Londontown -Part Two

Tuesday was another packed day. My friend Sam from my program in Egypt happened to be in London also, so we spent the day together, as Ange and Jess had class. Sam and I met up at the Tate Modern. After that we walked across the Millenium Bridge, past St. Paul’s, and through Hyde Park and Knightsbridge. The day was beautiful, the streets were charming and we were both thoroughly enjoying our time in civilization.
We had a super long lunch at a beautiful restaurant and then continued walking around and found ourselves traveling through Notting Hill, and all over the Kensington area. Eventually we ended up in another part of town around the Old Street tube stop for excellent Thai food.
The fun of just walking around a great city like London is undervalued. I think I was particularly happy because the city is decently clean (VERY clean in contrast to Cairo), and it was a wonderful change to not have people blatantly staring at me.
Wednesday, my last day in London, was a fabulous! Andrea and I got up early and went to St. Paul’s Cathedral. Upon arrival we were given iPod touches that had an interactive tour of the cathedral. It really made all the difference, as we learned SO much about the cathedral (the first cathedral on that spot of land was in the seventh century, and Christopher Wren’s cathedral that stands now is the fourth) and thoroughly enjoyed our time there! It is so incredibly beautiful and rich in history. The iPod even showed us a clip of Charles and Diana’s wedding in the cathedral in 1981, which was poignant given the long awaited engagement of Kate and Prince William (yes yes I got caught up on my British gossip while in London.)
After St. Paul’s, I met our family friend Morgan at a hotel that overlooks Hyde Park for lunch. I enjoyed seeing her, and we even called my dad to say hi! The view was spectacular, and I could see beyond the park all the way to the London Eye!
On my way back to Ange and Jess’s I stopped and picked up half price tickets to Les Mis! Jess had seen the show the last time she was in London, but Ange had never seen it. I was in the show once, and have seen it twice, but I felt that it was a great opportunity to see it again, and I felt like I was revisiting an old friend. The story is so beautiful, and the cast was pretty good! I cried my way through the second act (from “Bring Him Home” onward, if anyone is familiar with the show), and was thrilled that Ange enjoyed it just as much as I did!!!
I had such a wonderful time in London, a part of me wishes I could stay, but the other part is ready to finish my program in Egypt (a little more than three weeks are left). My trip to Europe left me feeling refreshed and ready to tackle the last few hurdles of my semester!