London is seriously unlike any other city I had ever been to before. Some of my fondest memories came from my week trip to London, and the trouble of having to add extra American passport pages, getting special electrical plugs and exchanging currency seemed so small once I arrived. London is unmatched in its unique quality, and getting to experience that first hand was life changing.

Some get discouraged from traveling due to all the processes involved. While I was getting additional passport pages, my mom was telling me how she disliked traveling because of all the planning that’s involved. However, once you spend a while exploring and experiencing, the stress becomes irrelevant. Trust me.

If you love art, London is the place for you. Walking through London is like walking through a real life museum. The monuments, the huge buildings, and the atmosphere create such an immersing environment. Even the street art is beautiful. I spent a whole day walking around the Victoria and Albert Museum, or just the V and A Museum. Huge rooms packed with artifacts from every civilization were everywhere, and that was only one wing of the museum. Standing beside a huge, ancient artifact left me feeling so small and insignificant in the scheme of things, and it was such a cool learning experience. Huge halls filled with everything from fashion exhibits to fine art wove through the Museum, and I left feeling like I had walked though ten different museums.

My stop the next day was the Tate Modern Museum. I was little hesitant about a modern art museum, because I generally wasn’t very impressed with modern art. However, upon entering the monstrous building, I was instantly impressed. Getting to not only look at but interact with the art pieces made the Tate a very different kind of museum experience. Some of the pieces held very strong messages, and I left the museum feeling inspired.

The peak experience of my trip was getting to experience Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. As an English major, I hold an engrossing love for William Shakespeare and his plays, and getting to see them performed at their home was a truly humbling experience. I decided that the “groundling” experience was the way to go, being a little short on money. I had hit the gift shop, and had let loose a little too much. How could I resist the “Montague & Capulet” tote bag? I couldn’t. The play was incredible, and although my feet ached a little, it was easily disregarded when getting to stand at the edge of the stage. The atmosphere was so unique, and there was a vast difference from the theatre experiences I had previously been acquainted with.

Please don’t let the preparation required for traveling stop you from experiencing your dream vacation. Whether you need a new United States passport or to add new passport pages, need to hire a dog-sitter, or just book a plane ticket, make some solid plans and get yourself there. You aren’t being called to go there for no reason, so don’t ignore it. Pack your bags and grab your friends or family, and get ready to have an amazing vacation.

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