My trip to London... con't...

2022 has had a total of 14 days so far, and I am FINALLY letting y'all in on the final parts of my trip. If the title of this wasn't obvious enough, I went to London, England back in November. It took me a while to process and get everything down to tell you guys. It's been two months now and I still can't believe I went. What a freaking dream come true.

The last two days, before a full nightmare of a day flying back home, were the absolute highlights of our time there. So here it is! I hope you enjoy part two of the London Blog <3

DAY THREE

To put it in simple words, this was the day I was most excited for. Why? Four words.

HARRY

POTTER

STUDIO

TOUR

But before the tour, we had to go get tested. Although it was technically our third day there, the UK counted the day of arrival as day zero. Fine by me. While waiting for our appointment time to come, Kayla and I headed to Gail’s where she enjoyed a lovely cappuccino and I devoured the most delicious blueberry muffin I have ever had in my life, and a chai tea (if you haven’t already caught on, I love chai). Once we got back to the clinic, we were shocked to hear that our tests were actually scheduled for 9AM and we thought we had scheduled for 10AM. My heart dropped to my ass, but the ladies were absolutely lovely about it and let us get our tests done anyways. Now here’s the best part about this experience. In America, the swab for the PCR test is usually done through the nose. In the UK, it is done through the mouth. Obviously it was whatever, I didn’t care, but I did find it interesting. I never looked into it and why the tests are done differently, but I just thought it was something worth telling you all.

After this we made our way back to the hotel to take a nap because after the last two days, we were TIRED. We actually could not believe how tired we were. My body was shot from everything we had already done from the previous two days, but that was not stopping me. No no. I was in London, England. My exhaustion could wait.

Now to the good part, Harry Potter.

I *died*. The little girl in me came to life. My childhood, fulfilled. I was never one to yell in people’s face about how much I loved Harry Potter growing up, but let me tell you, seeing how many people are all over it again is a beautiful sight to see. Being able to do this was literally the most amazing thing ever to me. I remember me and my cousins having marathons and when my mom would take me and my brother to go watch them in theaters- it was always a trip. I absolutely loved it. And yes, I cried.

Guys, I am NOT a very emotional person, but when something gets to me, it hits me like a ton of bricks. And being there was one of those moments. The first thing that we saw was a video, where they filmed fans from all over saying why they loved Harry Potter, what the film did for them, and what house they were all apart of. My heart was tight, and then, right when I thought it couldn’t happen, it exploded and I started to choke up. Fred and George came out on the video explaining what everyone should and shouldn’t be doing and I was just trying not to lose my shit. I had to blink back the tears. It was way too damn early for me to cry. But eventually, it happened (lol).

Walking through here was literally like reliving my childhood. There was so much to take in, my eyeballs could not, for the life of me, stay in one place. I was everywhere. Kayla and I lost each other many times. I wanted so badly to FaceTime all my cousins and my brother to show them it all, but time difference is a thing, and honestly, I’m glad I couldn’t; it really gave me the opportunity to take everything in a lot more than I would have had I been on the phone. Which leads me to the next thing, Kayla took the majority of the pictures this day. Don’t get me wrong, I took A LOT, but she very well got all my reactions and made me pose everywhere. I felt like I was a kid with her mom who wanted all the pictures and it was great. There are not enough words in the world to thank Kayla for joining me in that adventure. It meant the absolute world to me and hearing that she genuinely enjoyed herself made me so happy.

It was so cool to see how the movies were brought to life. It just shows how much goes into creating not just any movie, but movies like this. They take time, effort, and a massive amount of people to get things done. I think people really underestimate what goes into creating a film and studio tours like these really give you the insight to just how much work it is. Of course, everything is cool to look at and its fun seeing the things you loved so greatly growing up in person, but it also makes you appreciate the films so much more. And of course, the books! Without those babies, the movies would have never came to life.

Now, I know what you’re waiting for, and here it is: My butterbeer review. The taste was unexplainable. Everyone who I’ve spoken to after this who has also had the privilege of tasting this has said the same thing. And what I’m talking about when I say this, is the liquid part of the drink because the foam is a whole different ballgame. That shit was good. Truly the main event. I could have had a cup just of that. Ten out of ten guys.

