frustrated with the airline and the fact that I couldn’t just run to the store for essentials because I was stuck in quarantine (day 2).

Fast foreword almost an entire day, all of my roommates received their negative test result within seconds of each other, besides me. With all of us anxious to head out and explore, I sent them with my credit card to pick some essentials up for me while I stayed back alone. WITHIN MINUTES of them leaving, I got my results! When I tell you I RAN out the door, I mean I RRAANN out that door.

After the store, we went out to our first quick bite at Tortilla Islington. This was the first time since being in London that I began to feel excited about the semester again. I wouldn’t say that I was regretting my decision before, but I was questioning whether or not I was in over my head.

08/01/2022

Our first day exploring London. With plans to meet Brittany’s aunt for lunch in SoHo, I ran to H&M in the morning to buy something to wear (thanks to my luggage still sitting in O’Hare 2 days later). I walked by myself and didn’t need navigation after only passing it one time the night before (a little victory).

We navigated our first use of public transportation to get us to SoHo via the bus/tube. The tube was something! I’m not going to lie, it was a little scary the first time as I didn’t expect it to travel that fast!

We had some time to spare before lunch so we wondered around aimlessly, admiring the street art/hanging lights in SoHo. We ended up running into Liberty, a high-end/vintage department store. The only way I could explain Liberty would be to compare it to a 9 year old boy walking into a candy store for the first time. I was in awe of the fashion and design work that filled each rack. I could have spent days in there. There was an amazing designer vintage section with the most gorgeous, intricately detailed garments I’ve ever seen. I was only window-shopping of course, but maybe one day I’ll head back and buy a little something for myself.

Lunch was in the coolest hidden location, Kingly Court. A courtyard of picnic table seating surrounded by an array of bars & restaurants towering 3 stories above. We ate at Senor Ceviche Peruvian Restaurant, an upbeat, lively atmosphere with small plate style dishes.

After lunch I rushed back to our flat with Grace because our luggage was finally scheduled to arrive! I was the happiest gal when it came. Finally being able to unpack and shower with all of MY things was the best feeling.

We headed to a pub for dinner and closed down the place (it’s not what you think, it closes at 11…). The bartender recommended a nearby sports bar so we walked over with some girls from the previous pub. They were on holiday from Scotland and were hilarious! They loved out “accents” and said they were so soothing. The sweetest girls and my first “hang-out” with some international friends.

This was the night that London began feeling like home.

09/01/2022

Sunday was our South Bank river walking tour. We took 2 tubes to The City of London and exited the station right in front of Big Ben. What a moment. After taking the typical touristy pictures on Westminster Bridge overlooking the London Eye, we walked south towards Tower Bridge. We walked by quaint cafes and food trucks, a local skate park, Tate Modern, London’s 2nd hand book market, Shakespeare Globe, and then ended at Borough Market.

Borough Market is hands down my favorite place I’ve been yet. The food market featured foods from every culture, ranging from cheeses, fruits/veggies, deserts and breads to full, entre style cuisine. We walked through the market admiring the food and people until we stumbled upon Gastronomica, an Italian spot with fresh cannoli’s and unbelievable toasties.

After filling my stomach with cannoli’s, we grabbed a tea to warm us up for the rest of our walk. We headed towards Tower Bridge and spent time adoring the beauty it offers the city.

We stopped in The Liberty Bounds pub for a quick drink to regroup and sat for over an hour talking, laughing and sharing stories from home. Across the street we could see an old church with beautiful architecture, so we decided to stop in. It ended up being the oldest church in The City of London, All Hallows by the Tower.

Once deciding to head back, we ended up getting lost for over an hour, had a run-in with some not so great locals and attracted a homeless man on the tube. Not great!

Later that night we all met up again in our neighborhood for dinner at The York pub. What I began to realize was how different wait staff is in the UK. Its very short and sweet, but I miss the waiter to customer relationship/small talk.

10/01/2022

Monday was the dreaded start of classes. Our professors went easy on us and the workload seems light, but hours of zoom lecture isn’t ideal when there’s a city to explore right outside my window. Classes were only on zoom this first week due to WIFI issues at our institution, so at least I have a new environment to look foreword to next week!

After class we did exactly what every girl needs a little bit of, RETAIL THERAPY. We hopped on a bus to SoHo and shopped our little booties off at Zara. I think I must’ve tried on 9 or 10 things, but don’t worry there was a “SALE SALE SALE”! I ended up leaving with 2 new dresses that I’m excited to debut here in Europe.

