london | part three

(look! it's my beautiful ben in the background!)

(Raoul from Phantom of the Opera!)

(Geronimo Rauch, our incredible Phantom)

(THAT MERINGUE WAS HUGE AND DELICIOUS.)

(pics of moi by the lovely jess)

part one  |  part two

Believe it or not, this is the last in my London series. Of course that's not to say I won't keep bringing up London for the next five or six years posts, but this is it for now, ya'll. Our fourth day in London was pretty fantastic in about a hundred different ways. We saw Covent Gardens, where we watched an outstanding cello/violin group and ate a luscious chocolate donut; Trafalgar Square, excitingly beautiful; Chinatown, which gifted us with impossibly good crispy duck with pancakes and plum sauce; Piccadilly Circus, big and busy and dizzying; and last but definitely not least...... the WEST END. We decided to go above and beyond the norm and see two shows in one afternoon. Jess and I saw Phantom of the Opera in the afternoon, and then all three of us saw Les Miserables in the evening. Phantom was a first for me, and just WOW. Our cast was incredible and the whole production was just bigger and better than I ever dreamed. I was emotionally wrung out by the end. Annnnnnd afterwards we got to meet the Phantom (whose voice was out-of-this-world) and Raoul! But then, there was Les Mis that night, the second time for me and first time for Jess and Damien. I loved watching their reactions, and our cast was spot-on (Carrie Hope Fletcher as Eponine!). Guys, I will never grow weary of that show. Friday was spent wandering through the British Museum (okay, I'm not a museum person, but this one is superb) and Cavendish Square and Regent's Park. And coffee. Coffee was a daily thing.

So. Five days in London. What did I think? Basically, I'm convinced London is one of my top three favourite places on earth, and I was so sad to leave. It's so crisp and lovely and very, very British. To finally see in person all those places I've read about for so long was a feeling I just can't describe. It was an electrifying week. When (not if) I come back to England, London will be the first place I revisit. 

And oh my days, guys, so much has happened since my London trip. The massive posts of pictures has only just begun. Norwich and Edinburgh and the Lakes and more and oh my! In other news, I have less than three weeks left in England. Eighteen days, to be exact. HOW EVEN. The flurry of emotions has already started. I don't want to leave, and I don't want to think about not being here anymore. But on the flip side, I am so ready to be home again and squeeze on my family and friends. It's gonna be tough, guys, but worth it, because this trip has been beyond anything I could have dreamed.