An American Girl in Avignon

May 3
Wanting to end on a high note didn’t work out exactly as planned. We woke up late and decided to spend a lazy Sunday in the park and browsing all the stores. Deciding that we wanted to be stingy, since we had already spent so much money in London, we decided to walk everywhere today. Bad idea. We were exhausted and getting short with one another by the end of the day. I wish I would have had a pedometer with me, because we literally walked ALL day. We left out hotel in Russell Square and stopped to take pictures in front of the British museum, which we stupidly didn’t read the guide book to find out that it was free. Funny all of the things one would do differently if they could go back in time. I would have loved to spend our Sunday there. We just assumed that it cost an arm and a leg to get in, like everything else in London. I felt like kicking myself at the end of the day when I found out one of the most famous museums in the world, full of Egyptian artifacts (I am a big Mummy fan), was free. Oh well, it’s something to see when I go back to London – when I have more money.
Instead of viewing sights like Cleopatra’s remains and the Rosetta Stone, we spent our day going in and out of stores such as TopShop , Urban Outfitters (the biggest one of these stores I have ever seen = heaven on earth!), and big department stores like Selfridges . We grabbed lunch at a food hall in one of the large department stores and took it to a bench near Hyde Park to sit and enjoy the weather. Little did we know how big Hyde Park actually was. Sure, it looked huge on the map, but it seemed like the size of Texas when one tries to walk the entire thing to see the famous sights such as: the Princess Diana memorial fountain and walk, the Peter Pan statue, the Round Pond, Kensington Palace, and the Prince Albert Memorial. Fatigued, we forgot about seeing the royal gardens and just decided to make our way back to the hostel (which we knew would take hours) and stop to take breaks along the way. Walking, walking, and then walking some more caused us to become more and grumpier by the moment. I would have gladly paid for a metro ticket at this point, no matter what the cost. Thankfully, we made our walk tolerable by taking short breaks in cafes and browsing around in stores. There was this café on nearly every corner of London called “Prêt-A-Manger,” where we stopped for some authentic Earl Grey tea and some snacks. The day become much more enjoyable after some food and rest, and since we had had less than an ideal last day, we decided to make ourselves feel better with a special last dinner in London at an Italian restaurant for pizza and Tiramisu. One of my favorite things because it has my weakness as one of the main ingredients: good, strong, dark Italian espresso. It was really good, but my stomach hurt for the rest of the night and the next morning from the dessert. Kristina wasn’t feeling well either, so we both assumed that something had been wrong with it. Figures. Oh well, it was worth the stomach ache.

Even though we ran into more troubles than expected in London, all in all, it was a great trip, and I don’t regret going. I had a lot of fun, got to see “my homeland,” and had some interesting experiences (can’t tell all in a blog!). If the opportunity comes your way to go to London, take it. The home of rock legends such as the Beatles and royalty, such as the Queen herself, is full of fun things to do…for a price, of course! Be sure to drink some authentic Earl Grey tea when you are there, it is so good!