Travel Tips

London is seriously unlike any other city I had ever been to before. Some of my fondest memories came from my week trip to London, and the trouble of having to add extra passport pages, getting special electrical plugs and exchanging currency seemed so small once I arrived. London is unmatched in its unique quality, and getting to experience that first hand was life changing.

Some get discouraged from traveling due to all the processes involved. While I was getting additional passport pages, my mom was telling me how she disliked traveling because of all the planning that’s involved. However, once you spend a while exploring and experiencing, the stress becomes irrelevant. Trust me.

London is the place to go if you love art in all its forms. Even the street art was beautiful. The huge stone buildings, the tall shining statues, and the abundance of music made going to London a completely consuming experience. Even just walking down the streets of London is like walking through a living, breathing museum. I spent a day at the Victoria and Albert Museum, or just the A and V Museum. Historical artifacts that span hundred or even thousands of years all sat in a huge room, and I had to walk around multiple times to make sure I saw it all. Exhibits of all kinds – from fashion to ancient, crumbling artifacts – were on display, and I left feeling pretty insignificant in comparison.

I then got to explore the Tate Modern Museum, which was a pretty sharp contrast to the Victoria and Albert Museum. I generally wasn’t very impressed by my earlier experiences with modern art, but the Tate changed that. Just walking into the huge building was a pretty neat experience. I spent hours and hours both looking at and interacting with the art, some of which held very powerful messages. I left feeling pretty empowered.

The best part of my trip was getting to go to Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. William Shakespeare and all his works are the object of my undying love, and getting the opportunity to see plays at their birthplace was unbelievable. I chose to see the play as a “groundling,” and although my feet hurt a little by the end, getting to stand at the edge of the stage was amazing. I felt like I was in the play, and I’ll admit, I got so wrapped up that I cried at the end of Othello.

Please don’t let the preparation required for traveling stop you from experiencing your dream vacation. Whether you need a new US passport or to add pasport pages, need to hire a dog-sitter, or just book a plane ticket, make some solid plans and get yourself there. You aren’t being called to go there for no reason, so don’t ignore it. Pack your bags and grab your friends or family, and get ready to have an amazing vacation.

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