Everybody's Talking About the Fact That We Leave in 2 Days

Hi, it's your favorite Bailey.

Today was our second-to-last day in London, and we began with a morning tour of Highgate Cemetery. When I was in Ireland last year for school, I visited so many cemeteries I was sick of them, so I can be honest in saying I wasn't looking forward to this. However, the weather and nature were both so beautiful today I couldn't complain.

I could probably write a novel about Highgate and its history, but I'll just state some neat facts I learned during our tour instead:

• The cemetery was built back in 1839 and is a dominantly Gothic style.
• There is an east and west side to the cemetery (we toured the west side and were able to go to the east side for free afterward and look around on our own).
• There are approximately half a million family graves in the cemetery.
• Back then, a small grave cost anywhere from 3-5 guineas, and a larger grave was 20. People paid more to be on one of the main paths. 
• Any tomb with a cross on the top meant they were Roman Catholic.
• The first person to be buried in the cemetery was a woman named Elizabeth Jackson back in 1839.
• Many famous people are buried here, including Karl Marx, Douglas Adams, Virginia Woolf's parents, some of Charles Dickens' family, and more! 
• The cemetery has been used as a filming location, including Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald!

Grave of George Eliot

Karl Marx's grave

Virginia Woolf's Parents grave

After the cemetery, I headed back to the hotel for a while to just relax and figure out what to do for the afternoon. I decided to head up to Camden Market just to check it out but it was mostly touristy shops and food. I didn't buy anything, just some overpriced (but good) gelato. 

Afterward, I wanted to go back to Buckingham Palace because lo and behold, President Donald Trump arrived in London today. Surprisingly when I got there, it wasn't nearly as busy as I thought it'd be, and I got a spot right by the gates pretty close to the palace. After waiting for a while, two helicopters flew overhead that read The United States of America, and shortly after, a parade of security vehicles and limos drove into the gates, and I'm pretty positive I saw Trump wave from inside one of the limos. I thought it was a neat experience to see all of this happening, especially outside of my home country, but I decided to leave once it got busier and people were getting a little aggressive. 

To end the day, we all attended the musical Everybody's Talking About Jamie at the Apollo Theatre. The show focused on the life of Jamie, a 16-year-old boy who has dreams of becoming a drag queen but must fight to be accepted and loved for who he is and not who people think he should be. Truthfully, the play wasn't my favorite (I have pretty high expectations for musicals), but I really enjoyed certain singers and the dancing choreography. 

Sadly, this is my final post for this trip. If you're reading this and are from outside of our London group, I just want to say thank you for your support and following along with all of us on our travels! I don't regret a thing about this experience and I can't wait to come back again in the future!