From Barcelona to California and now London

I'm sitting on a National Express bus on the way to Gatwick airport and I can't believe what a wonderful weekend I've had.
London wasn't really on the agenda for this semester until I found out one of my best friends, Sophia, would be in England with her boyfriend this week. Sophia and I met while we were studying abroad in Spain. She's the only person, other than now Travis, who I've stayed in touch with since that semester. Everyone else just stopped replying or we lost touch living far away from each other and our busy lives. I'm so glad and thankful to have met her and stayed such close friends with her. She and I share the same adventurous nature and push each other to be the best we can be.
Once I knew when she and her boyfriend James would be in Europe, I booked my flight and have been looking forward to this weekend since the beginning of February. I hopped on a plane in Florence and arrived in London mid afternoon on Friday. I took a bus into the city center and from their took the tube to the flat. After getting slightly turned around after I exited the tube, I found the flat and rang the buzzer. Sophia opened the door and I couldn't have been happier.
Joe, her cousin whom we stayed with, cooked us a lovely dinner. We chatted for hours before heading out for a little evening exploring. Saturday morning we left the flat for the Churchill War Rooms, somewhere I've never been in London. It was fascinating to see. A handful of quotes from Churchill are posted along the walls in one of the rooms. He's a funny guy. I think I'm favorite quote of his I read that day was "We're all worms. But I do believe that I am a glow worm."

While we were walking to the war rooms,  we noticed filming equipment and Warner Brothers trucks around St. James Park and the surrounding streets. There were more film supply boxes set up outside the exit of the war rooms. I looked at one and got extremely excited! The box said "Mary Poppins, St. James Park". We were walking the same streets Emily Blunt and Lin-Manuel Miranda have been for filming Mary Poppins Returns! Sophia and I were very excited! We passed the rest of the Warner Brothers' equipment and walked towards Big Ben. We walked along the Thames towards the Tower Bridge and the Borough Market.
The Borough Market is one of my favorite parts of London. It's Britain's most renowned food market. I've been once before during my semester break in Barcelona and James and Sophia have never been so I had to take them. With the multitude of food stands, it was hard to choose which stand to buy food from but I had to decide. I got a vegan facon burger, a green smoothie, and a scoop of Pistachio almond and cherry goat milk ice cream. It was a delicious meal. Sophia and James both got noodles and a few treats from one of the baked goods stands. We left the Borough Market and headed back to Joe's apartment to rest and get ready before seeing Wicked. 

James, Sophia, and I

James had never seen Wicked so Sophia wanted to take him. She and I have both seen it and love it so we didn't mind tagging along. We arrived at the Apollo Theater 6 minutes before the show started and sat down in our seats, 6 rows from the stage, just moments before the lights went down. The show was phenomenal. The actress who played Elphaba is unbelievable talented. Her portrayal of Elphaba was amazing. She gave the character so much spunk and life, I was blown away. We left the theater, took the tube back to Joe's neighborhood, and stopped a pub for a few drinks. We laughed and chatted for hours before heading back to the flat. 
This morning we both all got up, repacked our bags, said our goodbyes, and headed our separate ways to the airport. It's was hard to say goodbye after such a wonderful weekend but I know I'll see both of them at home soon enough. Now I've got to get on a plane to get back to classes and homework. I have my first class of the week bright and early tomorrow morning.