United Kingdom study abroad: London
One of the highlights of my study abroad experience was a long weekend in London.
The most popular tourist attractions were not the center of my attention after a tour along the river Thames and a class-mandatory visit to Westminster Abbey. I was in a city teeming with life and wanted to focus on the little things that may be easy to miss.
My visit included two notable exceptions to this plan.
The first was a tour of Warner Bros. Studios, where I learned about the making of Harry Potter. It was an interesting experience, but ultimately felt like a poor use of my time in the city.
My second prominent tour destination was the Globe Theatre, where there was a live performance of King Lear. There was an opportunity to stand at the very edge of the stage, so I needed to make use of it.
By the end of the performance, my feet were sore and my shoulders sunburned, but I was in a state of regret-free delight. A visit to the Globe was, in my opinion, one of the best ways to spend time in London.
A good portion of my time was dedicated towards museums.
The Museum of London, or any of the other more famous locations, did not make the cut on the visit list. Instead, I visited smaller sites which caught my eye.
First was the Clink Prison Museum located inside the original Clink Prison. It was a morbid look into the inhumane conditions that prisoners were subjected to hundreds of years ago. It taught about old prison policies, the torture devices used by the prison, and a fair bit of royal, religious, and political history as it intertwined with the history of the prison.
The Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garret were next. Craig Jacobsen, our Mythology instructor and the head of MCC’s English department, joined me as we climbed down a flight of steep, curling stairs to reach the herb garret, where the smell of herbs filled the air and tinctures and remedies were displayed for all to see.
We split up to read the various displays at our own pace. The tour took me to some old Victorian medical instruments and read about the gruesome operations they were used in.
These were the days before anesthesia, so patients were given alcohol and held down to a table during operations. It culminated in the operating theatre itself, where the tiny table that operations were performed on sat and the stands that other medical professionals would watch from.
Food was another highlight of my visit to London. My hotel was a Premier Inn less than a mile away from the Thames, right in the heart of London.
Restaurants surrounded me in all directions, allowing me to eat somewhere new for almost every meal, an experience that is easy to recommend to anyone who gets the opportunity.
One particularly stand-out meal was enjoyed at ‘Over, an Italian restaurant that I visited with Craig.
We dined on white pizza and gnocchi bathed in cheese and a delicate red sauce. The ingredients were fresh and used in such a way that you could taste every individual flavor in the food. From the truffle oil in the gnocchi to the light, faintly peppered flavor of the pizza dough, it was a delight to the senses.
My culinary adventure didn’t end with the restaurants.
One of the best things about my location was the Borough Market was less than a mile away. I spent hours wandering around the market, taking in the sights and sounds of a wide array of ethnicities coming together in a relatively small area.
A seemingly endless array of food was on sale. Out of everything offered, the most memorable thing was a cup of strawberries from a fruit stall. They were deep red, ripe, soft yet firm, and struck the perfect balance between bitter and sweet.
Beyond the foods, the Borough Market had a warm, welcoming, tight-knit atmosphere.
The sellers, for numerous reasons, enjoyed working.
Alfonso Romano, an employee at Northfield Farm, said, “I’d say the people and the community is a very big thing about the market. That everyone sort of knows everyone.”
Watson Dassantos was an employee at the Drunk Cheeses stall.
They sell a variety of Italian cheeses aged in different alcohols. He enjoys the diversity of the market and the new experiences that he gets to have with the different customers. “Some of the people that come through the Borough Market, they’ve never tasted cheese in their life. So it’s a new experience, giving them a new experience is amazing,” Dassantos said.
A trip to London is a unique experience in that it is ultimately yours to make of it what you will. My biggest piece of advice is to chase the things that spark your interest. If that means going to big tourist destinations, then so be it, but don’t be afraid to stray off the beaten path.
