When I found out I was actually going to Harlaxton, my friends all started talking about coming to visit me. We talked about the what-ifs of a fun spring break in Europe—taking a train to Paris, flying to Barcelona, exploring London—but I knew it probably wasn’t actually going to happen. Well, Sarah J, you proved me wrong.

I met Sarah my sophomore year at WKU when I lived in Southwest Hall. She was a freshman working at the desk, so I saw her a lot when I came in and out of the building. When I started working as a desk clerk halfway through the semester, we became best friends for life and ever (hello, Jasper Middle School memories). We bonded over our similar experiences as photojournalism majors and her uncanny resemblance to our other BFFLAE Aleah on their WKU IDs. Sometime in January or February, Sarah started talking about her super real desire to visit me in London. After talking about it for a week, she actually booked her ticket. I felt a few emotions when she told me, including shock, gratefulness, and overwhelming excitement. A familiar face in my new favorite place!

It didn’t feel real until she landed in London. It was a Tuesday and I had a night class, but I used one of my two skips to go see her. We met in Victoria Station (after looking for each other for 30 minutes with no data or WiFi), I probably screamed out of excitement, and then we started to explore! We walked around London and got lost as heck, then found our way to Nando’s to eat dinner. This particular Nando’s happened to have giant tables that fit multiple parties, so we sat down and were soon joined by another group of people. This other group of people also happened to be from the United States! We bonded over things in the American south and became friends.

After dinner, we went to see Hamilton. It was super casual (just kidding). The rows were way too close together for anyone over 5’2”, so it wasn’t the most comfortable show for anyone except me. I cried, cheered, tried to keep a jetlagged Sarah from falling asleep, and cried some more. You can read about how great I thought it was in a blog post I wrote the other week! After the show, I headed back to Harlaxton for two more days of class while Sarah headed back to her Airbnb to prepare herself for a solo trip to Brighton!

On Wednesday, I got to see my friend James who had also come across the pond for spring break! I gave him a hug and a quick tour of my quaint home after our second British Studies exam, and then we were able to have dinner and watch some karaoke before he left for the night.

On Thursday, I had my Second World War class with my dear friend Allie before hopping on a train back to London to meet up with Sarah again. After another WiFi-less communication mishap, we were united once again. We spent a little while people watching outside of Kings Cross, then we got dinner at Wahaca (the restaurant I first experienced during my Isle of Man weekend), and this time I got two orders of chicken avocado tacos! We explored Chinatown where we got to hear an adorable future child star sing a few songs while we ate bubble wrap waffles.

The next day, we got brunch at Borough Market (if this isn’t on your bucket list, it should be!). Sarah got a vegan burger that she loved, and I got Pad Thai with prawns that I also loved. We stopped at a juice stand and I got one called ‘Hawaiian Blush’, which tastes just as beautiful as it sounds. Once we finished our juices, I got a cup of tea and Sarah got some orange juice, then we left for Notting Hill!

The day we spent in Notting Hill was one of my favorites of the semester. It felt so natural in a way—almost like I was just walking down a market street in the US with one of my best friends. Not that Notting Hill is like something you’d see in the US, though. You leave the Notting Hill Gate tube station and see a normal street with normal, white houses. Walk towards Portobello Road, however, and you’ll see the true character that lies in the famous London suburb. It’s full of colorful houses, including a street of pastels and another street with a row of every color of the rainbow. The Portobello Market is blocks long and is full of cool vintage items. We spent a few hours walking through the market street before stopping for gelato at 3Bis Gelateria and heading back into London.

That night, I showed Sarah the dream-crushing Big Ben. From there we decided to walk around and try to find something to eat, and we stumbled on Trafalgar Square. We ate at Prezzo, drank just a tad too much wine, and admired the square and its fountains at night before going back to the Airbnb.

On Saturday morning, Sarah and I got up bright and early to visit the Parent Trap house. If you remember my first trip to London, my Harlax-friends and I already got the chance to see the home from our childhood. This time, however, it was snowing. Remember last week when I said ‘they say it doesn’t snow a lot in England’? Yeah, exhibit B of the tricks Mother Nature liked to play on Harlaxton Spring 2018. It snowed again, and I was cold, but it was fine. Sarah and I stopped at a boujee French restaurant for breakfast while a blizzard raged on outside, and then we had to part ways.

Sarah explored more of London for the rest of the day and flew back to Nashville on Sunday. I was able to spend the next few days exploring the English countryside with my parents! Join me next Monday for another edition of Untold Stories of Harlaxton.

Enjoy these pics from the week! Pics of me by Sarah J. Pics of Sarah J by me. All other pics probably by Sarah J.