The Italians Are Coming!

So, I have a lot to catch up on from the past week and I'm not even sure where to begin. Where did I leave off from last time? Oh yes, I had just gotten back from Prague. (I still can't get over how much I loved that trip.) Anyway, I didn't have much down time after Prague because the very next day my best friends from school who are studying abroad in Italy came to visit! I was so beyond excited to see them. I knew I had missed them and being at school with them a lot, but I don't think I realized just how much until I saw them at the bus station and Jacqui literally almost knocked me over with a hug.

It was surreal to be walking through the streets of London and taking the Tube with some of my best friends from home, but it made me so happy to be able to see them again. They got in late afternoon on Monday from a bus they had taken from Paris (it was their fall break so they were traveling to Paris, London, and Prague all week) so we went back to my flat to get them settled in. As everyone was tired, we cooked dinner in our kitchen and spent the next four hours or so catching up on everything we had missed in between the last time we had seen each other. Even though we are only an hour difference from each other, we are all so busy we haven't really had a chance to talk much and it was great to hear all of their stories from Italy.

The next day I unfortunately had class, so I headed off to the University while they spent the day sight-seeing. However, it ended up working out rather well as they got to see all the touristy things I had already seen in London while I got some work done on my first essay. Then, later in the day, we all met back up at my flat so that we could--get this--climb the O2 Arena. As in the one where the Olympics were held. I didn't even know that you could do that, but one of my friends had done it a couple weeks ago and said it was amazing. So seven of us, me, Jacqui, Brittany, Colleen, and Kayla along with Lisa and her friend Katie headed over to the arena just before 5 o'clock. Because it was the week before Halloween, our climb was themed "Climb of the Cursed," which apparently isn't much different from the regular climb other than the fact they have some Halloween-like props, but that's besides the point.

Top left to right: Katie, Me, Brittany, Lisa
Colleen, Kayla, Jacqui

Once we got there we went into a room to watch a "news video" about a mountain-climbing team that mysteriously disappeared on a trip and was never heard from again. Then, we went to get suited up in these ridiculous jump-suits which don't do much except add to the experience, as well as put on our harnesses and get briefed about the climb before walking up some stairs to the bottom of the dome. From there, we were connected by our harness to a wire that runs up the side of the Arena and in a single-file line we began the trek up O2. If you look in the group picture to the right, you can see the track we followed in the background directly behind us, which is actually really deceiving as it doesn't look steep or long when in reality it is. Let me just say your calf muscles get a work out, but it was totally worth it.

Sunset from atop the O2

One you got to the platform at the top, you get this fantastic panoramic view of London. Not to mention we climbed as the sun was setting, so the view was even more amazing. It was such a fun and different experience and being able to do it with my best friends was just awesome. We took a bunch of pictures at the peak before climbing down the other side, which was just as steep and possibly harder than going up, where a big banner congratulated us on conquering O2 (and yes, conquer it we did).

After the Climb

Afterwards, we walked through the outer layer of the Arena where all the restaurants are, and I was surprised by what a cool place it was, much different from any other concert venue I've been too. We decided to grab dinner at The Slug and Lettuce, a pub recommended to me by Aunt Re and Shells and shout-out to you both for a great recommendation because the food and dessert was fantastic! Everyone loved their dinner, especially the Italian girls who all got to try traditional English food.

Me in the ridiculous jump-suit

The next day, I got stuck writing my paper again while Colleen and Kayla went sight-seeing and Jacqui and Brittany got to go on the Harry Potter Studio Tour (something I am definitely doing before returning home). However, we met up afterwards at King's Cross Station to take pictures at the Platform 9 & 3/4 that is constructed there which was a lot of fun. From there, Jacqui, Brittany, and I went to Hyde Park to walk around for a little while. We met up with Colleen, Maddie, and Kayla there as well and hung out by the boat pond again. Jacqui said that there isn't a lot of parks or green areas in general in Florence so Hyde Park was a nice change for them.

Hyde Park with Jacqui and Brittany

Afterwards, Jacqui, Brittany, and I parted ways with the others for a bit so we could go see Harrods, London's famously massive department store. And jeez was it huge!! This place was enormous and we barely saw any of it. Obviously, the first place we went was the chocolate department where the three of us scored a free truffle each from a nice man behind one of the counters. I got a salted caramel truffle and it was so good I ended up actually buying a second one. After ogling over all the different varieties of chocolate, we wandered through some of the other departments, and tried our best to stop our jaws from dropping at some of the prices of clothing. Let's just say the only thing I could afford was the piece of chocolate. And that I touched an $11,000 dress without even realizing it. Yes, it was cool, but I don't think I'll ever go there for a casual day of shopping. 

Once we were done, the three of us went to Piccadilly Circus to meet up with the others again for dinner. We went to a place called Garfunkel's so we could all try Fish and Chips. Up to this point, I actually hadn't tried Fish and Chips because I'm not the biggest fan of fish, but I sucked it up and tried it and found to my delight that I actually really liked it. I ate the whole thing, with tartar sauce, and even didn't mind the traditional side of mushy peas (Mom and Dad aren't you proud of me?). It's definitely something I would get again. (Who knew I'd take to English food so well?). Afterwards, we went to a pub a little ways away to hang out with some of our friends from our program. There was a band there playing live music which was  great because they played some really good songs, and it was a great last night with all our friends before they had to head off to Prague for the rest of their trip. The three days we all got to spend together were so much fun and went by so quickly no one wanted to say good-bye, but luckily Maddie and I will be seeing them again in Florence in just two weeks!

(Side-note: As some of you might know, I went to Ireland this weekend, but I am going to save that blog for tomorrow as this one is already quite long and it's late here in the UK. But be sure to check back as I will definitely update about Dublin! Also, for anyone who is interested in reading my other blog for my creative writing class here is the link: http://creativewritinglondon.blogspot.co.uk/  )