To all my friends and family and peers who love Harry Potter, if you ever find yourself taking a trip to England, please do this tour. Its an experience you will never forget.

You thought this part was over didn’t you? Well guess again. We’re still here.

For our night festivities, we planned for a lovely trip to the oh so TikTok and Instagram famous EL&N.

We were extremely excited to go here and eat guys. By this point in the day, we were beyond hungry. And let me quickly just say that at this point of the day, we had yet to have an actual meal. We were dying to eat. And after seeing all the cool pictures and videos on social media, we were ready.

Guys, this place was not it for us. We were so disappointed by it. It was so cute and had all these aesthetic things- which is what attracts people in the first place, but the way social media made it look was not what it turned out to be. I think we just had music higher expectations for what we were about to walk into and it definitely didn’t meet them. For starters, the menu did not have everything we thought it would. Everything was mainly breakfast foods, and honestly, any other day I would have loved that, but in that very moment, me and Kayla really just wanted actual food, like meats and carbs. And we did not get that.

Kayla ordered a Nutella French toast and I ordered this smoked salmon egg thing that was actually really really good. I am not knocking this place down at all. The food was excellent and it was super cute, but it was definitely overhyped and it didn’t meet my expectations in the slightest. It was definitely a place to go just for the aesthetic and just a good time with friends, not a late night dinner.

After getting back to the hotel, we decided to go on one last hurrah- suggested by our receptionist. During the time we were there, they were celebrating Guy Fawkes Day. It's observed on November 5th and is essentially a holiday to commemorate the failure of a plot to kill King James l and his parliament. If this intrigued your beautiful brain cells, click here to learn more about the holiday. So because of this, people all over England do firework displays, one of which was happening at Green Park. So we said, you know what, we have one more day left before having to head home, why the hell not join in and watch some fireworks. We changed into some comfy clothes and headed to Green Park where it was pitch black and not one person was in sight. What our reception failed to tell us was that the celebration was being held until a certain time. So we made our way back to the hotel and passed out as one does after being disappointed for missing the fireworks.

DAY FOUR

The next morning, we woke up at the literal crack of dawn. This was quite possibly the longest and most insane and exciting day. We were all over the damn place, but this day couldn’t start off any better.

Earlier on I mentioned that we did not get on the London Eye. This decision was made on purpose as me and Kayla decided that we wanted to end our trip with a bang. And we did just that.

At 10AM on November 7th, 2021, me and Kayla climbed the O2 Arena. If you don’t know what the O2 Arena is, quite rankly you’re living under a rock. I believe it holds the highest seating capacity next to Manchester Arena. Kayla and I chose a celebratory package, where after reaching the roof of the arena, you were given a celebratory glass of champagne to cheers with. And let me tell you, after that climb, it was very much needed. The climb is 52m, 170 feet and guys, that was not an easy one. The higher we got, the colder it felt and I don’t know about you, but I am completely out of shape and was gasping for air with every step I took. I’m literally cracking up as I type this because it was just too damn funny.

When the instructor asked who wanted to start the climb first, Kayla didn’t even given the others a chance to speak. She basically ran up to the rope and I was just there like oi. However, I’m beyond glad she did cause getting to the top before anyone and instantly seeing the view was astonishing. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Again, the pictures we took will never do it justice. The view is something you just have to take in in person. In that moment, I felt like I was on top of the world. And yes, as some of you may have already guessed, I cried.

Since I was younger, I have always wanted to go to the UK and being there, in that moment, taking it all in and remembering the conversations I would have with my old neighbor of what used to be her home, it just hit me. I literally went up to Kayla and told her to hug me because I was going to cry and cry I did haha. I just couldn’t believe that I was there and till this day I know I was there, and being there felt very real, but it also felt like such a dream. A dream come true that is. I’m positive that not even Kayla knew how much this trip meant to me until that very moment. She’s known me her whole life and I’m pretty sure she has never seen me cry up until this trip.

After the crying and hugging, we finally made our way down back to the ground (which was really hard) and made our way straight to Tavolino, an Italian Restaurant near the Tower Bridge. We took the time before our reservation to take in the beautiful sight of the bridge, walk around, and of course take more pictures.

