My deepest apologies for going MIA on this blog…I had predicted in an earlier post that this might happen– and you have to give me credit for having such acute self-awareness. Between schoolwork, traveling, and internship applications it has been difficult to sit back and reflect on what I have done– I feel as though I am on a conveyor belt, constantly moving forward. Which must be how I have unknowingly made it through more than half of my semester already!

Back to my visit to the UK and the sorority sister studying in London. I had quite the early start to my day, getting up at 3:45 to catch a bus to the airport from Madrid (after staying at a friends’ who is teaching English and living in Chueca). However the dreary dusk was certainly brightened when I went to buy a Spanish version of my favorite magazine, Glamour Pad, and received a free scarf with it. If you read my Fashion from Abroad column, you know how I feel about scarves. And free things.

Another diversion I had to occupy my time, as I had arrived to my gate quite early, was a borrowed copy of Harry Potter y la Piedra Filosofal. I figured it was appropriate to read the seminal literary work of my childhood, in the language I am currently studying, on the way to the city where it’s set. I couldn’t help but wonder whether my mastery of the language was actually improving, or whether I remembered enough from the English version to get by. Either way, I have the reading comprehension of an eleven-year-old, felicidades a mí.

When I arrived at the Victoria tube station, my friend took me straight to her apartment to drop off my things and then we were off to site-see. After having other friends visit, she nailed down the all-inclusive abridged tour including all the major sites. I saw Parliament, Big Ben, the London Eye, Trafalgar Square and the lions, the Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, Downing Street and the Tower Bridge. I got my standard telephone booth picture and we were on our way to fish and chips for dinner.

The next morning we woke up early to take a bus to Cambridge to tour the campus and take in the sites. The campus was gorgeous and I took far too many pictures of the buildings as we walked around in the all-but-anticipated rain. It even got sunny out as we walked along the river, forgoing the tourist trap of “punting,” which was quite picturesque. When we got back we went to a dance club, Club de Paris, a typical dance club complete with scantily-clad dancers sloshing around in martini glasses. The usual.

On my last day we woke up early to take pictures across Abbey Road, of Beatles fame, but on our way the morning was atypically sunny so we decided to take a detour to Regent Park first. It really changed the pace of the day as we basked in the sunshine, took pictures, and people watched (especially those who pushed their puppies in carriages rather than bother them with a walk). Then, we were one of the many in the throngs of people fruitlessly attempting to recreate the iconic Beatles album cover, which has a site devoted to making fun of us tourists via satellite camera. You have to dart across at each red light, and drivers honk at you half-annoyed, half-pitying your sorry soul. Whatever, we got a cute picture and signed the wall in front of Abbey Studios.

As it began to rain once again, we headed over to Camden market, which my friend who knew too well of my penchant for shopping was a little bit nervous to bring me to, especially just hours before I would have to leave for my flight. She was right to be wary. I am pretty sure I left my heart there. It is a crazy, chaotic, beautiful place with countless shops, unique fashion, handcrafted jewelry, knick-knacks, and food stands. I nearly had a nervous breakdown in my vacillation between buying something there or not, whose price would double in my credit records in the unlucky exchange from the British pound. I ended up being too overwhelmed to make a purchase, resolving to one day return with a secured position as editor at a magazine or at least a rich husband, when little indulgent special purchases like these will not even leave a mark on my conscience.

Coming full circle, before my train ride back to the airport, my friend skillfully brought me to Kings Cross station, for the last leg of my London tourist scavenger hunt, the photographic evidence of entering Platform 9 ¾ to enter the magical world of Harry Potter. Most unluckily, construction was actually being done on platforms 9 and 10, naturally. However, to avoid massive chaos and unrest, they have put up a façade past platform 13 of a brick wall and half-disappeared luggage cart in order to keep up the tradition. Wicked.

Needless to say, my trip to London far exceeded my expectations, which were admittedly low with only hopes to visit a friend, see a new city, and maybe get some shopping done while trying to stay dry. But I can definitely see a return trip in my future. Stay tuned to hear about my trip to Barcelona, my parents’ visit, and some of the cultural and artistic endeavors I have taken up here in Madrid!

*Writer’s note [a superfluous title as this whole endeavor is in fact the writer’s notes]: As I began to upload this London post, sitting outside La Reina Sofia with a cafe con leche as it was finally nice out, a vagrant guitar player just happened to start playing Here Comes the Sun. Fate? Do-do-do-doooo, and I say it’s alright.