My nine-hour plane ride to London was far from comfortable. Crammed into a seat with barely any legroom, I sat beside a man whose snoring was unbearable, but as if the noise was not enough, he kept elbowing me every now and then, waking me from my attempts to get some sleep. In the meantime, I dove into my book The Summer I Turned Pretty to distract myself, losing myself in its pages. Then, when my eyes grew heavy, and I felt like I could pass out, I watched The Hunger Games pass the time. The familiar scenes lured me into an easy sleep, making the hours feel somewhat shorter.
Midway through the flight, the attendants served lunch. It was a toss-up between vegetarian and chicken curry, and I got the curry, which surprisingly was pretty good. Soon after, it was quiet time/ lights out, and everyone put their headphones in and went to sleep. Later, as dawn approached, breakfast was served. This served as a sign to me that we were getting closer to our destination.
Upon landing, my friends and I were eager to start our journey through London, but navigating the London train system was more challenging than we thought. It took us over two hours to figure out how to get to our dorms, going on 3 different trains and fumbling with maps and tickets while lugging around our heavy bags. When we reached our destination in Kentish Town, the skies opened up, and we were greeted by cold, pouring rain. Drenched and exhausted, we all wanted to get to our dorms, get inside, find our rooms, and finally rest. The long trip had taken its toll on us, but we were determined to start our London adventure on the right foot once we had a chance to recover from all the chaos that we had endured.
After settling into our dorms and finishing orientation, we grabbed some essentials. Stocking up on items like Dr. Pepper Pringles and other dorm necessities, we felt more at home. My roommate and I, eager to explore, headed to Primrose Hill Park to take in the stunning view of the London skyline. The view was breathtaking and felt like the perfect introduction to the city. As soon as the evening approached, we went to the TCR Lounge Bar, where we savored delicious fish and chips. The meal was the perfect end to our first day; It left us satisfied and excited for the adventures ahead of us.
When listening to Taylors’ music, I came upon a list of places mentioned in Taylor Swift’s song “London Boy,” I was intrigued to discover how they formed a heart shape around London. With each location representing a lyric from the song, I plotted them on a map and was amazed to see the outline resembling a heart. I connected the dots from Camden Market to Shoreditch and more; these spots paint a picture of love and adventure in the city that Taylor experienced when she was there.