travel journal: london

I started my trip with three days in London. (Quick reminder: I went on the Highlights of Europe trip with EF Ultimate Break – NOT sponsored!!) Every place listed here will be in my Google map linked down below for easy access.

https://goo.gl/maps/3dagCq1T2maDvtmU7

Day one

We had a driver pick us up from Heathrow and take us to the hostel, YHA London Thameside. It was pretty nice and the area seemed more relaxed than downtown, which I liked. Part of our group walked down from the hostel to eat at Leadbelly’s. We immediately learned the importance of having enough cash to not have to split the bill – our waiter seemed so annoyed when the six of us were struggling to put money in, but he offered to split the bill for us, thankfully. After walking around the area by the Canada Water tube station, we got ready for EF’s welcome dinner.

Russell Square Station
Chinatown
Piccadilly

EF includes a welcome dinner as part of the trip to get to meet your tour director and other people on the trip, so we all took the tube to the Marquis Cornwallis for traditional fish and chips. I also tried Pravha lager, a light beer that was decent. That night we walked around Chinatown, Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square. We were there during the Women’s World Cup so Piccadilly Circus had giant billboards advertising the English team, which was so cool to see! The entire time we were walking around the area, I honestly felt like I was on the set of a Harry Potter movie. I’ve dreamt about being in London for so long and it didn’t feel real!

Piccadilly

Day two

The next morning, we were on a bus tour around the major landmarks of London. We started at Tower Bridge (not London Bridge). We then went to Leadenhall Market, which was J.K. Rowling’s inspiration for Diagon Alley! I am a huge Harry Potter fan and could immediately recognize the area. It was so cool to see. The majority of the scenes in Diagon Alley weren’t filmed here due to the size. However…around the corner, the London Migraine Clinic’s door was used as the door to the Leaky Cauldron! It’s painted bright blue now but it’s instantly recognizable.

Tower Bridge

Next, we went to St. Paul’s Cathedral, where Princess Diana got married. We didn’t have time to go inside, but the outside alone is stunning. St. Paul’s was consecrated in 1300 (meaning it was dedicated as a Christian space of worship then, but it was built even earlier). The amount of history in London alone is just indescribable. St. Paul’s also survived the German Blitz in World War II – this photograph is incredible.

St. Paul’s Cathedral

Buckingham Palace

We ended our bus tour just in time at Green Park by Buckingham Palace. Random tip – when we were there in early June, the pollen count was super high and there must have been a certain kind of tree in the area by the palace because everyone was having issues with sneezing and pollen getting into their eyes. I had to go buy medicine for hay fever at the pharmacy really quick and that helped. It only seemed to be in that area though. I would even start having issues as our train pulled into that station by the palace. No clue if that’s common though.

The day we were there, it happened to be the day of the Trooping the Colour celebration. (The link explains it in much further detail, but it is essentially the Queen’s ‘official’ 93rd birthday celebration.) We got SO lucky and got to see her pass by in her carriage. We then walked around the St. James’s area, then returned to the palace grounds about a half hour before she was scheduled to be on the balcony for the royal flyover. We were held way back as the street was blocked off and couldn’t even see the palace from where we were standing, then somehow we got lucky and were able to make our way all the way up to the gates of the palace!!

The incredible array of photographers at the Queen’s Trooping the Colour
The Red Arrows (flown by the Royal Air Force) flying over the Victoria Memorial
The Queen and the Royal family! The Cambridge family is clear but Harry and Meghan of Sussex were tucked back by the doors
Cheesin too hard after seeing the Queen!!
The Queen’s guards

I can’t even describe how exciting this moment was. We were so, so close and were able to be in front of the Victoria Memorial fountain. I’ve been obsessed with the Royal Family for a long time now (there goes my shot of playing it cool with a prince) and it was so exciting to see the Queen, the whole Cambridge family (including Louie!!) and Prince Harry and Meghan (marking her first public appearance since the birth of Archie).

Trafalgar Square and St. James

While we were in St. James and Trafalgar Square, we stopped by Fortnum & Mason. This is known to be the Queen’s grocery store and it certainly looked the part. It was very elaborate and had just about everything you could want in there. They have a space for afternoon tea if you’re interested. Next door is Hatchard’s, known as the Queen’s bookstore. I didn’t stop in, but it is the oldest bookstore in the United Kingdom – so cool!

the National Gallery

We also went by the National Gallery. The building itself is beautiful and there are so many notable paintings inside. Even if you’re not an art history nerd like me, you’ll certainly recognize some of the work from art class in elementary school. The best part? It’s free!

Burberry down Old Bond St.

After the excitement of seeing the Queen, we walked around and went down Old Bond Street (I believe it’s the Mayfair neighborhood?). It has some of the most iconic designer brands out there – Gucci, YSL, Givenchy, Prada – and even if you don’t go in, it’s worth just looking at the storefronts.

We also went by the House of Minalima, the graphic design studio responsible for all the Harry Potter films. I thought it would be more of a working studio, but it just seemed to be a museum and shop. It was still very cool to see nonetheless.

the House of Minalima design store

King’s Crossing

We also made our way over to King’s Cross station. It was cool to see but very out of the way. This is where the iconic Platform 9 and 3/4 photo op is. However, it was an hour and a half wait in line for a $10 photo and we were starving, so we just took a photo of someone else doing it! Right next to the station is Granary Square, a very local shopping area. They had some boutiques and restaurants. I wish I had known this beforehand – the Youtube Creator Space is in the area, which would have been cool to drop by.

