My Exeter Excursion: A day in the life of a tourist!

Hello friends! I realized that I am beginning to feel more at home here because I have very little to write about Exeter itself! My flatmates (and honorary flatmates) have officially become a (very) dysfunctional family, but I love each and every one of them for what they bring to the group. This weekend 13 of us went to London for (Australian) Alex's 20th birthday. It was a great weekend and I was able to experience my first hostel with all of them (IN THE SAME ROOM). I love them all to death, but I could have gone the rest of this trip without knowing who snores and who talks in their sleep. By the end of the trip we were all threatening to lock ourselves in our rooms for a few days, but within five minutes we were all gathered in the kitchen reminiscing over the weekend and cursing whoever left their dirty dishes in the sink...but that's a whole different story!

Although I have already made a trip to London, I don't think I will ever get tired of the city! It's so beautiful and there is so much to do there! I don't think I will ever get tired of seeing Big Ben. It is so intricately designed and I am always left speechless by its magnificence. My highlight of the weekend was definitely getting FRONT ROW tickets to Billy Elliot. Michelle and I went Saturday night and it was AMAZING! I was blown away (literally, there is a scene where Billy is flying and dancing and the special effects of wind and smoke made it almost difficult to breathe there for a little bit) by the talent. I was convinced that I wanted to go to Wicked again, but a couple of my friends from Exeter convinced me that Billy Elliot is a must-see show and I am very grateful that they said that!!!! In order to get the tickets, Michelle and I stood in line at the theater Saturday morning. They only release 10 front row tickets every morning and we were tickets 9 & 10 so we were EXTREMELY lucky. After getting our tickets we went to changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. I didn't see my future husband though (Prince Harry) so it was slightly disappointing. Following that, we split up and quite a few of us went to Portobello Road. It was soooo cool. I could have spent the entire day there. There was awesome food (I bought a to-die-for doughnut...I think everyone was concerned that I would become diabetic this weekend). Antique shops and town houses of every color imaginable (complete with perfect little flower boxes) lined the road. I would love to live on that street someday. It was such a cool atmosphere! Sunday marked a big day for Michelle and I. We started out the day by going on the London Eye. For those of you that don't know, it is a ferris wheel with a view of the skyline of London. It was really cool, but I don't think I would recommend it to someone as a must-do in London. I am happy that we did it though. Following that, we went to the British Library. I really wish my dad could have been there with me. There was a case there dedicated to the Beatles with original Beatles lyrics in the case; I was in awe. We also made the trip to Platform 9 and 3/4 since we were at Kings Cross station. It was a fun little stop in our day before we headed to the British Museum. The British Museum was really cool. We didn't have much time there, so I focused most of my attention on the Egyptian room. It was so interesting, and I think I could have spent an entire day there! However, my camera broke so that put a little damper on the day, but any day that ends in Pizza Hut and a 5 hour bus ride home with friends can't be bad right?!

I made a spur of the moment decision to visit Swansea this weekend, which I am super excited for!!! I love hanging out with Margy and Sarah and I am excited to get some Spring Break plans figured out. Margy's mom sent her cookies which is basically the sole reason I am visiting her, but what she doesn't know won't hurt her ;)

I miss you all! I would love to hear about what is going on in your life as well! Happy Valentine's Day!