London. Day 45. June 27th, 2014.
While today was everyone else’s last day in London and they were dreading it, I was looking forward to it because I was about to start my week in London all to myself! I was greatly looking forward to being able to do whatever I wanted whenever I wanted, and this Friday was an excellent example of how the following week would go!
I had already done most of my packing, and classes had been cancelled for the day for students to do their last minute packing, so I had the entire day to myself! I slept in a fair amount, did some more packing that morning, and then I met up with my friend Tori from school for the afternoon! She’s studying abroad in London as well with a program that is run by OSU and designed specifically for students with her major. It was her first week here, and she and I had been trying to meet up for a few days now!
I met up with her and a few of her fellow students for lunch in Piccadilly Circus. We walked around the area, went into a great little chocolate shop, and then Tori, Diana, and I went our own way to go see the markets, which had been on my list of things to do and see in London for quite some time.
We went to Covent Garden Market first and saw all its fancy shops! It was a great area that just had a very “feel good” atmosphere. People were playing music in the streets, and there were people in costumes and posing for money like they would do along the Southbank near the London Eye. One guy was dressed up as Yoda, another as Batman, and there were a few others I couldn’t name but were still neat to look at! Covent Garden was a great area, and when we were done walking through the shops there, we crossed the street and went down the other side in search of a colorful little alley way I had read about on a list of best places to see in London called Neal’s Yard.
It was only a short walk from Covent Garden Market, and we found it without trouble! For just being a small alley, Neal’s Yard was definitely worth it! It was just a few random shops, but it was the bright colors of the walls, doors, and windows that just made the area so neat! It was a great opportunity to take some pictures, and it was reminder of how diverse London can be. I love how London can seem to be one type of culture and then it can be another culture entirely on the other side of the street! The diversity in London – in the people, the stores, the buildings, and the architecture, everything about it! – is incredible at times, and Neal’s Yard was one of those times!
After these two things, we made our way to the second market on our list: the Borough Market! Unlike Covent Garden Market, the Borough Market was one that more closely resembled a farmer’s market. The Borough Market had stands with all kinds of foods, cheeses, breads, vegetables, fruits, homemade fruit juices, and stands with full meals. One stand had roasted duck sandwiches; others had stir fry and curry stands, bratwurst and sauerkraut, cheesecakes, fudges. All kinds of things! The Borough Market was just awesome, and it was one of those times when you can’t resist sampling everything there is to have!
By the time we were done going through the markets for the day, it was well past dinner time. I said goodbye to Tori and Diana for the day and headed back to Roehampton, picking up dinner along the way. I wanted to get the rest of my packing done before it got too late!
Back at Roehampton, I did everything I needed to and made sure all my ducks were in a row for the following day. That night my roommates and I sat in the hallway and chatted about our journey, wondering how we would get our overpacked suitcases home, and talking about how much we didn’t want to go. It was strange to think that they were all going home and I would be staying here a while longer! Just listening to them talking about flying the next day made me very happy and very grateful that I still had a week here!
It was very late when we all finally went to bed and said our goodbyes.
2087
ellievsbear
gummygunk
andulkaphoto
discoholicmusic