11/01/2022

Tuesday we headed back to The City of London and explored Tate Modern. We spent a little over 2 hours soaking up the different styles of art and breathtaking detail behind each piece. The museum was great, but I’ not sure I could’ve spent any longer in it, I can only enjoy museums for so long. I had a bit of a cold this today, which made wearing a mask with a runny rose quite hard.

We left Tate Modern starved and headed to Marylebone for a nice Italian dinner at Alto by San Carlo. We didn’t want to spend too much money and the pricing on the menu seemed fair so it appeared to be the perfect option. The venue was gorgeous, a rooftop restaurant with views of the city and green vineyard décor with white & red accents. The wine selection was endless but because I’m ballin’ on a budget I chose the most affordable option, which did not disappoint. The waiter then shared with us that Alto recommended 3-4 small plates per person, this was when we realized Alto was not as affordable as we anticipated. We justified it with the fact that we were in London and deserve fine dining to celebrate the start of our program. The cuisine was delicious, 10/10 worth every cent.

The restaurant was above the well-known, high-end department store, Selfridges. We spent the next few hours window-shopping designer garments and dreaming of a future where we can afford them. My type of museum.

12/01/2022

Wednesday began with yet another dreaded zoom class. I want to emphasize that its not the professor or the material that I dread, it’s still the fact that I have to do school when there’s a never-ending city out there for me to explore.

After class we headed to Shoreditch for dinner at Dishoom, an Indian street food restaurant. I can confidently say it will be my last time at Dishoom. Nothing against the cuisine, but even the non-spicy food was spicy and I just do not like spicy. Cute venue and entrance way though! A great option for Indian food lovers.

On our way to a pub we walked past the cutest boutique, Glassworks. We went in for a little peak and I was obsessed with so many of their products! Highly recommend!

We went to Crown and Shuttle pub to meet some more friends for drinks and sat in a quaint, colorful patio. I ordered a nice glass of red and talked about upcoming travel plans, what a life!!

13/01/2022

Guess what we spent Thursday doing?? Shopping in SoHo of course. We spent the day going in and out of stores, trying on outfits and spending way more than we needed to! I found my new favorite store, Mango, which contrary to popular belief is WAY better than Zara. I bought myself a new pair of jeans, a color-blocked sweater and a flowy sundress for Italy.

14/01/2022

By this time I’m feeling pretty confident about my navigational skills in the city. I was wrong. On the way to our institution we got messed up and then split up on the tube. With no connection, I chose a stop to hop off at and of course, it was not the correct stop! I then took a bus 10 minutes to then continue to walk/sprint 15 minutes to make my meeting on time. Needless to say, I was late and flustered.

With our institution already being in Kensington, we made reservations for a tour at Kensington Palace. The estate was gorgeous. The tour was interesting but not exactly my speed. I was anticipating a tour guide but it was all, “do it yourself.” The rooms were beautiful, gold finishes, immaculate decorating, and a royal touch at every look. We took a few photos outside the gardens and admired the landscape before leaving.

Not too far away was The Churchill Arms pub. The interior/exterior were both so uniquely amazing. We stayed for a quick drink then headed home for a night I will NEVER forget.

If you are a family member or someone more than just one of my friends, skip this next section… love you though

Let’s backtrack a few days… my roommates and I decided we wanted to go clubbing and were doing some research on the best clubs in London etc. We decided to follow some promoters from exclusive clubs on Instagram and they later DM’d us. We ended up getting on the guest list for Cirque Le Soir, an exotic, burlesque, circus-themed nightclub. We were SO EXCITED & a little nervous of course.

Fast-forward to Friday, we are dressed up to get messed up! We got into the club a little after 11 and spent the next 3 and a half hours in a fever dream. Everything from ball pits to shirtless grandmas to money machines- your imagination can assume the rest. Later in the night, we went to a different bottle service booth next to Louis Tomlinson (as in Louis from 1D). I wouldn’t say we met him, BUTT we basically met him…

It was one of the most interesting venues I’ve ever been to and probably the most interesting one I’ll ever go to. An experience of a lifetime.

RECAP

My first 10 days here were a whirlwind of emotions and experiences that will truly last me a lifetime. I am struggling with missing home on my downtime but I am having the time of my life here in London. There has been a lot of maturing and growing up done in the past 10 days and I’m sure there’s much more to come, but I am so grateful to have the opportunity to study/work here for a semester.