Thanksgiving in London

     Our second long weekend fell over Thanksgiving.  I had Thursday and Friday off of school so I decided to go visit my friend Zoe in London.  I arrived late on Wednesday night.  On Thursday I finally got to sleep in a little bit which was a relaxing way to start my Thanksgiving.  I went and met Zoe at her school and we went to the British Museum.  We saw the Rosetta Stone and wandered through the rest of the museum for about an hour.  The nice thing about London is that most museums are free.

     After the British Museum, we went to the grocery store to pick up some supplies for Thanksgiving.  I had forgotten what a grocery store was like.  We went back to Zoe’s dorm and started cooking our Thanksgiving meal.  We struggled a little bit with the chicken because neither of us really wanted to handle the raw bird but it worked out okay in the end.  The food was so delicious thanks to Zoe’s mom’s recipes.  It was nice to have Thanksgiving with a familiar face but it did feel a little weird not being home for the holiday and made me miss my family and everything.  Luckily, because I was staying with Zoe and not at a hostel I got to skype my parents.  Thanksgiving was a nice, low-key day which made it feel a little bit more normal.

     On Friday we went and met Zoe’s other friend from school who is studying in Prague.  She was also visiting for the weekend.  We got Chipotle for lunch which was so good.  It was a perfect taste of America.  After lunch we went to one of the markets.  The market was so cool and had so many amazing jewelry stands and vintage shops.  We also got mulled wine and apple cider which really hit the spot because it was so cold. 

     After the market we got some traditional fish and chips for dinner.  It was really good but a little different than fish and chips you would find in America.  After dinner, we did the Jack the Ripper tour.  It was really interesting but it was so cold out that there were times when I couldn’t even pay attention because I could think about was how cold I was.

     The next day was our big sightseeing day.  We went to see Parliament, Big Ben and Westminster Abbey.  It was cool to see all these places that you normally see in the movies.  We walked through a really pretty park to Buckingham Palace and got to see the changing of the guard.  I was surprised at what a production it was.  After the palace we stopped for some tea and then went to the national gallery.  We saw some Monet and Van Gogh which I really liked.  After the gallery we rode a double decker bus for awhile.  Then we went to see London Bridge, Tower Bridge and the Tower of London.  We were planning on going inside of the Tower of London but it was really expensive so we just walked around it.  We went to the Tate Modern because it was really close by.  It was pretty interesting and I like modern art but some stuff is just so beyond my realm of knowledge.  For dinner we got some really good burgers.  Afterwards we walked over millennium bridge.  It was cool but so freezing I just wanted to get inside.  It literally felt like skiing weather and I am pretty sure I got wind burn.  Afterwards, we went to Oxford Circus to see the Christmas lights.  They were so amazing and once again kind of made me miss home and made me anxious to get home just in time for the holidays.  We got to go to Top Shop which I was so excited about since there is only one in New York.  After we were too cold to keep going we went to this adorable little cafe.  It was a candy shop in the front, bar/cafe in the back and decorated just like anthropology.  It really felt like Christmas especially with our warm apple cider drinks.  The cafe actually really reminded me of the movie you've got mail for some reason.
     The next day I had to leave for the airport pretty early.  I got some Starbucks on the way (another nice taste of America) and was on my way.  Because it takes so long to get to Paderno I got back pretty late and was super exhausted.  London was fun and a really cool city and I am so excited to go back...even if just for 12 hours.