Here is what I have learned on my time alone:
Nothing, no matter how crazy, scary, or unnerving, has yet to bring me down. It's as if everything I had been looking for suddenly appeared all because I wanted it to. I willed it to. Happiness is not pleasure. It comes from the mind, body, and soul. From within.
London was cold. And rainy. And hard to navigate because of how large the city is. I could have easily taken the path of loneliness and fear out of the the thought of being there by myself. And occasionally I did. I think I was more homesick than I had ever been on this trip during my time there. But I allowed myself to honor that feeling and be patient. And then I realized - I am the leader of my own fate. Happiness will not be sprung upon me if I sit and mope in my bedroom. I was coming back to the pad every evening around 5 or 6 and losing myself in movies or books rather than indulging in the city like I had planned. Granted, I was tired. I AM tired. But during my last couple of days in London, I decided enough was enough. I wasn't going to let any fear or any financial worries interfere with me experiencing what was around me.
I spent my two days in London living the life of a London-er. Or, at least, trying to. So, on Monday, I went to the Royal Academy of Music to hopefully sneak a peek inside. The museum/bookstore was open but none of the classrooms were. Darn. So I spent a good deal of time looking through scores, reminding myself of how much I love classical music. That day was tough because it was pouring rain pretty much the entire day. It's hard to explore when you didn't even bring proper rain shoes to walk in. But I wandered over to Regent's Park and just took a nice long walk in the rain. I put on my favorite Sufjan Stevens' album and admired the Queen's Garden full of flowers and waterfalls.
After a couple of hours of exploring, I hopped onto the tube and went over to see the Royal Opera House. Today was, apparently, the day of dreaming and scheming my future. I wanted to make it a point to see these things just in case I ever come back... :)
I sat at the Charles Dickens Coffee Shop for a little while, drank my latté, and stared out at the busy streets and the hustle and bustle of people running in the rain.
I really didn't do a whole lot the rest of the day. I got an email from my summer program reminding us of all of the music we needed to have memorized and ready to rehearse by next week so I mentally made the excuse to take the day to enjoy myself. Not to mention I needed to learn my scores...
Tuesday was my last full day there. So I woke up early and went straight to Westminster Abbey. Pictures aren't technically allowed to be taken inside the Abbey so many of these were sneak shots. It was BEAUTIFUL. I am so glad I spent the money to do this! If only I knew more about the British Monarchy - the tombs of most everyone were of the royal family. I know the famous stories of course - King Henry XIII and his beheading of Anne Boleyn. Or the rival of Queen Elizabeth I and Queen Mary I. But most of the history is new to me. I was inspired to learn more about it, especially knowing how strong British ancestry runs in my family.
The gardens within the Abbey The Queen's Corriders - the story of the current Queen Elizabeth II
One of my favorite parts of the Abbey was the final tomb they had just before exiting - a tomb of an "unknown British warrior" from WWII. This is to commemorate the lives lost in the 20th century world wars. Very touching.
After this beautiful little trip, I grabbed a latté and headed over to the British Museum.
This was totally not what I was expecting. I walked in and was completely overwhelmed. There is SO much to see there. It reminded me a lot of the Louvre in Paris - it's a tour at your own will but you really need to know what to look for. So I took about 10 minutes just staring at the map until finally deciding that I, and apparently every other young person there, wanted to see Ancient Egypt.
This was FASCINATING. I spent forever in here! I cannot believe the genuine amount of coffins and mummies they were able to preserve there - it is disgustingly awesome.
Most of these mummies, if I remember correctly, were buried in their tombs between 3000-1100 BC. Completely mind-blowing.
They also preserved many of their writings and stone tablets.
And of course, after my personal awe over all of this, I went to see the Rosetta Stone.
By now, I couldn't believe how late it had gotten. So I went back to my pad, packed up my stuff, and went to bed early in prep for my 5 am wake up call to catch my flight to Salzburg.
I'll admit, I was really nervous about traveling to Salzburg. I had been spoiled by actual English speakers with English signs in London. I knew I'd have to take buses to find my hotel, as well as make my connecting flight with barely enough time.
And it all happened as planned. Both flights were delayed. I barely made the second one. I landed safely and couldn't find the bus station. Found it but couldn't read any of the signs (where are the English translations?!) and just picked the next bus to go on hoping to get somewhere. Asked for help from any person who spoke English. No one spoke English. No one helped me lift my luggage on and off the several buses I was on. AND, I'm dressed for rain when it's almost 90 degrees outside.
So, after about 10 hours of traveling, I made it to the hotel. I could breathe! And thankfully, I, the astute woman I am, picked the same hotel that I will be staying at for my program. This means - no more traveling!!! No more hopping on buses, trains, planes, subways, lugging my suitcase around and trying to read signs in languages I wouldn't even attempt pronouncing.
So here I am! My final stop! And I couldn't love Salzburg anymore than I already do... :)
So, I'll be here for the next five weeks. My program starts on Saturday and I am SO excited to be around people again. I do love and treasure this alone time. But this extrovert is getting slightly antsy... :)
Today and tomorrow are purely "prep" days. Learning my scores. Exploring the town again. Laying low.
Let the new adventure begin!
Until then,
<3 Allie
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