Euro Trip Part 4: London 2.0

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Day 10: Friday April 14, 2017

The last leg of our Euro Trip began with one more stop to London. We took the train from Paris early on Friday morning… with croissants and baguettes in tow, of course. Once we arrived in London, we decided to go to King’s Cross Station to take pictures at Platform 9 ¾. If you know me, you know that I’m a HUGE Harry Potter fan.


We waited in line for about an hour… Where we were not only the only black people in line, but the only people over 16 with no kids. Awkward. Lol. It wasn’t anything too magical… Compared to Universal Studios in Orlando. If you like Harry Potter and you haven’t been, I strongly suggest you book a trip to Florida. It’s worth it.


Side note: Sameera just knew she was a Ravenclaw but a few hours after we took the pictures, she took a quiz and was actually a Hufflepuff. HA!


After the photos, we took the bus to our AirBNB… Which was extremely far away and on top of that it was freezing cold outside. London’s 50 degrees is a totally different thing than 50 degrees in Florida or Maryland. We arrived at our AirBNB two hours and two buses later. Pooped was an understatement. All that traveling sure does take a lot out of you. This home was my least favorite of all the AirBNBs we stayed in… but also the cheapest. You really do get what you pay for.

That evening, we continued Sameera’s birthday celebration by going to Clapham. It's a nice little area with lots of stores, bars and restaurants. We were starving so we walked up and down the street looking for a restaurant to go to… but being the fatties that we are, we stopped to get gelato first. My friends, when I tell you that this was THE BEST gelato I had the entire trip, I am not lying. I can’t remember what the shop was called but it was AMAZING. I had dulce de leche and chocolate. A-MAZE-ING. After that, we stopped at a restaurant and got burgers and fries… British food was kinda weird so we stuck to something simple. (Yes, Mom, we went all the way to the United Kingdom to eat cheeseburgers). 

After we ate, we began our evening of bar hopping. The first stop was an Irish bar with an older crowd… That didn’t last too long. Next we went to a really crowded bar with younger people. Someone was performing live music and people were singing and dancing. About an hour in, we went to the bathroom and by the time we came back half the people left. Strange. But we stayed and had a nice time socializing. Sameera talked to some guys from Brazil in Spanish… How she managed to find the only other Spanish-speaking people in the whole bar, I'll never know. And I chatted with the only black guy in the place about lack of other black people. LOL.


Day 11: Saturday April 15, 2017


The final day of our Euro Trip began with the longest bus ride of all time to get to Camden Market. We were going to tea that afternoon so we only had a limited time to browse. We trucked through that market with our suitcases rolling over people’s toes left and right. Sorry, not sorry. I bought a bracelet that broke the first day I wore it. Sad face. There were lots of cute knick knacks and shops and places to eat. I’m sure it would’ve been a blast sans suitcases.   


Next, we caught the bus to afternoon tea. This was by far one of my favorite experiences of the whole trip. It was SO FANCY. The food was interesting to say the least and the tea was delicious.


First we ordered a ridiculously expensive bottle of water, and then they brought us the cutest little individual teapots, cubes of sugar, strainers and milk. Next came the tower of goodies. The first level was filled with little chocolates, éclairs, and coconut covered marshmallows. In the middle, there were tea sandwiches: Cucumber and mayonnaise, curry chicken salad with pomegranates, egg salad, and salmon on toast. And finally, at the bottom were the most delicious scones with strawberry jam, berry jam, and clotted cream on the side.


We both tried at least a bite of everything just for the experience… The sandwiches were weird but everything else was pretty good. I love tea and it was so yummy that I ordered another pot. (I know you're thinking it... Of course I had to pee like a racehorse). 



After tea, we caught the coach bus to Stansted airport and boarded our flight back to Madrid. Once we got back to Sameera’s apartment, she took a nap while I repacked all of my things to head back to the US.

It was such an amazing trip… An experience of a lifetime, really. I'm so glad I got to do it all with Sameera. She really is my partner in crime. Thank you all for coming along with me via Snapchat and now through the blog! 

 I can’t wait for the next trip! Stay tuned for my next adventure... I’m actually heading to New York at the end of this week and then to Baltimore where I plan on being a tourist in my own city. It’ll be fun!


P.S. I’m still doing the posts on how I booked my flights, the AirBNBs, and what I packed! Those are coming soon as well! J

 -A.



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