By Dani Lauren

A couple weeks ago I went to a performance in the world’s oldest surviving grand music hall, Wilton’s, in London. The hall itself was tucked away in a side-street alley that not even a mini car could get through. The inside was completely decked out in beautiful fairy lights and had a sort of rustic charm to it. The walls and floors were all distressed wood and even though the building itself was ancient whoever restored it did a great job and gave it new life. The main act, Saint Saviour, situated herself on a platform almost in with the audience with a string quartet. The whole concert was so intimate and I don’t know if it was the room, her emotive voice, or a combination of the two, but the whole crowd went silent every time she sang. It was probably one of the best small concerts I’ve ever been to and I can’t wait for another opportunity to visit Wilton’s Music Hall again.

Two days later I woke up at 5 am and went on a Contiki tour to Amsterdam. Being in Amsterdam was such a culture shock to me after being in one of the most “proper” countries in the world. For starters a “coffee shop” isn’t really a coffee shop (look it up) and the Red Light District was no joke. There was even a nursery school right next to one of the windows! Although I didn’t really do anything musical while I was there I still got to experience another country that I can tick off my list. We also went to the countryside to get away from the sea of tourists that was the city. We sampled some of the best cheese I’ve ever tasted in Edam, saw the beautiful tulips of Keukenhof, and even saw how traditional Dutch clogs are made. I definitely ate more stroop waffles and slept as little as humanely possible, but it was a very intersting city break.

As if I couldn’t get enough traveling my dad also came to visit me and took me to Manchester this past weekend for the big derby (Go Manchester United!) I’m officially exhausted but I can’t say I’m a true Londoner without having watched a real soccer—or should I say football game. Now I get a couple weeks off to relax in London before I head off to Edinburgh the first weekend in May! This whole adventure has been going by so fast but when I look back I can’t believe the amount of things I’ve done in three and a half months.