After my summer travels, I could not resist neglecting my travel bug for too long, so I booked a ticket to London for Thanksgiving to visit my cousins Ben and Abigail. I had originally worried about whether I could honestly afford such a trip, but as a wise friend told me, by the time I have a solid enough finances, I will not have the time to travel. So, with that in mind, I booked my ticket.
Serendipitously, my roommate Marcia decided to join me, too, since she had never been to Europe before, and the thought of spending a few days of Thanksgiving break in London appealed to her, too. So, on Monday after she got off work and I got out of class, we flew out of Newark straight to London.
I only got about an hour of sleep, opting instead to watch The Great Gatsby (very well done, I thought, despite being a tad bit long) and Man of Steel (not as good, given how much it jumps back and forth in time story-wise). Being up as we flew toward sunrise has its perks, though.
My last trip to London was rather short but eventful, so I'm hoping to build on those experiences this time. As we circled in on our descent, I snapped a picture, since you can now keep your phones on apparently.
Once we got into the terminal, we took our time grabbing our bags and just getting ready for a full day in the city. We took the tube for an hour out to King's Cross Station, since that's where we'd be meeting my buddy Geoff to go to Cambridge in the evening.
So, after dropping off our bags at the luggage locker, we went to our first stop: Nando's. Since Chris took me to this South African chicken joint (which really doesn't exist in the US outside of Virginia) on my last trip, I'd been craving Nando's since then. I asked the guy at the coffee stand, and he pointed me to one around the corner from King's Cross Station.
The chicken ended up being drier than expected, but the hot sauces (I got the wild herb and garlic peri peri sauces) were delicious as always. Plus, we got Portuguese egg tarts. A bit too sweet but still good.
After lunch, we decided to walk around. We picked up some adapters and exchanged some money. Then we went to the British Library. I had no idea the Magna Carta was there! I had a bit of a nerdy freak out moment when I saw it. My Western Civ soul was quite ecstatic. I wasn't allowed to take pictures, but the free WiFi in the library helped. Plus, the architecture and design is pretty phenomenal.
We still had a few hours before we had to meet Geoff, so we decided to wander through the neighborhood, eventually ending up walking through a quaint little park and then arriving at the British Museum. By this time, my groin injury from playing football two weeks ago started hurting a bit (probably an understatement), so walking became a real chore.
But at least all that walking meant we got to see the Rosetta Stone and Elgin Marbles! I'd seen them on my first trip, so it was less exciting the second time around. But, still inspiring.
After being disappointed by not being able to see the reading room in the British Museum, we used more free WiFi before heading back to the British Library. Marcia had a friend she was going to meet, so I used more free WiFi at the library while trying not to fall asleep. That one hour of sleep really almost caught up to me.
Around 6 pm, we headed over to King's Cross Station to pick up our bags. I am happy to say that I found Platform 9 3/4 after failing in my first trip to London. I swear it wasn't there when I went the first time...I did not get a picture, since we'll be back this weekend with my cousins. But I did snag a picture of the store next to the photo spot.
We then met up with Geoff, whom I had not seen since he bid me farewell for my Fulbright year back in 2010. It was a nice happy reunion. He lives in Cambridge but works in London, so he makes the hour-long commute every day. Riding the train was like riding New Jersey Transit...full of people heading home from work.
Once we arrived in Cambridge, we dropped our stuff off at his place and went to dinner. We got food at a local pub, and it was as you would expect English pub food to be. After food, we grabbed a drink at his old college bar and then went home, since we were all fading fast.
I'm excited that this much needed getaway from school has gotten off to a good start. Tomorrow, we will explore more of Cambridge and then grab dinner with Geoff and his girlfriend Katie. Then back to London on Thursday. More fun stuff to come! Hope I can walk tomorrow...
Serendipitously, my roommate Marcia decided to join me, too, since she had never been to Europe before, and the thought of spending a few days of Thanksgiving break in London appealed to her, too. So, on Monday after she got off work and I got out of class, we flew out of Newark straight to London.
I only got about an hour of sleep, opting instead to watch The Great Gatsby (very well done, I thought, despite being a tad bit long) and Man of Steel (not as good, given how much it jumps back and forth in time story-wise). Being up as we flew toward sunrise has its perks, though.
My last trip to London was rather short but eventful, so I'm hoping to build on those experiences this time. As we circled in on our descent, I snapped a picture, since you can now keep your phones on apparently.
Once we got into the terminal, we took our time grabbing our bags and just getting ready for a full day in the city. We took the tube for an hour out to King's Cross Station, since that's where we'd be meeting my buddy Geoff to go to Cambridge in the evening.
So, after dropping off our bags at the luggage locker, we went to our first stop: Nando's. Since Chris took me to this South African chicken joint (which really doesn't exist in the US outside of Virginia) on my last trip, I'd been craving Nando's since then. I asked the guy at the coffee stand, and he pointed me to one around the corner from King's Cross Station.
The chicken ended up being drier than expected, but the hot sauces (I got the wild herb and garlic peri peri sauces) were delicious as always. Plus, we got Portuguese egg tarts. A bit too sweet but still good.
After lunch, we decided to walk around. We picked up some adapters and exchanged some money. Then we went to the British Library. I had no idea the Magna Carta was there! I had a bit of a nerdy freak out moment when I saw it. My Western Civ soul was quite ecstatic. I wasn't allowed to take pictures, but the free WiFi in the library helped. Plus, the architecture and design is pretty phenomenal.
We still had a few hours before we had to meet Geoff, so we decided to wander through the neighborhood, eventually ending up walking through a quaint little park and then arriving at the British Museum. By this time, my groin injury from playing football two weeks ago started hurting a bit (probably an understatement), so walking became a real chore.
But at least all that walking meant we got to see the Rosetta Stone and Elgin Marbles! I'd seen them on my first trip, so it was less exciting the second time around. But, still inspiring.
After being disappointed by not being able to see the reading room in the British Museum, we used more free WiFi before heading back to the British Library. Marcia had a friend she was going to meet, so I used more free WiFi at the library while trying not to fall asleep. That one hour of sleep really almost caught up to me.
Around 6 pm, we headed over to King's Cross Station to pick up our bags. I am happy to say that I found Platform 9 3/4 after failing in my first trip to London. I swear it wasn't there when I went the first time...I did not get a picture, since we'll be back this weekend with my cousins. But I did snag a picture of the store next to the photo spot.
We then met up with Geoff, whom I had not seen since he bid me farewell for my Fulbright year back in 2010. It was a nice happy reunion. He lives in Cambridge but works in London, so he makes the hour-long commute every day. Riding the train was like riding New Jersey Transit...full of people heading home from work.
Once we arrived in Cambridge, we dropped our stuff off at his place and went to dinner. We got food at a local pub, and it was as you would expect English pub food to be. After food, we grabbed a drink at his old college bar and then went home, since we were all fading fast.
I'm excited that this much needed getaway from school has gotten off to a good start. Tomorrow, we will explore more of Cambridge and then grab dinner with Geoff and his girlfriend Katie. Then back to London on Thursday. More fun stuff to come! Hope I can walk tomorrow...
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