London is amazing.

Well, the title basically gets to the point. My study abroad journey has officially started; today was the first day of our orientation classes in Florence. However, as of last week, we were in London!

We were only in London for two days, and both days we were catching up on jet lag and getting to know the 58 other students we were going to be living and studying with for the next few months. Thus, the two days felt oddly disoriented. Yet those were the most amazing two days!

Knowing we were coming to London, I was excited to be able to see it, yet I didn't really have any expectations about what it would be like. Yet, when I got there, I was absolutely amazed about how fantastic it is.

The first day we just explored on our own, in small groups we happened to meet on our journey from the airport to the hotel/when checking in to the hotel, but then the second day we went on a bus tour throughout the city and saw everything from residential areas to Big Ben to Buckingham Palace to an actual guard change at Buckingham Palace! That was so cool, to see the classically-ensembled soldiers dressed in red uniforms and tall, black bearskin hats marching from the Palace to their barracks, some playing their instruments and others marching with rifles, and the new soldiers coming the opposite way, from their barracks to the Palace to switch.

London just has this aura about it that I still can't fully put into words. It has so much elegance and it has history, such as Westminster Abbey, juxtaposed right alongside modern pieces, such as the London Eye Ferris wheel. And to think about how old the city is, about 2,000 years, is incredible as well. History books are filled with knowledge about London's past - things such as the industrial revolution and history of the royalty. All of that took place there and yet the city is in fantastic condition. They even have the absolute cleanest mass public transportation system I have ever been on: their subway, or, the Tube as they call it. :)

Not to mention the amazing pubs and shopping! Everyone in London has this look about them - effortlessly chic and the style is impeccable. I especially like the style because I'm a boots and jacket person (I love trench coats!) and the weather there allows for that attire even now during the late summer. London clouds hovered thickly over our heads both days we were there, making it all the more intriguing - like it is a world of its own. Most definitely going back there sometime soon!

Love and Style,
L.M.