An American in London – Journals from Abroad

When an American study abroad student finds herself with the capability to purchase a €20 plane ticket to London, what better idea than to take a whirlwind, 24 hour trip? This was my exact thought a few weekends ago, and I’m here to take y’all on the journey with me 🙂

My day started with a 1 AM alarm to walk to the Galway Coach Station for the 2 1/2 hour bus ride to Dublin Airport. Security was a breeze (they let you keep your shoes on, which is a mindboggling level of leniency compared to strict TSA guidelines in the states), and, after a short flight, I landed in London Stansted Airport, which is 45 minutes north of downtown London.

picture of a plane wing with the sunrise behind it — sunrise on the plane! The airplane gods gave me a window seat there and on the way back 🙂

a train station with people on the platform. The ceiling has arches and columns — the train station in downtown London

After arriving downtown, I quickly realized that the best way to navigate London is via the London Underground, or the “Tube”. The Underground is one of the most expertly laid out public transportation systems I have ever seen (NYC Subway please take notes), and is very easy to navigate. A few stops later, I arrived at my first destination of the day: the Victoria & Albert Museum.

the exterior entrance of a building with a large stone archway across the top — the entrance to the V&A museum

a black and gold theatrical costume — a costume from Six: the Musical!

a diorama of a stage with a lighting operator board in front of it — the theatre & performance wing had interactive stations for each kind of technical theater, which, as a theatre major, made me smile a bit

a yellow ballet tutu — a costume from Harlequinade, one of my favorite ballets

a shoe last, an early pointe shoe, and a modern pointe shoe for ballet — the evolution of a pointe shoe: from a shoe last to early pointe shoes to the modern day design

Most museums in London offer free general admission, and the V&A is no different. With 4 floors full of different exhibit rooms, I could’ve spent multiple days there and still not seen the full collection. Unfortunately, I had to play a game of museum speed-run, so I picked the exhibits I felt would excite me most, namely the theatre & performance wing and their temporary exhibit on African fashion.

two crochet rainbow colored cardigans — the V&A museum has the original “Harry Styles” cardigan, the pattern of which went viral after the designer released it for free during COVID lockdown

gold letters on a pink marble background, spelling "Africa; fashion" — the entrance to the African fashion exhibit

a museum display with different pieces of textile in African prints — some highlights from the African fashion exhibit

two mannequins: a rainbow colored long sleeved dress on the left mannequin, a black and white patterned coat on the right mannequin

After my museum perusing, I grabbed lunch nearby and hopped on the tube to head towards my second stop of the day, but not before making a quick detour to see Buckingham Palace. I then arrived at the Harold Pinter Theatre to watch Sam Steiner’s Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons on London’s West End (Broadway’s British equivalent).

the gates to Buckingham Palace; black gates with gold accents and white stone pillars — the gates to Buckingham Palace

a theatre marquee, yellow, with the word Lemons in a repeating pattern — the marquee at the Harold Pinter Theatre

By the time I finished the show, it was already dark and most of the museums were closed, so I killed time before my next scheduled stop by watching a movie in a nearby cinema and grabbing a quick bite to eat at a Japanese/Asian fusion restaurant nearby.

a small skillet with pork dumplings, chopsticks, and a small cup of soy sauce — my dinner at aforementioned restaurant

My last stop of the night was the concert hall at The King’s Place downtown to watch a performance by the vocal group HOWL. They performed a mix of original choral compositions and British/Scottish folk songs, and it definitely ranks among the top live performances I’ve seen. I was also met with an unexpected surprise at the performance, as one of my favorite music artists had stopped by to sing the closing number (a piece he had composed) with them.

a stage with microphones arranged in a circular pattern, the stage lights shining are bright red — waiting for the concert to start! Props to the lighting designer for their stunning work during the show 🙂

performers arranged in a circle on a stage, the stage lights are blue — HOWL performing part of their set

two people: a man in a red sweater with curly hair on the left, a girl wearing overalls and glasses on the right — a picture with Cosmo Sheldrake, one of my favorite music artists

Link to HOWL’s Instagram page for any curious readers 🙂

My 24 hours came to an end much the same way it began, only in reverse order. The tube to the train station, the train station to the airport, and the airport to a bus back to Galway, where I promptly fell asleep.

I may have ended my trip to London catching some z’s, but it was far from a snooze-worthy adventure. I hope to travel more domestically and internationally in my remaining time here. But, for now, I bid you farewell 🙂

Talk soon,
Katie