Mind the gap.

I know this is long but I promised you it's a really good entry and for those of you with mid-terms coming up, I know you're looking for something to procrastinate with.

My trip to London was beyond unbelievable. I had one of the best times of my life in that city. You should all go visit if you have an ample opportunity.

My journey started out very early, 5:30am to be precise, on Friday morning. The train that I had planned on taking had been cancelled so I was scurrying around trying to get on the right one. After four different trains, I finally ended up in Pisa. Ironically enough, my random Roger Williams roommates from Oktoberfest were on the same plane to Stansted. My flight to Stansted was great and the bus from Stansted to London Centre was quick and painless.

My first stop was to see Carolyn and Rachel! I had my first ride on the tube from Baker Street to go see them. The tube is SO CLEAN, ORGANIZED, AND USER FRIENDLY! I couldn't believe it. It's incredibly efficient and economical if you have an Oyster Card. An Oyster Card is essentially a frequent traveler thing. At any rate, I ran across the street to see them but forgot that you have to look the opposite way in London and nearly gave the two of them a heart attack. It was funny. I can't even begin to describe how awesome it felt to be back with them. I hung out with Carolyn for a while and then headed over to Megan, Kaitlin, Ari, Dana, Bettina, Sam, and Harris's flat.

When I got off the tube my phone wasn't working. I just began to walk and then I looked across the street and there was a yellow North Face that I recognized in an instant. It was Hillary and Sierra! They were staying at the flat that I was going to visit so we walked back together. On the way we encountered Megan. I ran up behind her and scared her halfway to China. Awesome.

When we got back to the flat they made me tell them all about Florence and everything. It was fantastic to see them. Everything was back to normal - resumed right from where we all left off. I missed my friends so much. I was there for a while just hanging out and then I left to go to Megan Ranquist's to see her Molly and Becky. It was so great to catch up with them too!! Their flat has a remarkable view of the city because it's a pent house. I was there for about an hour and then headed back to have Chinese with Mickey, Stephanie, Jessie, and Jill. From there I went to go to Erin's flat where I was staying the night.

She jumped on me when she saw me. It was so funny. I got to see Alex which was cool too.We caught up for a good part of the night and then I needed to go to bed because I was exhausted. We slept in on Saturday morning because we were both exhausted. We went next door to see Kelsey, Julia, and Sam and talked to them for a bit. Next, we mapped out a route to get to Clifford Street to meet up with my dad's friend Scott Burns.

Mr. Burns had offered to take myself and a friend out for lunch since he lives and works in London. The office that he works in is a hybrid of a new building and an old one which was really cool to see! He took us through an arcade that was built for the wife of a duke, I believe, so that she and her friends could shop safely. The things for sale in there were insane. There was leather, tons of jewelry, and a lot of other fancy things.

We had reservations at this restaurant called the Fountain Restaurant inside a building called Fortnum & Mason. It was SO GOOD! Mr. Burns and I got a cup of Onion Soup with a Haddock Omelette which may sound strange, but it was marvelous. Erin got a salad and salmon which was apparently very delicious as well. For dessert we got a Treacle Tart and Sticky Pudding - two English classics. Everything was beyond delectable. It was really quite nice to be able to meet up with one of my dad's friends. We talked alot about my dad and had a lot of other stimulating conversations about the difference between London and the States, taxi things, food, college life, and an assortment of other things. It was an incredible dining experience to say the least.

From there, Erin and I took off for Buckingham Palace, St. James Palace, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, and Parliament. To get there we took a double decker! So much fun! There's nothing special about them at all except they are the things on all of the postcards :) The Thames is cool to look up and down because it's so big! So, I took all of the typical touristy pictures and even one in a red phone booth! Bahaha.

On the way back we went through Victoria Station and I bought a Starbuck's - sorry, had to. I wanted to go to the Sherlock Holmes Museum but Erin didn't so I ventured to 221B Baker Street on my own. So. Worth. It. I can't believe how much of a dork I am. I loved every second of being in this complete fantasy world of Holmes and Watson. The house was recreated just as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle had described it. There were wax figures of characters from the stories and all of Holmes's old "belongings" and "letters". I had a blast. I even took a picture in his chair with the pipe and hat!

I headed back to shower at Erin's and then her and I went to go get dinner at the Duke of York where apparently the kids in her flat are regulars. I got Fish&Chips and a cider. Classic. We had some awesome conversation over dinner for sure.

I went out to meet up with Ari. Him and I were going to go to a club then meet up with everyone else for Becca's birthday at Megan, Molly, and Becky's flat. We had such an awesome time together! I really missed him! Anyway, the party was a lot of fun as well. After that, a group of 10 of us went to Piccadilly Circus to go to another club called On Anon. There were an exorbitant amount of people there. It was rather insane. We stayed for our money's worth and then headed out. I decided to just crash at Ari's because I wasn't sure exactly how to get back to Erin's and the tube was closed.

I got up early in the morning and then headed back to Erin's. Her and I figured out a plan and then I went to go hang out with Rachel for a while. I missed her and our conversations. We just sat and talked for a good two hours. I gave Mickey her 21st Birthday cards!! (HAPPY BIRTHDAY BUDDY!) Unfortunately, I had to leave London so I departed for Victoria Station to meet up with Erin for lunch. I got my ticket for the Gatwick Express and headed out to the airport at 3:30.

I arrived at Gatwick at 4 only to discover that I had somehow booked my flight for the day before. Yepp. Genius, right? I triple-checked the information wrong is the worst part. Amidst a lot of craziness and running around, I got myself a ticket to Milan. The only problem with that was that there weren't trains running from Milan to Florence after 8:30pm. I didn't get into Malpensa, which is an hour outside the city center, til 9. I figured I would just stay in the station overnight. It's not too bad, people have done it before. Anyway, while on the plane I asked the people next to me if they knew how to get the center. The woman at the end of my row said I could just follow her down there. I was super grateful for that.

For this part of the story, I'm going to leave out a lot of details for readability purposes. Once I got on the bus with her we began talking about a whole bunch of stuff. Oh, might I add that she was an Italian that spoke English :) At any rate, we are almost to the center when she turns to me and says that she doesn't feel comfortable with me staying in the station and that I could stay with her but her house was too small. Therefore, her boyfriend, Fabio, was on his way to pick us up at the station and they were going to find me a hotel for the night and pay for it. I was in shock. I didn't know what to do. I was beside myself. They were beyond kind to me and I don't know how to thank them, still.

So I spent the night in Milan and caught the 6:30 train to Santa Maria Novella. We arrived at 8:39 and I was in class at 9:01. Nothing can describe this weekend - especially the end. Nothing.

I absolutely love London, my friends, and the fact that I now know that there are good people in this world here and there.

Thank you to my friends in London who were so hospitable, Mr. Burns, my parents, and Isabella and Fabio, for making this weekend one of the best in my life.

Now for mid-terms...