Spring Break: London

I apologize for my gap in blogging, I was out enjoying my two weeks of spring break (which I will get to in a moment) and then trying to get back into the school grind with lots of reading to do. St Andrews really does it right, two weeks of spring break. Plenty of time to go out and unwind from the term and extra days to recover from all of it. 

My spring break started last on March 15, when I took a 7am train out of Leuchars to start my trip down to London. I arrived in London in early afternoon and met up with my friend Taylor who is in her second semester abroad from UC Santa Barbara at Kings College London. She lives in the cutest little area of London, Hampstead. 

The view from Taylor's room in Hampstead

My parents also flew into London. It was their first time in the United Kingdom. They rented the coolest flat in the West End. We made sure to take in as many sights as possible and the weather in London was absolutely wonderful. We had a leisurely Sunday, as my parents were trying to adjust to the time change. But we had a nice walk seeing Buckingham Palace (the flag was up, so the Queen was in), 10 Downing Street, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, and the London Eye.

Outside Buckingham Palace

Mom and Dad enjoying the nice weather in Westminster 

I spy: the London Eye

Taylor play tour guide for us. She's become quite the Londoner.

The London Eye

On Monday we went to the Victoria and Albert Museum and saw a wide range of art from Japanese Samurai armor to Medieval British Art. We spent hours just trying to take it all in.

Art installation in the entrance of the Victoria and Albert Museum

On Tuesday we got an earlier start on the day and were able to see St Paul's Cathedral, where Diana married Prince Charles, and the Tower of London. Unfortunately, St Paul's doesn't allow photography inside, but Dad and I clamored up some 700 steps to the top of the dome and got some pictures. Luckily, at the top of the stairs, they have a well placed defibrillator. The Cathedral is absolutely massive and beautiful, I would recommend a visit the next time you find yourself in London.

At the top of St Paul's Cathedral

The facade of St Paul's

Next, we rushed over to make it to the Tower of London before it closed. We admired the Crown Jewels and enjoyed seeing the the suits of armor that belonged to Henry VIII as he began to expand.

The Tower of London

Continuing our great tour of castles and palaces, we went to Kensington Palace on Wednesday. Unfortunately, we didn't see Harry, William, Kate or little Prince George, but we saw a very nice display of keepsakes belonging to Queen Victoria and even a fashion exhibit with dresses that belonged to Princess Margaret and Diana, Princess of Wales. We took in the sun in the gardens on our  final day in London.

Kensington Palace

The gardens outside Kensington Palace

On our last night, we went to see a West End show. It was my second time seeing Once, which I saw last summer on Broadway, but we all enjoyed it the same. It's based off a 2007 Irish film of the same name, and the music is more folk based. They even invite the audience up on stage for drinks before the show and during intermission!

The next morning we packed up and headed for Scotland!