It has been a while since I’ve blogged, but I figured about now would be good to give a little life update. This past 10 days have been especially lovely in my life since my boyfriend was visiting for his spring break. It was so good to see his face after months of being apart; the visit definitely gave me the dose of home that I needed and motivated me to continue making the most of the rest of my time here.
Since he studied abroad in London during his summer before senior year, he had seen many of the touristy sights already. That meant we had time to relax, spend quality time together, pub hop, and show each other our favorite places in London. He had lots of great suggestions for pubs since he loves beer. Some of my favorite places we went were O’Neil’s, The Princess Louise and Craft Beer Co. each for different reasons. O’Neils is by no means a traditional English pub and mostly American abroad students frequent it, yet the experience of going is sure to be a good time. You have to pay cover after a certain time, but the pub has 3 floors and the top floor (Albert and I’s favorite) has live music. The bands mostly play covers of really angsty and well known music like Mr. Brightside so it’s a pretty fun time to go if you like to dance. The Princess Louise is good for a nice, more traditional pub experience in a central area. The layout of the pub is intimate and cozy. Finally, Craft Beer Co. is a great place to try if you are looking for a more unique experience and like to experiment with out-there beer and cider flavors like honey and mango.
Besides pubs, we visited many quality restaurants for nice dinners and morning brunches. Some of my favorites would be Bill’s for breakfast and restaurants like Sarastro (for upscale Turkish dining with live music), Le Garrick (for delicious French cuisine in an intimate setting), and of course Ippudo for flavorful spicy pork ramen. In between these adventures, we did a lot of walking and wandering. I showed him my favorite parts of Shoreditch for vintage shopping, eating and hanging out, as well as introduced him to Tate Modern, Oblix at the Shard, and Borough Market. He especially loved Borough for oysters and The Shard for its views and drinks. We also did a lot of napping, relaxing, and Gordon Ramsey YouTube video watching while we were together. It was a nice way to break up the middle of my semester and put a smile on my face.
He met some of my good friends I have made while I’ve been here like Maddie, Anushya and Tianni and they all got along well which made me happy. It was especially nice to spend time with Maddie and Allie from my sorority and get afternoon as a group.
On his final night, after a sushi dinner, we went to my friend Nicola’s 21st birthday at her parent’s house in London. There, Albert got to meet my best friend from home since kindergarten: Maddie. It made me feel so happy and lighthearted to be with her; she always makes me feel grounded in who I am. The night was lovely and full of top tier food, champagne, laughter, and friendship. I felt very lucky to have the people I do in my life that day especially.
Below are some photos from the trip! This week it’s back to schoolwork, internship applications, and essay drafting, but I feel refreshed. I have some good friends visiting on the horizon which always gets me excited and I’m in the process of planning some trips that I can’t wait for. I feel very blessed to be where I am and have the chance to explore so much of the world. More later 🙂
The Bucketlister 