Once we finally sat down to eat, we were beyond excited. We were so unbelievably hungry and ecstatic to get some actual food into our systems. It was very much needed. Here we started off with some Burrata (of course), and each ordered the Mafaldine pasta, all accompanied by a delicious White Peach Bellini. To say we were satisfied would be an absolute understatement. The food in England truly ruined my taste buds and now everything I eat here just sucks. Literally nothing compares. Although I will say that the water over there is shit. I knew it was bad but oh my god when I finally got back home I chugged so much water.

Anyways…onwards with the adventure!

Our next stop on this trip was Covent Garden, where I let myself shop like crazy. The minute we stepped foot outside of Charing Cross Station, we were in absolute awe of the view in front of us. It was absolutely gorgeous. I literally just kept saying “wow”. There was just no other word for it. Oh how I would love to just go back and walk those streets again.

We stopped by the market to do a bit of shopping and while walking around, I stopped by this one table where I saw the most incredible art. So symbolic and beautiful. After some chatter with the artist, Luis Alvarez, we learned that we is from the Bronx- how crazy is that? One of his paintings that stuck out to me was one of which said “There is no Plan”. He went on to tell us that before moving to the UK, he went just for a little bit for vacation. What he didn’t know was that he was going to fall in love with the country, its customs, and meet the love of his life. The significance of this painting is so strong and endearing. As humans in this world, we tend to to and plan everything out, piece by piece, but really, we never know what’s going to happen. Something that was never in the plan could come out of nowhere and change up the whole game for you. I left in such awe after speaking to him. It’s beautiful to hear how exactly one ends up in entirely new country, beginning a whole new life.

From the market, we walked over to this little spot, that I for the life of me cannot remember the name of, for some coffee and more food… yes, we were still hungry. This was our last stop before the highlight of the evening.

When planning what we wanted to do during this trip, Kayla and I really wanted to do something spontaneous and something soothing and relaxing before having to spend an entire day traveling back home. I don’t remember which of us had found the place, but we found this ancient baths spa that we literally could not get over. It was decided and booked within fifteen minutes.

When we walked through the doors of Aire, all you smelled was orange blossom candles (I asked the receptionist). Everything about the place was so inviting and relaxing. The music, the architecture, the art, the books, the candles that lit up the entire room- it was all so perfect. Something that we learned was that the building had actually belonged to the original writer of Peter Pan. The first thing I noticed was the original copy that was enclosed in a beautiful case set up as the counter for the receptionist.

We waited for about ten to fifteen minutes before being led to the locker rooms downstairs. I swear it was the only light we got there, and let me tell you, as someone who has very bad eyesight, walking in that kind of dark without your glasses, and down the stairs is not fun. But it was all worth it.

I don’t remember how many baths there were exactly, but I will tell you about may favorite experience. It’s important to know that they had baths, all of different temperatures, and all that did something for your well being. My favorite one was the Frigidarium. There were two: the cold bath which was 14 degrees Celsius (57.2F), and the Ice Bath, 10 degrees Celsius (50F). I did the ice bath because I just love torturing myself (lol). But seriously guys, although the water was freezing, it was the most incredible feeling ever. I took my time with it because duh, freezing cold water, and made sure to get used to the coldness before going further into the water. Once my feet touched the ground, I backed into the wall and slowly dunked myself into the water. The key for me was to take deep breaths and not focus on the cold but what the cold was doing for my body. According to everyone there, it helps with your immune system. I don’t really know how but I did it anyways. I stayed for ten minutes before calling it quits and making my way to a warmer bath. The entire experience was just so divine and I’m positive Kayla would say the same.

This was honestly such an amazing way to end our trip and very much needed cause the next day… it wasn’t pretty at all. I will not go into the details of our “adventure” back to New York. All I will say is that it was an absolute mess and we were NOT happy.

Overall, this was just such an incredible experience and I pray that one day I can go back and see more of England. Our trip to London was a dream come true and I cannot wait for future travels.

HUGE thank you to everyone who reached out to me and telling me how happy they were to see me finally be in England. It was an overwhelming amount and it truly warmed my heart. This is an experience I will never forget.

Finally, thank you to my beautiful friend Kayla. Without you, this trip wouldn’t have been possible and I wouldn’t have wanted this trip to go any other way. It was perfect.

If there’s a place you’ve always dreamt of going, please save your coins, book a ticket and go. You will not regret it.

xx