Hakuna Matata!

So yesterday and today have been a giant whirlwind of activities and that's why I didn't have time to blog yesterday!  This post is going to probably be long just going to warn ya but o well you don't have to read it all haha.

Yesterday we had a free day because some people had interviews for their internships but since mine was Monday, we had the whole day to frolick around the city.  So we were so cultured and went to 2 museums yesterday.  We went to the Victoria & Albert museum and The Natural History Museum.  We went to the V&A first which was wayyyy better than the Natural History museum and I would definitely recommend going to if you come to London.  They had a lot of different artifacts from around the world from sculptures to paintings to jewelry and so on.  They had some paintings by Raphael which were HUGE.  It was really cool to see them but it amazed me how someone could paint something so big and with such great detail.  My favorite exhibit in the museum was the jewelry though.  The had jewelry from all different centuries and it was really cool to see the different styles, materials, and gems or stones used.  I couldn't take any pictures though so that was a bummer. 

After the V&A we went on a hunt to find the house that the Parent Trap was filmed at and we found it!  It wasn't too far from the museums and we were tourists and took pictures in front of it haha.  The neighborhood it was in was gorgeous and I wish I could live there.  We grabbed a bit to eat at a place called Pret A Manger which basically sells fresh sandwiches, salads, and wraps and such and will literally be my go to place from now on because it is so nomolicious.  The only problem was that since it's kind of a what they call "take away" restaurant, we had to eat on a curb haha but it was fine because we needed something quick anyway.

We hit up the Natural History Museum next and it was fun but definitely more geared toward kids and families.  There were lots of stuffed animals and interactive exhibits so if you're not into that then I would suggest skipping it.  We headed back to our flats after that because we wanted to have time to get ready for The Lion King and go out to dinner.  We went to an Italian restaurant near the Tube station and it was good and not too terribly priced.  We hoped on the Tube just in time to make it to the show after that.  The Lion King was fabulous!  I would definitely suggest going to see it anywhere and is definitely good for all ages.  It wasn't as good as Wicked because it was kind of weird to me that they were playing animals but I love the Lion King so I still loved the show.  The singing and dancing was amazing too but I have to admit I was having trouble staying awake haha.  We had been going, going, going all day yesterday and I didn't get a nap so I was really tired.  The music wasn't helping to keep me awake either haha.  I also had a huge headache so that was a bummer but the show was great so it was ok. 

The show ended about 10:30 so we decided to head back to a pub near our flat so we could catch the Tube since they stop running after midnight and figuring out the nightbus system here is SO confusing.  So we headed back but all the pubs close at midnight here which I find weird but I didn't care because I still had my huge headache so I was ok with going home.  So needless to say I had a good nights sleep last night haha.

Today we got up and headed over to the famous Portobello Road/Notting Hill market and I am OBSESSED!  We probably didn't even get through and 8th of the market and they had SO much stuff.  There were street vendors and shops scattered all over the street selling anything from fruit to jewelry to clothes.  I got a turquoise necklace and a poster that says "Keep Calm and Eat a Cupcake" but since I was running out of cash and time because we had to be at the British Museum at 2, I didn't buy anything else haha.  We may head back tomorrow though and if not then we're definitely going back another time so that we can see everything.

After the market, we had a tour for our class at the British Museum.  The museum was cool and definitely had a lot of stuff to look at but we were tired from walking around that morning so paying attention was a little difficult haha.  There were so many people there too which was annoying as well.  The museum did have the Rosetta Stone which was really really cool to see though.  I would definitely recommend this museum as well because they had a lot of cool stuff and its free but I was tired so I couldn't really pay attention too much haha.  We ventured to find the 9 and 3/4 station stop at King's Cross after the museum and it turned out to be a letdown.  For those of you who don't know, that's the station where Harry Potter got on the train to Hogwarts.  You had to pay to get to the actual Platform but they have a fake one set up outside the station so we just took pictures there.  We were so tired after all the walking today that we just headed back to our flats for some down time. 

The weather wasn't too bad today because now it's sunny but it did rain when we were at the market so that was kinda a bummer.  I don't know what we'll do tonight because we have class tomorrow but we'll see because I'm kind of tired haha.  I did forget to mention that to get out of one of the Tube stations today, we had to climb 175 stairs because they only had elevators to get out.  That was definitely my workout for the day so my legs are definitely getting there workout.  Something else I forgot to mention is that everyone has been telling us that the weather right now is not normal for June.  They said it's normally hotter and doesn't rain as much so that gives me hope that the weather will improve.  I am making do with my clothes though and it's kind of fun to wear them all in different ways.  Anyway I'm kind of babbling now so I should probably stop.  If I forgot anything I'll add it later because I'm hungry and my hands are getting tired of typing haha.  So cheerio!