Hooked on Craic: London- Defying odds and re-instating my belief in God

This weekend Alisha and I somehow made it to London. Not that we didn’t plan our arrival, we did... but our arrival just didn’t go according to plan. Here’s a rundown of events and what was going through my head before hand, and why it was an utter miracle from God with a few magic charms thrown in from Harry Potter himself to get us there...

Dublin- Thursday Night
9 PM: I’m convinced that I shouldn’t go out. We all know those stories of the people that miss their flights because they’re too drunk/unprepared, so if anything, I mean, I guess I’ll go out for a beer. That’s it though.

9:30 PM: Ok well Megan’s going out, Alisha is definitely going out... I have a bottle of wine, I’ll just stick to that. I can make it home before 2, our flight leaves at 7:45 AM so we can just take a nap and go, or just not sleep at all and sleep on the plane.

10:15 PM: Somehow finished ¾ of my bottle of wine.

11:30 PM: Head out to The Village, a club that is all too similar in wasted youth to the strip in Tallahassee. This isn’t going to end well. I need to drink something stat to make this place and these stumbling people tolerable.

12:45 AM: Mission accomplished, feeling buzzed.

1 AM: Samba dancing with a Brazillian

2:30 AM: Finally home, I think I’ll go to bed.

3 AM: Nevermind, skyping with Haley back in Tallahassee is obviously more important!

4 AM: I’ll take a short nap, put my timer on for an hour so I can get up, throw some stuff in a backpack, and we can leave by 5:30.

6:00 AM: Rolling over in bed, looking at my phone...

FUCK.

My phone was on vibrate. WHY AM I SO FUCKING STUPID? I KNEW THIS WAS GOING TO HAPPEN.

6:00:10 AM: Running out to the living room to find Alisha passed out awkwardly on the couch

“ALISHA. GET UP. WE HAVE TO GO TO THE AIRPORT RIGHT NOW.”

“What time is it?”

“6:00, let’s go.”

“Wait did we already miss it?”
Shit, I think she’s still drunk.

“No, get up! I’m going to call a cab.”

6:05 AM: My backpack is packed with random things I found lying around and whatever I didn’t take out from Galway. Hope this works.

6:25 AM: Cab arrives

6:50 AM: Arrive at Dublin Airport. Gate closes at 7:10. We’ll make it. Whew.

6:55 AM: Enter line for security. It's longer than it would be if every teenage girl ever decided to meet Justin Bieber. Shit.

7:05 AM: Alisha keeps saying we’re not gonna make it. I start to believe her/want to cry/punch her for being negative because deep down I couldn't accept missing a flight to a city I've been wanting to see since... well, since I first heard British accents.

7:08 AM: A polite British guy around our age comes out of nowhere asking if he can cut us in line. We tell him we’re late too, figure out we’re actually on the same flight, and the three of us cut everyone to the front. Angels do exist!

7:09 AM: Body search. Thanks metal bracelet for giving me even more unwanted attention.

7:10 AM: The earliest I have ever sprinted since high school track practice. I can’t breathe; I have a backpack swinging, clunky boots, and haven’t had water since lunch time yesterday. This is what death feels like. We’re not gonna make it.

7:15 AM: We arrive at the gate and there’s still a long line of people going through the gate to board-- and we’re not the last ones in line.

7:25AM: We board the plane as casually as everyone else who probably arrived at the airport the minute we woke up.

We made it... we fucking made it.

***

As we landed in London an hour later, you can imagine how exhausted we were. Thankfully, there was a Costa Coffee just waiting for us with beautiful soy lattes and paninis. To add onto our exhaustion, we realized very quickly to the painful reality that is the British Pound.

£60, should be enough right? Not much more than the euro, which is only a little higher than the dollar... So if I convert it, that’s like... ohshit... $97?! I wonder if I can find Ramen noodles here.

That being said, we were frugal and decided to see London the cheapest way possible—just seeing it. We simply took our time and traveling talent to the streets and saw the good, the bad, the beautiful, the weird, and the people that make London London. That night we took it easy, walked down to the Eye, Big Ben and Parliament, had another culture shock by getting margaritas at a Latino restaurant near our hostel in the sketchy area of Elephant and Castle where we were (once again for me) patted down before entering a restaurant bursting with salsa music and murmurs in Spanish. I felt like I was right back in Miami, while Alisha wasn't quite sure how to feel about the culture inception. After using some basic spanglish and waiting forever, we got our margaritas. And don't let the size fool you, that little thing did us dirty. Rewarding at least, it was a refreshing end to the day.


The best things come in small packages

The next day after a good sleep, we were off on our adventures. We passed through Westminster, Soho, and even got to meet up with my friend and sorority sister, Rima, who has been living in London for the past few months. We had some coffee and sweets, and she outlined all of the places we could visit that would be fun and interesting on our dingy map from the hostel.

Westminster Abbey

Tralfagar Square... Lions galore.

Rima and I after catching up in Soho!

Once again, standard Ivy pic.

I’m not going to lie, London was definitely overwhelming. The city is massive, the people are much more diverse than they are in Dublin, and the lifestyle pace is much faster. But I think we made the best decision by just taking in the sights, smells, sounds, and food for the two days we were there. Even people who have lived there for years haven’t seen all it has to offer. I can't wait to go back some day (and spend much more time there) because it really has a lot to it, and it boggles my mind to think that no two experiences in a city of this size, depth, and diversity are exactly alike. Two days definitely weren't enough, but I'm satisfied knowing that I have an urge to come back after a weekend of just sensing the little things that make London so incredible!