London, England

The flight from JFK to Heathrow was not as bad as I was expecting. There were many empty seats and I had a whole row to stretch out. I only slept for an hour or so but the excitement of my first European adventure was enough to keep me awake. This jet-lag was extremely disorienting - it was hard to remember what day it was, let alone the time of day.
Our official tour took our group of 41 to Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, London Bridge, Tower Bridge, and Covenant Garden. Everything was so picturesque.
Later that day the group broke apart and a few of us went to the National Gallery. This was my favorite part of London. The museum was free and it was crowded but quiet aside from the school children copying the paintings. I didn't expect to have to hold back tears as I came within inches of the work of Monet, Picasso, and Van Gogh. It was indescribable to be in such a beautiful place with work from centuries ago.
The Gallery could only have been followed up with one important monument. Our group navigated the underground railroad to King's Cross Platform 9 3/4. I couldn't stop smiling the whole way and had to keep myself from skipping.
This navigating of the underground was a real feat, and our group was very proud of ourselves - this was the first time I really felt like a traveler. We weren't sure where we were going or which direction was up but we were excited to see all parts of the city and not just the tourist things.
We went to a few English pubs - where we eat late and fill up on beer. Piccadilly Circus was lively no matter what time of day (or night) we were there and it was exciting to be in the English clubs and nightlife.
My debit card got declined for fraud. It was quite upsetting and very stressful but I got it straightened out within a few hours. When I look back on this event, I'm going to try to keep in mind that without this incident I would never have made a call from those adorable phone-booths all across London (nobody else did). Before I knew it I was packing up again for our next trip.