I was unsure whether or not I would go to London again. Though I did know that if I went back during my study abroad journey, I would go alone. During my past post about London, titled “I Went To London For The First Time,” I discussed the desire to go back alone so that I could have more agency, and I did! I'd figured the trip wouldn't be that big of a deal to my British classmates, but even they seemed impressed by the feat. Like they were pleasantly surprised that I had the guts to go to London by myself, which made me feel good about my decision.
I took a five hour coach bus to London from the Liverpool Central Bus Station to the Victoria Coach Station in London, which was only a quick walk to where I really wanted to go: the Apollo Victoria Theatre. Showing there was the musical, Wicked, the main reason I went to London again to begin with. I didn't know much about the show prior to going other than that it was based on the movie The Wizard of Oz in the perspective of the Wicked Witch of the West. It was cool how they managed to make the events of the movie into a sympathetic story for the Wicked Witch of the West, whose real name is Elphaba. The whole show was simply great! I love the effects and everything, including a scene where Elphaba appears to be flying with her cape flowing out from behind her and how they managed to depict Oz’s public form. As a Theater minor, I’m really interested in how they did everything. I made sure to buy a £10 program that I plan to show off when I get back to Susquehanna!
After the show, I slowly made my way to the Euston Station, the train station that would take me back to my accommodations. It was an hour's walk, but I managed to stop by a few places on the way, including Trafalgar Square, where there was a Christmas market; a theater café, where I had a Heather’s themed smoothie, called the Veronica Sawyer; and a couple shops.
When I finally arrived at the train station, I was disappointed to find out that my train was delayed. For an hour. It seems as though I just don't have good luck with long distance trains. Last time, my train was canceled. This time, it was delayed. I couldn't even sit in my assigned seat. That I paid for! People whose trains were canceled ended up on mine. I had to stand for a third of my train ride. By the end of the night, I was exhausted, hungry, and thirsty. It wasn't until I was on the train that I found out why there were so many delays. Apparently, someone got hit by a train, which was horrifying to hear.
Despite that, it was nice to go at my own pace. I didn’t have to worry about trying to catch up with my friends or waiting for them because they were taking too long. It was nice to have control, but I also continuously messaged my friends for safety reasons. Just in case something happened to me. They would know to be worried if I didn’t message them back. If you are going to travel alone, especially out of your comfort zone, I would definitely do something similar, like send your friends your Uber driver’s information or ETA. You’ve got to be careful!
NOTE: I didn’t take that many pictures, so there will be no section in the Gallery for this trip.