A "Wicked" Adventure

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Brittney and I traveled to London for our next adventure! There, we stayed with Ben and his sister Alisa. London is a HUGE city! I can't believe how much there is to do. I wasn't able to go everywhere and see everything, however, this is just a reason why I need to go back.

Here are the places we went:


• Nocturne Alley - In Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, Harry and Ron threaten Draco in this very alley. It was much spookier looking in the movie.
• Edith Cavell Memorial Statue - She was a nurse in WWI who assisted some 200 Allied soldiers escape from German-occupied Belgium, arrested and charged for treason, and later shot to death. Back then, her death was used as an example to the people. Today, we honor her bravery!
• National Gallery - We didn't actually enter the gallery, however, the statues and monuments surrounding the building were amazing. There was a giant fountain with crystal clear, light blue water and an angel in the middle of it. At the front of the fountain was a monument standing about four stories high for all to see. There were four statues on pillars, one on each corner. Three of the four are important men to British history, the fourth rotates out every couple of months. This time it was a sculpture of a skeleton of a horse. The horse had a bow tied around its neck which cast the British stock market.
• St. James Palace - This is where the Queen lives. Everyone said it was Buckingham Palace, but they were wrong! While we were there, we were able to watch the changing of the guards. I grew up seeing the men in red coats, tall and fuzzy black hats, all marching perfectly in line, but it was a little weird to see it in person. They marched and played music all to rotate shifts. St. James Park, next to the palace, was filled with fields of green grass as far as the eye could see. There were also many birds that seemed overly confident and friendly.
• Westminster Abbey - Many of the royals have been married here. It was a very busy spot with loads of cars and people commuting to their every day destinations. It's where I saw my first iconic, double decker, red London bus. Next the the Abbey, was a clock tower that played a sweet lullaby each hour as opposed to the typical ding-dong, ding-dong.It took us all by surprise, but was rather comforting to listen to!
• Buckingham Palace - Holy Moly this palace is glamorous. It is everything I imagined and more. There is a statue and fountain in front of the palace that represents the hierarchy of power. On the top is a golden angel whose arms are reaching up to the heavens symbolizing that God is above everyone. Second tier is Queen Victoria and the third tier is well, all of us on the floor.
• Tower of London - We went on a tour with the funniest tour guide. He stayed in character the entire time from his old time British accent to the costume of a a person from a couple centuries ago. He poked fun and included the audience, and even took us in St. James' Cathedral. He told us the story of Kind Henry VIII who had six wives. SIX. The King was very picky when choosing wives and that's partially due to the fact that many never bore him a son and partially due to the fact that he committed adultery. The best way to remember how his wives ended up is the saying: divorced, executed, died. divorced, executed, survived. The last one only survived because King Henry VIII died from bad health. The tower was filled with armor and weapons from past noblemen, knights, and kings. My favorite part of the entire tower was the area that held the Crown Jewels! I have never seen something so sparkly in my life (other than the Eiffel Tower of course). We couldn't stop staring at the diamonds and colorful jewels on each headpiece and crown.
• British Museum – Being Americans, we went straight to the North American exhibit first. There were many Native American artifacts including something that I’ve never seen before. There were preserved monkey and human skulls that were covered in a colorful mosaic. It was both gross and intriguing. Some of the other highlights of the museum were the Rosetta Stone and the Ancient Egyptian exhibition. We learned about the Rosetta Stone in a previous tour. It was originally Greece’s, but somewhere over the years another country conquered it and Britain eventually won it. Over three hundred years of arguing and debates, Britain still owns the stone. It is so much bigger than you would imagine! The front is filled with hieroglyphics. These were the first hieroglyphics the British used to decipher the language of Greece. It’s fascinating how detailed they were back then with such limited tools than we have today.
• St. Paul's Cathedral – Unfortunately, they were charging to enter the Cathedral so we didn’t get to go all the way inside. There was a private prayer room where I was able to light a candle and say a prayer under the amazing colors made by the sunlight shining in the floor to ceiling stain glass window.
• Camden – This was probably my favorite place in London! I loved this city and everything about it. I initially went there to see Amy Winehouse’s memorial. I was not expecting street and streets of markets. The Camden Stable market was more than any other market I’ve ever seen! They had strips of food, retail, art and trinkets. I couldn’t get enough of this place! On my way, I stopped and listened to the band, The King’s Parade. Both the lyrics and voices were really good! At the end of their set I talked to them for a bit and they helped me find Amy’s statue. She is beautiful. I love that the makers of it stayed true to who she was i.e. her beehive hair, the wings of her eyeliner, and the colored flower in her hair. Camden was amazing and I highly suggest those going to England to visit!
• Jack the Ripper Tour – Alisa, Ben, Brittney and I went on a Sandeman’s tour to learn about the serial killer of London! Jack the Ripper killed between three and six women who were all prostitutes. This occurred in the 19^thcentury and to this day, it is still a mystery who the real “Jack the Ripper” was. You’ll have to google his name and read more!
• Wicked the Musical – This right here, THIS was the highlight of the week along with Camden. I’ve seen Wicked before in Chicago, Illinois about seven years ago. I know the songs inside and out, and even sang “I’m Not That Girl” for a college audition. I love Wicked. Seeing in in Europe was very different from America. I could hear the accents in the songs and of course, the dialogue. The story line never gets old either! It was rather wicked to see a play in London.



I ended my London excursion by trying to have a nice Indian cuisine on Brick Lane. We were warned that the restaurant workers would stand outside and persuade us inside. The rumors were facts! One after another, even though each restaurant is literally right next to each other, came up right to our faces to talk to us. After walking around the entire block, a man offered us 20%!o(MISSING)ff the meal and two rounds of drinks. None of us were too hungry but we took the deal. We decided to split a meal and began to drink our wine. The workers began to yell and wave a pen in my face saying we needed to pay for everything because sharing was not part of the deal. Things got crazy! Let’s just end saying, we found out that they didn’t even have their liquor license and we had to scurry out of there at the first chance we got. No worries, readers, we were able to get Indian food closer to home at a nicer and more trustworthy restaurant. I’m trying to spare the details because words to not justify how insane these people were arguing over something so ridiculous! Whenever something crazy like this happens, we can think of it as a memory that is a great laugh for later.




I made many memories in London and five other countries this summer! It has gone by in the perfect amount of time, and I am beginning to cope with the fact that it has come to the end. London, you were historical, sunny, and kind; I will be back one day! That’s a promise!

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