Makayla’s Canterbury Tales: A too-honest travel journal
Day Thirteen: Coffee
Hey! I am so sorry I have not been keeping up with this as much as I have promised. Each day is still going to be here and accounted for, just a little delayed as I am finally able to start working on the stories I came here for! Now, back to your regularly-scheduled travel logs.
Tonight, we are staying in a hostel. This is the first time I have ever stayed in a place like this and I still feel like I am not getting the total experience since we got a private room.
Speaking of the room, I was dumbfounded by the amount of beds they could fit in such a small space. We were able to get three beds to fit five people in a room that is probably the size of my room at our university in Kent.
When I say we, I mean myself and the four other girls that are on this trip. So, you can imagine how fun it was to share a single bathroom in the morning.
We thought it was super cool albeit a little unnerving at first since it was all but one of our first times in a hostel. As soon as we got our key and everything squared away, the door started jiggling as someone was trying to get in. When I tell you my blood turned to ice …
Most of the day ended up being a lot of fun. One of my other classmates and I went to see the West End production of Les Miserables and I am not exaggerating when I say I cried about three different times.
This was very special to me because I watched the Les Miserables movie probably once a week during the COVID-19 lockdown and the music became important to me.
Hearing the music with a live orchestra sent goosebumps all over my body as soon as it began. I felt the bass in my chest and was completely moved by the music.
Every single worry and concern over if I am fitting into this group of classmates was a distant thought as I found myself completely immersed in the music, set design, lighting and acting in the show. After three hours of pure bliss, I turned to my classmate and I can only describe the looks on our faces as shock.
It was probably the best musical I have ever seen live and I implore you, even if you are not into musical theater, to go see it. If anything, it is such a fun experience.
Bringing a chess set into a West End theater was not something I ever anticipated to happen. Yet, there I was, lugging a huge bag into this theater so I can keep up my absolute favorite tradition.
Today is Saturday and if you remember, that means it is the day I get to set some time aside and play chess with my partner. This time, however, it was a little unorthodox.
When I am home, we play chess at our favorite coffee shop in Flagstaff. So, since it was cold outside and I love warm coffee on cold days, I decided to try to play at a coffee shop. Easy, right?
Wrong.
I felt like I was Goldilocks at every place I stopped in. The music was too loud, the wifi was too slow or they would just be closed when they said open until 9pm.
It was so strange but I just ended up at the park I went to last week. There, I still could not find the peace I had the first time. People who obviously saw me talking to my partner on the phone and playing chess came up to me multiple times asking if I needed someone to play with.
You would think as a journalist, I would be comfortable with people coming up to me asking me questions since I do it all the time. Yeah, no. For some reason, I was rattled from my inability to find a second of quiet, so I went back to the hostel and got to finish our game.
I adore London but I am very aware of my social battery. I think this trip, like I mentioned a few days ago, is teaching me to know when to distance myself from people so I can recharge.
Just because you are on vacation does not mean you have to be moving and doing things every single day. Vacations also mean learning to live life in the slow lane and taking a shot at appreciating the small things.