london.

bryn & india: they had done the whole graduation thing, the whole desk job thing. they had gotten restless. they wanted more. they set out to see the world. this is what they saw. and what they did. (also, what they ate.)

bryn & india arrived in london on a rainy morning in the middle of february. they had intended to sleep the entire overnight flight, but its hard to sleep on virgin atlantic. (free movies! free battleship!) needless to say, they were pretty grumpy when they arrived. but all bad feelings went out the window when they arrived at india's cousin's flat. lorna was there with open arms and tea already made. after crashing into a deep sleep on the pull out couch for a few hours, they awoke and were really able to take it all in: after months and months of making plans and changing plans and making more, they were ON THEIR EPIC ADVENTURE. woah. it was a lot to grasp.

lorna's street in west kensington.

double decker busses mean business.

lorna's flat was absolutely beautiful. right in the middle of west kensington, a neighborhood of large brownstones and vintage markets; one that lorna's friends later pointed out was incredibly posh. the houses were all worn red brick with beautiful balconies peaking over the grand entry ways. it was an amazing place to call home for a few days. and lorna was a picture perfect hostess.

the five days bryn & india spent in london were a whirlwind of misty sunshine and puddles filled with rainbows. as it was bryn's first time in europe, the pair made it their mission to really immerse themselves in the city and do everything they possibly could. and they did.

they saw piccadilly circus and wandered through the national gallery. posed for pictures in front of westminster and pretended they were wendy and peter flying over big ben. they fed the queen's swans in st. james park and made funny faces at her guards in silly hats. they walked through harrods and imagined being able to afford the alexander mcqueen bags and the vera wang underwear. they learned about darwin and the reproductive cycle at the natural history museum. they went to the phoenix club with lorna and her theater friends and went to the groucho club with lorna and her art friends; there they felt very posh when they learned that quinten terrentino and martin scorsese were in the room right above them.

bryn plays mary poppins in trafalgar square.

public art on the streets of soho in london.

india and lorna debate in the back of a back cab.

india's favorite day in london was their last, which also happened to be the most beautiful. as their friend echo pointed out, the clouds in london were different. and the sun poured through the puffs like the gold rays in bernini sculptures on their last day.

as assumed, they met up with echo in the morning, a sarah lawrence graduate who was studying art history in grad school in london. echo and her amazing brit boy david took india & bryn to their favorite breakfast place in shoreditch called leila's. they drank milky tea in real tea cups and got three orders of 'eggs with sage' which ended up being served to them in a communal iron skillet. butter oozed down the sides; they mopped it up with bread served to them in a basket. david immediately assumed the role of tour guide and told stories and pointed out sites as they slowly walked across london bridge.

on the other side, echo showed bryn & india to her secret grocery store. borough market was a gigantic food market that pours out from under the bridge on to the esplanade next to the river thames. roasting cheese and pigs heads made them feel a bit ill, so the group headed towards the flower and dessert part of the market instead. david showed bryn 'the best chorizo you will ever eat' and they munched down on spicy sandwhiches stuffed with the sausage. echo and india stuck to coffee and shared brownies the size of bricks. when their feet got cold, they walked down the river to the tate modern, and wandered through what they thought, without a doubt, to be the best modern art museum they has ever been to. india discovered an artist named cy twombly and watched some crazy cuban movies and got inspired.

echo pays the bill at leila's. 

your map at the borough market.

walking across the thames on the millenium bridge.

after walking the fancy footbridge and kissing echo goodbye, bryn & india got dolled up and went to meet some of bryn's sigma chi buddies, brock and felipe, from the university of oregon who happened to be in london for the weekend. brock, who worked for a marketing company in new york, showered them with fancy chili pepper martinis and tuna tartar at his hotel restaurant. the boys got all bro-y and nostolgic and india learned some sigma chi secrets (oh no!) and they all had a fun time playing dress up.

brock treats the oregon crew to a japanese feast.

london, doused in fancy and sprinkled with sophisticated, was just the tip. the rest of europe awaited. bryn & india were ready for it.