London, Week 5

This past week was my last week in London, but there was no shortage of things that happened! Monday might be the exception, since I spent most of writing my last assignment for my art class. I did, however, stop at Primark in the morning with a friend for one of the last times (I, like many of us, had gone a few times over our time in London) and got a couple last things. I spent most of the rest of day working on homework but did go to Pizza Express for dinner, which we’ve noticed is quite a staple in the UK (we went for both our Edinburgh farewell and orientation lunch and noticed no shortage of them walking around London).

Tuesday was a bit more of an exciting day, in a few different ways. In the morning, we had the USAC tour of the Houses of Parliament. It was also the one time that I actually got on the wrong train using the tube for my whole time in London, but at least it was only going the wrong way and then I still ended up being a couple minutes early.

The Houses of Parliament was really interesting to see, and our tour guide was super helpful and knowledgeable. It’s crazy to think about how old the place is, especially compared to the US. They even had part of the wall exposed to show the original, almost thousand year old brick there.

The Houses of Parliament

They also had a really interesting sculpture inspired by the scrolls of laws in the archive that changes how many lights are on based on the tide of the Thames. So between the time we entered and the time we left, it had definitely changed.

The aforementioned sculpture

Then, it was a small adventured to get to class, since our tour ran late and then our plans changed but we eventually made it. That night was the last of the West End shows I saw, this time with the two closest friends I made on this trip. We saw Kinky Boots, which was fantastic and I had no idea how much I was going to like it. I really enjoy sort of feel-good stories, and this was definitely one of them.

The stage at the Adelphi Theatre

Wednesday morning I finally went to see the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace with my friends, which was interesting and one of those things you should see in London, but also one I don’t feel too much need to see again, at least, not in such warm weather.

Guards at Buckingham Palace

Then we went to see Platform 9 ¾ at King’s Cross. It was way too long of a wait to stay and take an ‘official’ picture so instead we took some from off to the side.

Platform 9 3/4

Then we went and checked out the Hamley’s toy store on Oxford Street, which is enormous! It was a lot of fun to just walk around and feel like very much like a kid.

Lego sculpture of the Queen in Hamley's

Thursday was my last day in my art class. We ended up visiting a couple different places, both more formal galleries but also one where Banksy’s work is shown. We ended up at the National Portrait Gallery to see the Michael Jackson exhibition there, which was full of work inspired somehow by him. I actually enjoyed it more than I had expected. But between those, we stopped at Sketch to have a bit of a look around. It’s a restaurant where they got input from artists, so it’s very eclectic in feeling. But the bathrooms were arguably the most interesting part. There are a bunch of egg-shaped stalls in this colorful room with nature sounds playing. Needless to say, it’s a one of a kind place.

Sketch's bathroom

Friday was my last full day in London. The big events were our USAC group picture and farewell lunch. My friends and I also took the night to spend time by Leicester Square, going back to M&M World and the Lego Store, where I did end up buying the one thing I had considered before: a little London double decker red bus. I ended up taking those buses fairly often so it felt appropriate.

We also went to really cool gelato place one of my friends had been to some weeks before. They let you pick as many flavors as you want and scoop them on like a rose. And it was delicious!

Gelato from Amorino

Yesterday was more of a travel day than anything. A friend ended up being on the same first flight, which made that ten hours more bearable. We also ended up taking the tube there, since it was by far the cheapest option to get to Heathrow, for the last time. My second flight home was a little delayed but I got home in the end, which was a little bittersweet.

I’ve really enjoyed my time in London, and it was the most amazing place to study art. I even found a few new British artists I really enjoy! It was a place I never quite felt like a tourist, since I was actually living there for just over a month, but that wasn’t a bad thing. I learned to be more confident in going places doing things by myself, and the ease of transport definitely helped that.

I really came to love London, and I have no doubt I will be back.