March 23

I'm a morning person, but a 3:45am alarm clock was killer. We were off to the train station by 4:20am to catch our bus to Pisa. After a killer head-bobbing, neck-kranked, half-asleep ride, we arrived at the airport, ready to be bossed around by Ryanair. Somehow (somehow!) my bookbag with running shoes tied to it passed their strict baggage standards. There are study abroad rumors about kids stuffing their pockets with underwear or wearing three shirts onto the plane to keep the carryon bag small. Two and a half hours later, we arrived in warm, tropical London. By warm and tropical, I mean cold and snowing. But, I was shocked how much I appreciated signs all in English--something I didn't know I missed. Customs was a breeze and after a quick withdrawal of British pounds from an ATM (the exchange rate was enough to make me say "bloody hell"), we were on our way. Like a crazy person, I trusted a man driving on the left side of the road to take me downtown. I immediately thought London was like NewYork. I was overwhelmed in the best possible way. I loved the city so much, I felt like I was cheating on Florence. What?! Stores that sell more than one type of item? Ethnic foods? I can walk through the streets without being asked "Umbrella for the bella?" Hold on, is that a Whole Foods? It felt so wrong, yet so right. Home--that elusive feeling--was at my fingertips. Well, actually a delicious hummus and chickpea plate of Moroccan food was at my fingertips. We grabbed a fabulous street food lunch from Portobello Road market. Kelsey and I tried the Moroccan vendor, Maggie tried Thai and Indian.  I had to buy (I am one hell of a bargainer) a hat off the streets for 3 pounds. The winds were so strong I had a brain freeze from just walking through the streets. We warmed up in the Science (totally nerded out in the "Who Am I?" exhibit on psychology) and Natural History museums--free admission in both places. We then walked across Millennium Bridge with a quick stop at St. Paul's to try to get some dinner from Burrow Market. We were too late, though, and got there pass closing time. It was actually a welcomed excuse to head back early to the hostel. We were exhausted--plus the hostel had free tea. We booked a 16 person dorm. The huge room was slightly noisy as we tried to sleep, but each bed had curtains around it, so we made the best of a night's sleep in our cave of a bed.