A look back at Europe - London day 1

Over my spring break, I had the opportunity to experience London and Paris with my high school. 45 kids in both Grade 11 and 12 at my high school got the chance to travel to Europe through EF Trips. I saved up my money for about a year because I knew it would be hands-down the most expensive thing I would ever do.

We left on a Thursday night. We all finished school and then headed to the airport at about 6pm. We all met up and said goodbye to our families before going through security and all that jazz. We grabbed a bit of dinner before boarding the plane. Thankfully, we got an 8 hour direct flight to London. Unlike back home, London was welcoming and sunny. We left out bags in our hotel in Brentford. I slowly grew on the little area we resided in.

We the general train from Brentford to Westminster Abbey, catching a glimpse of Big Ben and the Parliament along the way. This was the first time I've ever been in a crowd so big and so full of tourist. It wasn't until we got into the Abbey where I saw local kids my age coming out of school. 

We couldn't get any pictures inside, but the church was absolutely gorgeous. This was my first time inside of an old European-style cathedral and I was blown away. It gave me a taste of what architecture I was going to see around London.

We then took a tour of the Churchill War Rooms before spending some time in the park across from it until dinner. I'm not sure what the name of the park was, but it was lovely. I personally wanted to just stay there and explore and wander about. But, obviously, there wasn't going to be any time to stroll about every pretty little park.

After dinner, we took a bus to a bridge where we could see city lights in the distance on one side and the London Eye lite up on the other. If anyone knows me well, they know that nothing in the world makes my heart swell up and drop to the ground like city lights and night do. I really don't think I can put into words as to why, but the feeling I get is one that not only never changes, but always manages to hit me with butterflies.

We then checked into the Premier Inn, one of the most coziest and welcoming hotels I have stayed in. I roomed with three other girls. One of them was a friend of mine, per-say, and the other two were friends that I had never met before who were in my grade. There were the nicest and most considerate roommates. I couldn't have asked for any other two girls to share a room with. Though they were involved in a different group of friends than I was, they were two of the sweetest girls on the trip.

You can find my favourite photos on my tumblr here