The British Truth: London and I Never Sleep!

Deanna Gorman is a student at Luther College and an ISA Featured Blogger. Deanna is currently studying abroad program in London on an ISA Fall 4 program.

Brighton Pier.

Birthday parties seem to be a weekly thing in our flat as we celebrated my roommate Shehara’s 19th Birthday on Thursday.  She is such a sweet, young lady and I am honored to be living next to her! Harry (one of my other flatmates) and I ordered Domino’s and we were so hungry we got 2 pizzas, one for me and one for him. I couldn’t believe that I devoured a whole half of a pizza in 10 mins! We wasted no time with plates and napkins, it was a straight shot from the box to our mouths. It was yummy!! The party was so much fun, and included cupcakes with Nutella frosting provided by yours truly, and they went over very well!

But the real adventures began as most do… on Friday night! It was 8:00pm and I had no plans which is my biggest pet peeve: being in London and spending a Friday night in my room. So my friend Ryan and I decided we will go into northern London to a club that was having a Decade Music night where every 15 minutes they play music from a different decade. So we set off and get there around 10:30. When we came in, they were on the swing era and since I know how to swing dance, I offered to teach Ryan and he agreed! I had not danced in months and I was so much fun to get on the dance floor properly again. :) We stayed there for a couple hours and then decided to just walk around the very busy Main St. and people watch. The hustle and bustle was enough to keep me entertained for hours, I LOVE the city life!

At some point we decided we should try and find our way home since it was 1:15 in the morning and when we go to look at a map, we find that we had walked a little too far and were lost. Now I generally get really anxious when I don’t know where I am, but it was such a beautiful night and I loved the walk and chatter we were having so I did not panic. Over the next several hours we had gotten on and off half a dozen buses going both ways and finally when we were a little closer we decided to just walk home. We finally rolled into Roehampton University’s main entrance at 5:15 am. After all that walking we were quite hungry and so Ryan and I went back to my flat and I made us my signature dish, grilled peanut butter and Nutella sandwiches!! They hit the spot and once we had relaxed and our tummies were full, we decided it was time for bed. What an absolutely FABULOUS night!! :) Beautiful night, great walk, and great conversation with a nice fellow American.

Red Velvet cake!! Yummy!

But now here was my dilemma… it was 5:45 am and I needed to be up in 2 and a half hours for our ISA excursion to Brighton, do I sleep or do I stay up?! I was not overly tired so I decided to stay up and do the dishes, clean the kitchen, and answer a few emails. But then I thought that a nap would be nice and so I laid down for 2ish hours. Brighton was nice, but it was rainy and cold all day so I don’t think I got all the enjoyment out of it that I could. We did however stop for fish and chips which always brightens my day and then walked along the pier.

Sunday was another eventful day as the girls and I went for proper English Afternoon cream tea. It was so sweet and relaxing to have an afternoon out with the girls to chat and catch-up. We each got to choose our own tea and I am learning how to dress mine correctly. We were provided with warm biscuits and then we split cake, one of which was my absolute favorite…. Red Velvet Cake!!  As the afternoon came to a close we decided that this would need to be a monthly event with the girls.

Lovely London Ladies off to Afternoon tea.

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