Three years this week, I visited London for the first time.  Considering how important this city is to me now and how I actually lived there for an entire academic year, today it is really amazing to me that I never set foot on British soil until I was 20!  

My first trip to London was with EF College Break and also included stops in Paris and Barcelona.  At this point, I was already a massive anglophile, something that I'm pretty sure emerged during high school when I simultaneously took an AP British literature class, discovered alternative British music, and began consuming tea on a daily basis.  My life before this seems so long-ago and foreign!  I vividly recall going to high tea at The Dorchester.  High tea there is a very fancy affair and I was with a large group of American college students and I am sure we fit the stereotype of loud American tourists quite well.  When the waiter brought over the scones with jam and clotted cream, one of my fellow Americans asked, "What do you do with the toppings?  Do you put them in your tea?"  I may not have been that tea-time illiterate, but I definitely had loads to learn about British culture and society!

I blogged about my first trip to London for EF College Break, which was my first adventure into travel blogging.  You can still read the posts here.  My new-ness to the travel blog scene is apparent, yet it is full of some good stories I could add to the Dumb Things I've Done in Foreign Countries category! I accidentally broke a grate in Paris because my suitcase got stuck in it (sorry Parisians, I didn't mean to break your grate) and once gave a lecture to strangers about the origin of the phrase "Keep Calm and Carry On" thinking they were on the same tour group.  They weren't.  I kept calm and walked away.

​When I lived in London, I went to Oxford on five separate occasions so it too is a very familiar city.  Since this January, I have visited my adopted home of London three times and Oxford twice.  During the bank holiday this past weekend, I returned to London and Oxford yet again.  

So what is the most recent story to add to the list of "Dumb Things I've Done in Foreign Countries?"  Well, I arrived in London from Reykjavik, not realizing that it was actually really, really warm out.  I pretty much only brought fleece tights, jumper dresses, and a pair of boots so I borrowed clothes from a friend.  One day, I put on the same trainers I had borrowed the day before.  Or so I thought.  On the tube later that day, I noticed that one shoe was black and the other gray.  I found that odd because I thought they were both gray the day before, however, they were perfect inverses of each other so I was half-convinced they were a new style. Around this time, my friend messaged me saying, "By the way, you're wearing two different shoes."  I was prepared to rock it and start a new fashion trend, but I was going to Primark anyway to get some summer clothes and found a new pair of summer boots.

Before my year abroad in London, I had a massive Pinterest board and list full of what I wanted to see.  You might think that after a year abroad, I would have seen everything that London has to offer.  While it is true that my trips to England now mostly focus on seeing friends and revisiting my favourite places and spaces, I am still completing my tourist list.

This past weekend was the first time I climbed to the top of St. Paul's or rode the London Eye.  The stairwell in St. Paul's is a metal spiral staircase that goes in dizzying circles between galleries.  St. Paul's has three galleries: the Whispering Gallery, which is 257 steps up, the Stone Gallery, which is 376 steps from the bottom, and finally the Golden Gallery after 528 steps, which offers the best views of London.  In a way, it was good that I waited until I was very familiar with the skyline as I was easily able to point out iconic buildings and found myself explaining to tourists the pros and cons of each market and recommending my favourites (Broadway Market, Spitalfields, Brick Lane, Borough, and Camden Town). Just me, your resident former-Londonder, cathedral dome dwelling market recommender! 

The London Eye, of course, is the epitome of tourism in London.  I tried all last year to find someone to go on the London Eye with me, but no one was interested.  When climbing St. Paul's, I made friends with a Canadian engineer who was conveniently planning on taking the London Eye the following day.  The queue was massive so we paid the extra six pounds for fast track, which was well-worth it.  Remember, time is also valuable, especially when in a city as incredible as London!  It was gorgeous view and fun experience. 

Four of my five trips to Oxford last year were to do a self-guided CS Lewis walking tour.  During my first trip to Oxford, I walked in the dark evening rain, clutching an umbrella and reading along with the guide on my phone.  I had a terrible habit of not planning out my trip well and arriving just as everything was closing.  There was one crowded Friday night, however, when I finally made it to The Eagle and Child, the meeting place of CS Lewis, JRR Tolkien, and the rest of the Inklings.  I was happy to sip my tea and discreetly take photos of the quotes, but I was not going to play the Narnia board game solo.  I was visiting a good friend this trip to Oxford, who I quickly enlisted to attempt the board game with me.  Unfortunately, it was missing pieces so we decided to just be content with finally finding the door to Narnia!

Are there any cities you keep coming back to over and over?  Let me know in a comment below!

