21ST BIRTHDAY TRIP TO LONDON

Yesterday marked the day that I finally turned 21! I feel like I had been looking forward to this birthday for ages and knew I wanted to make it as special as possible. I’m going to do a big ‘Celebrating my 21st Birthday’ post next week as I still have some celebrations in line next week, but I wanted to dedicated a whole blog to my amazing birthday trip to London with all my wonderful friends.

Originally, we were planning on going to London at some point to see Hamilton! However, after assessing ticket prices we quickly realised that this wasn’t possible on a student budget. It was then suggested that we still go to London as an early birthday celebration for me and we soon got planning.

There were 7 of us in total – myself, Alex, Jordan, Ebony, Jade, Nikkii and Shannon or as we like to call ourselves ‘the OGs’. It was the perfect group size really (minus Zoe) and it was just amazing to get to see everyone again. The fact we were in London, it was my birthday and were going to see a West End Show were just bonuses really!

Speaking of shows, as the birthday gal it was up to me to choose which show to go and see after Hamilton fell through. I had to take lots of things into consideration such a cost, what people had already seen and what would be a good birthday show. In the end I chose ‘Aladdin’ at the Prince Edward Theatre as not only is it Disney and therefore a win for me but a feel good show that caters to everyone and that no one had seen before. We also managed to get tickets for £20 so it worked out perfectly.

 

 

I’m going to dedicate a whole post to the show and what I thought of it but it was absolutely amazing and I am so glad I saw it before it leaves the west end soon. As the theatre lovers we are, the set, costumes, dancing etc had us shook and the steward said that our reactions made her day!

The show wasn’t until 2:30pm and after a rocky start to the day with delays meaning we missed our connecting train to London Euston, we arrived in London at 11:45am. We still had plenty of time to follow the lovely itinerary Jord made and headed to Trafalgar Square on the tube for a quick lil photoshoot.

The next stop was Leicester Square where we met Ebony’s future husband the street performer! Being the birthday girl means that you get to make lots of the decisions and I was tasked with finding somewhere to eat. I ended up going with pizza hut as its always a safe option and is budget friendly. After finding out that the buffet wasn’t on, we opted to share some pizzas – Alex and I went for a meat feast!

It was here that I got to open my presents and cards. I honestly wasn’t expecting anything at all as to me the best gift was everyone taking time and money to come on a birthday trip with me! The messages in the card almost made me cry as did the gifts that were so thoughtful and mean so much to me. I really am one lucky lady to have friends that treat me like a queen every day of the year.

On the way to the theatre, we wandered through china town and Jord made sure our route included a quick stop by Les Miserables as I just love seeing all the West End theatres and of course Les Mis is my ultimate fave!

After a quick stop at the theatre cafe, we had a few hours before everyone’s trains would start arriving so we decided to find a base near to the train station and set up camp in Cafe Nero for some cake and coffee.

The day felt like it was over with the blink of an eye but it was so, so lovely. I honestly don’t know what I did to deserve friends like this lot and I am so grateful for all they did to give me such a special birthday trip. I’m already missing them but this weekend reminded me who my forever friends are and gave me the motivation I needed to get through the rest of the year.

Meg xo