After being in Dublin and London with family for about a week, I was very excited for the trip to officially start. When I arrived in London, my great aunt and uncle took me to “The Shakespeare” where I tried my first cup of English breakfast tea; I surprisingly really liked it. I also got my first taste of London’s beautiful architecture as we zigzagged through the city in a taxi. We went to London Public Square and the Covent Garden area, where I saw a ridiculous street performer and the most intricately carved buildings. We ended the night with a trip to The Crowne, an apparently iconic Irish pub on the outskirts of London. The building itself was adorned in all gold and was beautiful, and the Irish atmosphere in the bar reminded me of Dublin. The next day, Charlie and I finally joined the rest of the group, and we were quickly shown the Tube, Big Ben, Churchill’s statue, and Westminster Abbey. Westminster Abbey was so beautiful, and I WISH I could have taken pictures to show my mom, because she would have loved it. I especially liked the gold leaf painting and stained glass, because it was so meticulously and perfectly completed. Morgan ended up knowing almost all of the history behind each room, and listening to her explain why or how something was completed was extremely interesting.
We also visited the Churchill War Rooms, which were much larger than I had anticipated. I gave my site report at the bunker, and after doing research, had assumed that the bunker had little more than a sleeping room, map room, and telephone room. As I walked through the bunker, it finally struck me how much of the strategizing and tactical planning for World War II took place within its walls. After the war rooms, a few of us went to an absolutely gorgeous restaurant right on the Thames under a gazebo with lavender cascading from its roof and a view of Tower Bridge in the distance. We also took a group trip to Bletchley Park, which I didn’t know very much about. I was shocked that a central intelligence operative of that size and success was able to go completely undetected by the Nazis, but am glad the mansion and grounds were not destroyed by the enemy because walking through them was so much fun! To end the London portion of our trip, we went to the Imperial War Museum and I ventured out to Camden Market. I liked the portion of the museum dedicated to the home-front the best, probably because the women’s role in the war had not been emphasized at all of the other museums we visited. Camden Market was also a highlight of my trip because I loved the busy atmosphere, original items by each of the vendors, and overall energy of all the people walking around me.
From the moment I stepped into Covent Square, I felt at home in London. The city felt very warm and inviting, and the locals were very helpful when giving directions, restaurant recommendations, and advice. The pace of the city was a nice change from that of the U.S., but was still quick enough that I was always engaged and learning something new. Not very many cities are able to seamlessly combine centuries of old architecture and tradition, while still managing to be modern, easy to navigate, and charming, but London did a brilliant job.
