My last week in London

As I’m sure all of you know, COVID-19 has become a worldwide pandemic. Because of this, my study abroad program was cancelled and I had to come home halfway through my semester abroad. I will be discussing this transition in upcoming posts, but this post will be devoted to everything I squeezed into my last week in London. This will also likely be the last post with pictures in it as I doubt anyone wants to see pictures of me sitting at home working on homework!

On Monday, March 9th, I saw Book of Mormon at the Prince of Wales theatre with my friend Sara. This was one of the best musicals I have ever seen. It was absolutely hilarious, I don’t think I ever stopped laughing. I have a close friend who is Mormon so it was funny to see this play juxtaposed with his beliefs and what he has told me about Mormons.

On Tuesday, March 10th, some friends and I ventured to Camden Town to try out some new pubs we had never been to. (and of course, get Camden Burger too) Walking around Camden Town is a lot of fun since there is so much culture and art there. Camden Town might be my favorite place in London, I can’t wait to go back someday.

A blurry picture of Camden Lock at night.

On Thursday, March 12th, my friends and I went to Sky Garden, a bar and restaurant on the 35th floor of a skyscraper. The views from the Sky Garden are incredible. You can look up and down the River Thames for miles and see many of London’s most notable buildings, such as the Shard, the Gherkin, and even Buckingham Palace. In addition to the amazing views, the Sky Garden also had beautiful gardens on either side of the bar; it felt like a jungle in the sky.

The view from Sky Garden. (feat. Tower Bridge)

On Friday, March 13th, my friends and I decided to go to the infamous Harrods since none of us had been yet. If you aren’t familiar with Harrods, it is a massive department store that London is known for. We were there for a few hours but easily could have spent days perusing the 7 floors of shopping that Harrods had to offer. While at Harrods I decided to do some shopping in the handbag section, since I had no immediate use for my travel money. I ended up buying a Givenchy purse I had been eyeing for a few years. Her name is Glenn.

This was me smiling before I checked my credit card statement.

On Saturday, March 14th, my friends and I went to Abbey Rd. once of the many things we still hadn’t checked off of our London bucket-list. We got to walk the crosswalk and see Abbey Rd. Studios. While walking to Abbey Rd. we stumbled across Church St. Market, a vintage and antique market. Walking around antique markets/stores is one of my favorite things to do in a big city. I ended up finding these cool cigarette cards with hand embroidered silk flowers. The tobacco used in the cigarettes was from Virginia, so it was a really cool souvenir to find.

My friends Haley, Caroline, and I walking across the Abbey Rd. crosswalk.

The cigarette cards I purchased from the antique store at Church St. Market.

Sunday, March 15th was my last day in London. I spent my last day wandering around the Natural History Museum. It was one of the coolest museums I have ever been to and I was glad to be able to see it before I had to come home. After the museum, my friend and I grabbed a final Sunday roast at the Pickled Hen, a cute restaurant near Kensington with delicious food. We walked under the Marble Arch and saw an elephant art installation. On our way back to our flat we stopped at the British Museum. We got to see lots of Egyptian artifacts and the Rosetta Stone. It was a great last day in London.