first stop? LONDON.

So Marissa, Emily and I had an entourage saying goodbye to us at the airport. We all sobbed and tried to pull it together to get through security. We walked away while Marissa's grandma screamed "NO ITALIAN MEN!!!" at us repeatedly, and it started to sink in....this is really happening. Just like that, we were on our 6 hour flight to London!

I have to admit, London was not really what I expected. Where our hotel was located, everything seemed more "old fashioned" equipped with its beautiful architecture. We spent our first day not only trying to ignore our jet lag, but just exploring this city for the first time. I was shocked how gloomy and cold this city was, but it didn't stop us. We made ourselves obvious tourists by taking too many photos, especially pictures at the red telephone booths (but how could you go to London without taking at least one, right?)

Day two we were up early and ready for our tour around the heart of London. We got to see major sights including Big Ben, The Royal palace, the London Eye and even where Kate and Prince Harry kissed after their wedding!

The heart of London really reminded me of New York City. At the finish of our tour, we got to explore by ourselves. We took the "tube," which is their version of a subway. Coming out of the tube, theres traffic,lights, people and so much to do in this big city. It was nice to feel at home even when I'm across the globe. Later that night, we went out to a London club to top off our full UK experience!

I think each of us fell in love with some part of London. For me, I think it was the accent, surprisingly enough! (if you know me, you know how I feel about accents.) But I thought they were adorable and became more jealous throughout the weekend that I didn't have one.

And today concluded our weekend in London, and was the start of our 2 weeks in Siena, Italy. The 5:45 am wake up call was pleasant and so was the 12 hours of traveling. But I guess it wouldn't be a true study abroad experience if 40 of us didn't loose our bags..........When we got to Sienna, we were enlightened with the news that a good portion of our bags didn't make it on the plane due to lack of space. As we waited and waited in the airport, filled out missing luggage forms and trekked in the rain to get to the 2 hour bus ride to our hotel, all we could do was laugh. Hopefully our traveling goes much smoother from here! Our first 2 weeks in Italy have officially begun. So excited to see what Siena has to offer!

xo Bria