A Week of Lasts

I have no idea how it made it to this time already but here it is none the less: my last week in London.  Where has this semester gone?!? As I knew it would, it has flown past faster than any semester before.  Faced with only a limited amount of time, my friends and I wanted to make this last week count and set off into the city to relive some of the highlights of the semester and to visit those last few locations on our lists.

On Monday, I finished up writing and submitting my two final papers.  Because of the nice weather, Catherine and I took a walk through Hyde Park.  Brimming with blooming flowers and people lounging on the grassy fields, it was a very nice walk.  I headed onwards to Harrod's to purchase a few souvenirs.

To celebrate the conclusion of our class sessions on Tuesday, Miranda, Catherine, and I packed an evening picnic to enjoy in Hyde Park.  Graced with unnaturally warm weather for London in the spring, we picked a spot near the Serpentine Pond and shared homemade pita chips, hummus, carrots, and wine. We stayed until darkness descended and then we made our way back to the Crofton.

Amidst the stress of studying on Wednesday, Miranda and I again visited Hyde Park to pour over our notes.  During the trip, I enjoyed taking some pictures of the gorgeous landscape, coming to life with the heat of the summer.

I am really going to miss Hyde Park.  It has become such a staple of my routine in London that it will be greatly missed when I am back in Minnesota and Boston.  While great, The Commons doesn't stand anything against Hyde Park.

In the afternoon, I met up with Catherine to go to afternoon tea at the Harlequin Restaurant at the Kingsway Hall Hotel.  We were both so excited to have the chance to experience high tea again.  It honestly is one of my favorite traditions of England. So relaxing and enjoyable, it is such a treat!

We arrived at the hotel just on time and were seated in the elegant dining room near the windows.  Before long our pots of English Breakfast Tea and three tier cake tray filled with delicious sandwiches, scones (literally the best I have ever tasted), and pastries arrived.

Following tea, we decided to walk off the food coma by heading back through Covent Garden to Leicester Square.  Along the way, we saw the Royal Opera House and an orchestral quartet playing in Covent Garden. 

On Thursday, I began the feat of packing up some of my things.  It was hard to sort through everything and decide which suitcase to pack each piece of clothing and souvenir in.  While waiting for Brittanee to finish with her exam, Catherine and I headed to Snog for our last Snog-special.

We then met up with Brittanee and continued around our neighborhood to take pictures of the some of the local sites that we all passed by day after day.

Hyde Park Queen's Gates

Gloucester Road

Street off of our block

In the evening, Catherine and I took our last trip to Builder's Arms, one of our favorite pubs located just a few blocks from us. We each had Pimm's Cup which is a delectable drink consisting of sparkling lemonade, Pimm's, fruits galore (usually apples, oranges, lemons, limes), and cucumbers. It is a refreshing drink that perfectly matched the summery feel of the evening.

Builder's Arms

Later, we all got ready to head to the end of the semester party hosted by BU at a bar called Foundation.  Located near Covent Garden, it had a fun environment with a dance floor and lots of sitting space.  We all had a great time and were sad to say goodbye.

On Friday morning, we all woke up and were sad to be facing our final day in London.  To make the most of our final hours, Miranda, Catherine, Brittanee, and I planned out many things that we wanted to see and do.  Our first destination of the day was Abbey Road!

Made famous by the Beatles classic album cover, we had to pay a visit.  After about six trips across the road to take pictures recreating the great Beatles moment with passing cars and crowds of people, we experienced some success.

We also took time to observe the walls covered with messages to the Beatles in front of Abbey Road Studios. It was fun to see what people had written.  Some simply thanked the Beatles for their work and others drew pictures or wrote song lyrics.

Abbey Road Studios

Next, we headed to Westminster to see the big sites one last time.  We saw Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, and Downing Street on our path to Trafalgar Square to visit the giant lions.

All starving from the morning's escapades, we hopped on the bus to head towards St. Paul's Cathedral so that we could walk to Borough Market. Before departing, we took a few pictures on an out-of-service traditional number 9 bus.  These buses have the open air entrance at the back through which passengers could jump on and off.  There are only two routes (the 9 and the 15) still operating today.

After a short walk from St. Paul's, we made it to Borough Market and each picked out lunch from the huge selection of stands. I had the great potatoes and cheese dish that I had on my first trip to the market.  Due to the heat, we were all in the mood for some ice cream to finish off our trip.  We found a stand selling goat's milk ice cream and all gladly purchased a dish. 

Borough Market

Catherine, Brittanee, and I decided to continue to walk along the Thames Path on the north side of the river. Being such a gorgeous day, there was just no better way to take in the city.  We walked along the path basking in the glorious sunshine for quite a while before deciding to hop on the Tube to head home.

We all were in agreement that there would be no more fitting way to end our semester in London than with a trip to Queen's Arms. 

Queen's Arms

As it was what we did our first night in London all together, there was no question in our minds.  Brittanee and I enjoyed our last pint of Blackberry cider while Catherine treated herself to a glass of white wine.  Being that we all would be leaving a place we had grown so fond of the next day, the mood was very bittersweet.

Remembering all of the wonderful times that we had had throughout the last week and semester, we each returned to our rooms to finish packing. I have to say that this final week in London was quite spectacular.  Enjoying all of the sites in the city for the last time and just soaking in the London air like the locals, I loved every minute.