Going out in London

Later that night, we tried to go to Sketch (after reading that Fran Acciardo went on her spring break and saw Alex Pettyfer and Chris Hemsworth!!) but it was Saturday night and they only took reservations, and we were certainly not dressed properly! If you’re going, I would recommend getting reservations in the afternoon for the pink gallery room and packing a skirt or a dress to wear. I would have been so underdressed in my jeans!

EF organized a pub crawl for us with some other groups (I actually ran into two girls that went to KU, just on a different EF trip!). This included going to the Zoo, Tiger Tiger and the Piccadilly Institute. Out of the three, I think Piccadilly Institute was probably the coolest space. I had an Aperol Spritz which I wanted SO badly to like, but it was terrible! I am sensitive to alcohol but I had several other girls try it and they agreed it was terrible too. It’s highly debated on the Internet…

Day three – Oxford and Windsor

The next day we took a trip to Oxford and Windsor! Windsor, the Queen’s castle and residence, was first. It’s very cool if you’re a nerd about the Royals or British history and the grounds themselves are beautiful. We toured the State Apartments and I loved St. George’s Hall. You can’t take photos but it’s still so worth it. We also saw St. George’s Chapel, where Meghan and Harry got married.

This used to be a moat, but they turned it into gardens
St. George’s Chapel
the Queen’s residence

Oxford was incredible! Made up of 39 colleges, it’s one of the oldest universities in the world (and the oldest in the English-speaking world). I thought Christchurch and New College were the prettiest. Christchurch’s dining hall was the inspiration for the Great Hall in Harry Potter, but they couldn’t film the movie in there because there’s only room for three tables in the space and they had to fit four tables for each house. You can tour it, but we didn’t have time and the line was crazy long.

Christchurch Gardens

The Divinity School in the Bodleian Library was used to film the infirmary scenes and the ballroom dance scene. There was a wedding going on at the time so we couldn’t go in – imagine how much that must cost! Radcliffe Camera is beautiful from the outside, but you can’t go in unless you’re an Oxford student.

the Christchurch dining hall

New College has a gorgeous chapel. It also has the iconic quad where they filmed the scene in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire with Malfoy being turned into a ferret. They also have the oldest dining hall in Oxford. We got to peek in and see the menu – it was a quintessential English meal.

Radcliffe Camera
New College quad
New College dining hall

The downtown area of Oxford was super nice and had several souvenir shops. We ate at Franco Manca and had really good pizza (there were of these restaurants throughout London) and the best lemonade I’ve ever had.

Thoughts on London

There were no trash cans ANYWHERE! The city was SO clean. Everyone was incredibly polite and the British stereotype rang true with everyone we experienced.

London was a great introduction to the trip. They have a great tube system that set the foundation for the rest of the metros throughout the trip – and the fact that they speak English helps!

xo, Hannah

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college graduation & traveling | life update vol. 6

Hi there! The last month or so has been crazy busy. I graduated from college, moved out of my college home and I’m now preparing to go on a 24-day trip through Europe. This post will mainly be a photo update as I truly don’t have the time to write a sentimental goodbye to Lawrence yet…but I wanted to make a quick post before I go abroad.

Leaving KU

I made this video summing up my college career and my time as a Jayhawk. Below is the text I was going to have as a voiceover, but it didn’t flow with the music so I just wrote it out on its own but still wanted to share. KU is so very special to me and I’m sad to be leaving, but I know I’ll always have Lawrence to welcome me home.

——-

I’ve always known I was going to KU. My childhood was spent learning how to say Rock Chalk and go Jayhawks, and my Saturdays in fall were spent at Memorial Stadium in Lawrence – followed by Pyramid Pizza or a donut from Joe’s. I mostly read a book or played games instead of watching the football games, but I still soaked up every single tradition and very quickly became a passionate KU fan. I remember watching the 2008 national championship game in Allen Fieldhouse, then storming Mass Street after with my family at only ten years old. Waving the wheat, singing the alma mater, doing the rock chalk chant – these were all traditions I loved and knew from a young age. From my first official tour in junior year of high school, I knew immediately that the journalism school felt like home. I started school and dove in to getting involved, joining a sorority and meeting some of my best friends along the way.

I chose to major in strategic communications and loved it, but I found my real home working in athletics. My life came full circle when I started working for the football team in my second semester of sophomore year. Countless photos and graphics later, I’m so proud of the work I’ve done. When I came to the University of Kansas as a freshman, unsure of myself and a little scared, I didn’t know how much I would grow. KU has taught me how to be independent, how to fail and bounce back, and how to be confident in myself. I know I’m going to miss Lawrence so much, but I know I will always return home grateful for what I’ve learned. Thank you, KU – Rock Chalk.

College graduation

I graduated from KU with my major in strategic communications in the journalism school and a minor in sport management. Here are some of my favorite photos from that day!

Europe trip

I’m going on a trip with EF Ultimate Break this June! I never got the chance to study abroad so this is my college graduation trip and I’m so excited because Mexico is the furthest I’ve ever been out of the country. I’m visiting London, Amsterdam, Paris, the Swiss Alps, Venice, Florence, Rome, Barcelona and a few other stops along the way. I’ll be sharing photos on my Instagram throughout the trip, then I’m planning on having recaps of each city on my blog and making videos once I return. If you have any packing tips PLEASE share – I’m only bringing a carryon and a backpack and I’m struggling a little!

 

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Graduated with my best friends by my side and wouldn’t have had it any other way 🤩

A post shared by hannah bettis (@hannahwacamera) on

Thanks for reading and following along on my adventures!!

xo, Hannah

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