Tatiana from efzin.co nominated me for a Liebster Award.  This is the second time that my blog has been nominated!  Be sure to check out Tatiana’s blog.  She always assigns a song to each blog post and for her Liebster Award post, she used George Ezra’s “Budapest.”  From that moment on, I knew I would like her blog!  Thanks for all the kind words about my blog, the nomination, and your questions, Tatiana!  Here are Tatiana’s questions with my answers. 

1.    If you were offered a free plane ticket today, what would be the destination?
That’s very hard because there are still so many places I’d like to visit!  Australia and New Zealand are rapidly moving up on my list of places to visit, so I would have to say Sydney, Australia to start with and then travel around Australia and New Zealand for a while.

2.    Or if you could teleport yourself anywhere, just to taste again a certain food, what would it be?  
​Gelato in Italy

​3.    If you were to choose between Scandinavian minimalism, multi-ethnic patterns or pastel sophistication, how would you re-decorate your living room?
While I really like the Scandinavian minimalism designs that most places in Iceland use, I am not tidy enough to maintain that in my own home so I would say multi-ethnic patterns.
4.    20 new fast-fashion pieces or 5 new design pieces?
​I don’t follow clothing fashion that much, so probably the design pieces.  
5.    How often do you de-clutter and re-organize your space?
Usually just when I’m moving.  I try to keep things tidy (the key word there is try). 
6.    Total white or total black look?
​Black
7.    Do you usually cook at home or order dinner?
I go through phases.  Lately I’ve been cooking at home, but I pretty much just cook oatmeal or eggs for breakfast and/or dinner.
8.    Besides English, how many languages do you speak? Or which language would you like to speak?
I wouldn’t say that I’m fluent in anything besides English, but my Spanish is pretty close and I am learning Icelandic.  I’ve also learned a tiny bit of Italian, Danish, and French.
9.    Have you ever dreamed about writing a book? What would it be about?
Yes, my whole life!  I have three manuscripts written that I’d like to get published.  I don’t want to give away my pitches but all three are young adult, one is contemporary literary fiction, one high fantasy, and one magical realism. 
10.    Have you ever travelled by yourself? (Not counting the times you took a plane to go visit your family!)
Yes, multiple times!  The first time I visited Iceland I went by myself and I also went to Italy, Switzerland, and Croatia for three weeks by myself.  I also did a few other shorter trips solo.

11.    Which is your favorite blogging activity? Researching, writing, photographing, editing or advertising?
I like the actual writing of my blog.  I love sharing my experiences and stories and hopefully inspiring others to travel as well!

My Updated Travel Playlist
I've been pleasantly surprised at the popularity of my travel soundtrack posts, so I think I will start posting my soundtrack for each excursion.  While I was in London, I discovered some new songs that I listened to over and over and over and became the soundtrack to my trip.

Updated travel playlist:
 
The Lumineers
“Ophelia” 
This song came out right before my trip to Copenhagen and London and I listened to it so many times while I was in London that I will forever associate with this trip. (Fun fact: during my first-ever visit to London (only three years ago!?) their song "Submarines" was one of the many songs I had for my soundtrack for that trip.)  Their new album came out a few weeks ago and it is brilliant!
 
Ten Tonnes
“Lucy”, “Subtle Changes,” and “Stop”
This EP was released on Spotify while I was in London.  I confess that I skeptically listened to it only because Ethan Barnett is George Ezra's younger brother, but he's amazing in his own right.  My friend and I listened to it over and over while on the tube or walking across the city.  He's just as good as his more famous older brother, and if that doesn't come as a ringing endorsement, I don't know what will!  

The Neighbourhood
“Cry Baby”
So I recently started using Spotify.  I know, I'm late to the Spotify party.  But, now I barely use iTunes anymore and I love the recommended playlists.  This was on one of the playlists and I listened to it reluctantly because I've never loved their music, but for some reason I find this song incredibly catchy. 
 
Jamestown Revival
“Home” and “Fur Coat Blues”
I had never even heard of them until Spotify kindly suggested that I would like them. Ir was right!  I'm going through a folk music phase again (this happens frequently, don't be alarmed). 
 
Jake Bugg
"Taste It" and "Gimme the Love"
In Iceland recently, I was telling a friend about how much I liked Jake Bugg’s music when an English lady on the bus in front of me turned around and said, “He’s from my hometown!  I never hear anyone talk about him outside of my hometown!”  I was amused.  
The Lone Bellow
“Take My Love” and “The One You Should Have Let Go”
So, as I said, I’m really into folk music right now.

Yes, I listened to every one of these songs in order as I was writing this post.