DAY 36: The Longest Day Ever

Oh what a day! The last day of class didn’t last long. We turned in our portfolios and were free to go. Thursday night, there was a planned cultural tour of more historic pubs. Some of the people who came to London only enrolled for 5 weeks, instead of the 10 week program. This was the last night we’d be able to hang out with the people who were getting ready to leave so we made a night of it.

I totally forgot about the pub crawl, so I didn’t think about the fact that I wouldn’t be able to go home and pack for Paris beforehand, but I figured I’d have time when I got home. We went to three pubs with Tony, our tour guide. The first pub we went to was in Whopping, in East London. I can’t remember the name of it but it was built in the 1600s and was a favorite hangout of Charles Dickens. We all had a pint on the bank of the river before heading to the next pub, Captain Kidd. It’s named Captain Kidd because that is where the famous pirate, who inspired the character of Jack Sparrow, was hung for his crimes at that pub. We all had yet another pint, before heading to the last pub.

The last pub we went to is called the Mayflower. It was from that place that the Mayflower set sail from the new world. It was right on the river, as were the other two, but on the north side on the Thames. It was very small and very old. I went with a half pint this time, keeping in mind that I’d be leaving for Paris at 6AM, though the thought didn’t stay in my head for long.

From the Mayflower, a group of us went to O’Neil’s. The first two floors are a normal bar, and the top floor is where they have bands play live music. We had a great time at there, our last hurrah together as Ashley, Stacey, and Sam were all leaving this weekend. We didn’t even get home until 3AM. We stayed in the kitchen hanging out until 4AM… and I had to be up and ready to go to Paris at 5:30AM…

I laid down to “rest my eyes” around 4:15 …