When in London...

Westminster Abbey

Remember when I said our motto on the first day was "our adventure will start tomorrow"? My oh my, were we right. Yesterday was everything I imagined London to be. We started the day having a very 'hostel-like' breakfast. A thin piece of toast and some cornflakes. Hey, what can you expect when it's free? We did a walking tour of London where we met some amazing people from all around the world. Somewhere between Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, and the Houses of Parliament, we made friends with a boy from Australia, a guy from Brazil/France (he liked to bounce back and forth), and two adorable guys from Germany. We ended up spending a lot of time with them, going to the National Gallery and eating fish and chips at a local pub. I definitely felt multilingual as we dabbled in French, Italian, German, Portuguese, Spanish, and English. 

Our new friends: Gabriel, Moritz, Karsten, and Steve

 Our time with them was cut short because we had to jump on the tube back to our hostel to get ready for the night. We saw The Phantom of the Opera in Her Majesty's Theater. It was amazing. That has always been my favorite musical and being able to see it in London was unreal. We were starving after and considering it's London, not Utah, we had so many options to choose from, even though it was 10:30 at night. We ended up at a sushi bar called Yo. We were drawn to it because instead of a traditional set up, all seats were situated around a revolving belt. Food just goes around in circles and you pick the plates you like and are charged for each individual plate. It was adorable and absolutely delicious. As we made our way back to the Underground, the streets were alive with music, lights, and people from all over the world. London has the most amazing feel. 

The London Underground

Today, we had the whole day tomorrow to explore the city. The Underground Tube is amazing. It takes you anywhere you need to go. We spent the day hoping on and off wherever we pleased and exploring more of the city. We ended up in the most unusual places, some definitely better than others, but that's the best thing about it. You never know where you will end up. We went back to some of the places from yesterday to get a better look and went to unknown places. We visited coffee shops, pastry hubs, and a sports bar-type restaurant for dinner. We ate dinner at about 9:30, which is good practice for Spain, considering that will be the norm for the next five weeks. After walking mile after mile, it feels so good to get back to the hostel and kick up our feet in the lounge, surrounded by conversations from all over the world.

 We leave for Madrid bright and early in the morning. It makes me sad to leave London after so little time, but I can't wait to get to Oviedo, unpack my things, and meet my new family.