Today was such a busy day with us trying to explore as much of London as we can within eight hours. Starting off strong we all went to the Florence Nightingale Museum. It was quite a beautiful gallery and had a lot of new information for me to absorb. Although we missed the school children’s performance, we still managed to have a really nice time there.
Following that group outing, we split up into our usual groups and went about our merry adventures. We snapped some beautiful pictures in front of Big Ben on the street with the London Eye. We were all switching around and taking turns holding each others bags, at one point I felt like a pack mule with the mass of belongings I had piled high on me. We took each others pictures and then started to attempt to take a group selfie when this lovely group of girls came up and offered to take our picture. They were so kind and really showed compassion towards us, so of course we had to return the favor and take a group picture of them. One of the girls was holding the cutest bear ever in her hands and it really inspired Kendall, Amanda and myself to seek out a bear for ourselves. It didn’t take long for us to find the Build-A-Bear Workshop on the strip and we rushed right in. The three of us each made our own bears and gave them the most adorable little sweaters. We carried our bears with pride for the rest of the day.
After that stop, we headed closer towards the parliament building to get a better look and to get more pictures of course. Once we got there we walked around the building as much as we could and then started to make our way towards the Royal Palace. We walked through this beautiful park and stopped at some benches to admire the view. There was this group of bold pigeons who seemed to be really affectionate so I tried to befriend them. It was a close call, but I avoided getting my fingers pecked while trying to get one in my hand. In the wake of that cheerful event, we decided it was time to keep walking.
Shortly we found our way to the Palace and at first was disappointed to see no guards. Once we got closer we realized they were behind the gates and went giddy with happiness. Naturally we took more pictures at the Palace and then felt like it would be a good time to grab some lunch. As a group we decided to go to the original Hard Rock Cafe and enjoy our last London meal. Some of the other members of this trip looked down upon us for eating American food while here, but it was more about the history than the type of food we were eating. It was quite fascinating to see the jackets and guitars of all of the original rock musicians that were on the walls. The food was good and the restaurant was buzzing; personally I would call that a successful lunch.
After lunch we just walked around the city window shopping and enjoying our final day together. It was one that was full of laughter, tears, and a lot of selfies. After a while we found our way to the Novello Theatre to end our trip with the amazing production of Mamma Mia. Those performers were so talented, and watching it really made me realize how much I miss the theater scene. Sadly that will be a story for the future. Thank you for spending your time reading about my day-to-day journeys these past weeks, I have had a blast in England. I am so thankful for everyone involved and all of my new friends I have made a long the way. So long London, until next time.
