London

I was still sick when I flew from Dublin to London. I arrived at my hostel and collapsed into the bunk bed. The next day I only had enough energy to go across the street to Wagamama because Kela had recommended it to me. Luckily enough, they sat me off the side, all alone, so I did not have to worry about coughing into anyone’s noodles. I had a huge bowl of pork and noodles and broth. It was heaven sent. I felt a million times better after only one sip of broth. Kela was right. After that, it was back to sleep so I could get up early to meet my mom at Heathrow. While I was waiting for her, I wondered how I would react when I saw her for the first time in about 5 months. I thought I would be pretty normal, but as soon as I saw her in her little red vest, I burst into tears. It had been a long month of travel and travel-related illnesses, but now my mom was there and she would take care of me. She even brought one of her Christmas scones, Cranberry and Tangerine. We spent the day catching up on everything and walking around Windsor, which is only a short bus ride from Heathrow. Windsor was very beautiful, all the streets were lines with twinkling Christmas lights, and the castle looked epic but intimidating in the background.

Because London is an expensive city, we stayed in an airport near Heathrow. It ended up being pretty convenient, as we got coffee and muffins at the airport and ate them on the Tube on the way into town. Our first day in London we went to Leicester Square to buy tickets at the TKTS booth. We got a great deal on Wicked tickets, which I have been wanting to see for years. It was raining quite a bit, so we headed over to the Tower of London to see the crown jewels. They were unbelievable, and even though my brother told me not to get too close to the “family jewels” we rode the people-mover three times to see those stones.

Afterward, we walked across the river into South London, strolled past Shakespeare’s Globe, and popped into the Tate Modern. I wanted to go to an authentic pub, so we went to a charming little place called the Seven Stars. We totally ordered the wrong things on the menu; I was kind of heartbroken. To make up for this, we walked around Oxford Circus and browsed some bookstores.

On New Year’s Eve we went to the British Museum. This was one of my favorite events on our agenda. Seeing the Rosetta Stone in person was something I have always dreamt of since my days at Marymount. It was also special for my mom to see the Easter Island Statue. Her sample lesson for her job interview at Santa Barbara City College was about Easter Island. She got the job, and the rest is history. That night we walked around the Big Ben and watched people gather around the London Eye for the fireworks show.