London is seriously unlike any other city I had ever been to before. Some of my fondest memories came from my week trip to London, and the trouble of having to add extra USA passport pages, getting special electrical plugs and exchanging currency seemed so small once I arrived. London is unmatched in its unique quality, and getting to experience that first hand was life changing.
A lot of people don’t travel because of all the preparation that it involves. When I was waiting to get additional passport pages, my mom and I were talking about all the things that I still needed to do. I wasn’t worried. My mom said she dreaded traveling for that very reason. Don’t let the preparation of traveling keep you from going on the vacation of your dreams. I didn’t let it stop me, and now I have what seems like a lifetime of amazing memories.
London is the epitome of the artistic world. Aside from the beautiful museums, monstrous statues, and breathtaking buildings, even the street art is amazing. Even though walking through London itself is like walking through a living museum, the museums of London are something you do not want to miss. If you have a love for art as I do, a whole week could be spent just exploring the various museums that populate the city of London. The Victoria and Albert Museum, or just simply the V and A Museum, holds pieces that span every facet of art: from ancient artifacts to fashion. Rooms filled to the brim with authentic historical pieces really put existence into perspective; it’s easy to feel pretty small when standing in the midst of artifacts hundreds or thousands of years old.
I then got to explore the Tate Modern Museum, which was a pretty sharp contrast to the Victoria and Albert Museum. I generally wasn’t very impressed by my earlier experiences with modern art, but the Tate changed that. Just walking into the huge building was a pretty neat experience. I spent hours and hours both looking at and interacting with the art, some of which held very powerful messages. I left feeling pretty empowered.
My absolute most memorable experience of the trip was getting to go to Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. I have an obsessive love for William Shakespeare and his work, and getting to see them performed in their element was just amazing. Since I had successfully raided the gift shop, I was a little low on money, so I opted to see the play as a “groundling.” The play was breathtaking, and although my feet hurt a little, getting to stand at the foot of the stage was incredible.
Please don’t let the preparation required for traveling stop you from experiencing your dream vacation. Whether you need a new American passport or to add pages to passport, need to hire a dog-sitter, or just book a plane ticket, make some solid plans and get yourself there. You aren’t being called to go there for no reason, so don’t ignore it. Pack your bags and grab your friends or family, and get ready to have an amazing vacation.
