“You Just Woke Up the Queen!”

Being here less than a week, and enjoying Central London with all it has to offer, definitely got more than I wanted in one night. A couple of friends that I have made decided that we would go enjoy a club one night during the weekend. One who was a local could get us in for free to the club, and all we had to do was get there on the Tube. That was just the easy part of the night; it took a turn after the club.
                As we were enjoying ourselves dancing and having a good time, it was all cut short when the club decided to close earlier than usual that night. All twenty something of us started filing out to the front and gathering everyone to decide what next. After a while of walking and realizing we were following a guy who lied to us about another club that we could go to, we decided to try and head back to campus. In London, the tube system stops running after midnight, and it was well after that time, and do not open until 5 am. Fortunately night busses were offered; we just had to find the right one to get us back to Richmond. Easier said than done! Walking aimlessly around London, we could not find the correct night bus, and the girls that were wearing heels were dying from all the walking. Thinking we are going the right way, we stumble into Chinatown, with its lanterns hanging from buildings and a whole other world, still bustling with people at 1 am. All the lights and noises, finally we find a cab to but a majority of us in back to school. I stayed behind, thinking I am able to complete this journey. With a very late meal at McDonald’s and witnessing a fight, with ketchup flying in the air, we finally ask for directions to a cop with our watches reading around 2:30 in the morning by now.

With these new directions, we headed off into the brisk late night weather, with people growing tired and impatient at getting home. Not knowing where the directions are taking us, we stop in a center with Ripley’s Believe it or Not building, and marvel at how the city is still teeming with people at this hour. Deciding to ask another person, we all ask people around a statue where to go, while making new acquaintances and taking a picture or two with each other, just to remember the night, and not think it was a dream. All I kept thinking was, “Wow, this is a memory that I have made rather quickly, at least I am with some friends.”  Fast forwarding an hour, it is just now, I and three friends, after we got the rest on taxis home. At this point we are sensing we are willing to wait for the tube to open in the morning, being fit, as it is around quarter to 4 in the morning. Also realizing we are right around the corner of Trafalgar Square, and down the street from Buckingham Palace. Forget the taxis for now and let’s enjoy the sites London has to offer.

           Walking down The Mall, with it being completely quiet with only us and the police officers we saw real quickly, it was a gorgeous site, albeit it was lit by street lights. Our local friend brought us to the spot where he stood near the palace on William and Kate’s wedding day. Walking up right to the gates, we took pictures and were just relaxing by the fountain. I tripped over a curb and made a loud thud, and us seeing the lights on in the staircase within the palace, my friend said “You just woke up the Queen, way to go!” After peacefully enjoying the palace we find a taxi quickly and head on back to Richmond and our home. Thinking back at that night, I enjoyed the experience of getting lost and learned a lot about the social aspect of London, with it being a major city in the world, and enjoying myself as I went gallivanting around. I would do it all over again if I had the chance, with the chance of seeing more