My story of actually getting to the UK was a crazy one so lemme try to take you on the adventure. I pursued by master’s degree through the University of Liverpool Online. I decided to complete and graduate on campus because I could use that opportunity to go to Europe for the very first time and get that ticked off my bucket list. Travelling from Jamaica to London is an eight-hour flight and it takes a few months to process the visa to get there after vetting required documents and an interview type process. Upon receiving the letter of completion from my university, I started the process to get the visa well beforehand. Two of my friends decided to come with me and they made their applications as well, after getting the visa, literally that same Friday night I went to a soca fete and I came home so drunk that I peed on the passport with the visa, like legit – don’t judge me now I literally could beat my damn self! The good part about that was I did all the applications way in advance, so I had time to get new passport using the express service overnight and make a new visa application before my scheduled departure date which I got through with.

You’d think that was the end of the drama, right? Nope!

The night right before I was scheduled to leave, I packed all bags, left them in the living room and went to have drinks with a friend, excited of course. When I got back home, my house was broken into, the thieves stole my backpack that had in my passport and some converted cash for travelling! FMLLLLLLLLLLL! I was starting to wonder if these were signs that I should not go but then I thought maybe this was just a challenge to get there and appreciate the experience even more. At the point of the robbery it was literally 18 hours before the time of the scheduled flight to London.

My brother in law (a police officer) did some investigations and at the end of it all I missed that flight, my friends reached London and I was left behind. The day right before the graduation I got back my passport (through aforementioned ‘investigation’) and booked a last-minute flight to London. My really good Trinidadian friend (who was in Liverpool with my two other friends for my graduation) arranged his friend from school to meet me at the airport in London to assist me in catching the train to Liverpool.

I reached Liverpool on December 4, 2018 minutes right before my graduation (UOL accommodated me by shifting me into the final ceremony so I walked without my faculty which I didn’t actually mind).

I’ve heard that Liverpool has always been a quirky and gritty city, filled with interesting and creative people (the Beatles are from there). We stayed here for two days after graduation and we visited museums and went sightseeing.

I really had to visit The International Slavery Museum - if you know anything about me I love learning and being immersed in the past of my ancestors, I owe this seek for knowledge to my fellow Jamaican National Hero Marcus Garvey when he said “A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.” It helps in many ways to seek knowledge but it also gives strength and well needed hope to navigate the racial climate which we find ourselves in today. The International Slavery Museum tells the story, largely from the white man’s perspective sadly and the role the city of Liverpool played in the transatlantic slave trade and the mass enslavement of Africans by Europeans. Coming towards the end of the tour, which could be described as a journey, the tone of blackness became stronger the you navigate feelings of resilience and survival against all the odds and is a testament to the unquenchable nature of the human spirit.

A good thing to note is that in Europe, hostels are a cheap accommodation alternative to hotels and there are really good-looking comfortable ones. I Liverpool we stayed at Hatters Hostel Liverpool, the room hosted all four of us for $104 US for 2 nights. The photo below is a good mirror image of how we found the rooms.

We headed back to London on a two-hour train ride from Liverpool which cost £36 (if bought early enough in advance). I was literally working on two hours sleep by my crazy tight schedule at this point.

The capital of the United Kingdom is a thriving multicultural metropolis. The contrast between the spectacular historic sights and the lively cultural scene makes a visit to London an interesting and exciting adventure. It can be a really expensive city to live or even be a tourist in.

We stayed in Crystal Palace at the Best Western Queens Hotel, I frankly have nothing good to say about this hotel other than it was a decent enough place to lay our heads. I paid for an upper level room which I was told was not available when we got there so we got placed in a small dungeon of a room with a fake window. We were barged in on whilst asleep by a cleaner, the customer service was horrible (especially when dealing with the issues with the cleaner), the rooms were extremely small and the elevators were dirty plus the hotel was going through renovations which we weren’t made aware of prior to arrival.

Our six days in London were awesome though, initially I was afraid of the train (tube) system in the city as it can be very daunting and overwhelming from what I have heard so for the first two days all we took were Ubers (expensive) but by the time we got into the swing of things we used our apps and our Oyster cards, followed instructions and avoiding rush hours, taking the train was a bearable and good experience.

DAY 1

Hip Hop Karaoke

We went to East London’s (Shoreditch) favourite Friday night party spot, Queen of Hoxton on a Thursday night. Expect two floors of music, on the ground floor we were greeted by some familiar music including Drake, Rihanna, Migos, Future and Nelly. The karaoke show started at 9pm and we enjoyed every minute of it. It was £5 adv / £7 OTD. The drinks were not too expensive.

DAY 2

Sky Garden

I heard about this free view of the city, and I am so glad we planned this visit for around sunset! It really is an incredible view of the city and the outdoor platform at the 35th floor is spectacular!!! Being there to watch as the sunset, and then see the skyline light up (Christmas lights are an added bonus). It is recommended clearly to bring warm jackets and hats as it is cool up there with the doors open.

DAY 3

We visited the Westfield Mall, Stratford Mall and shopped around, it is a beautiful mall with all that you might imagine you want.

Our friend Kearn’s classmate Aaron had a pre-game at his house before we went to this Caribbean party. The party was a few blocks from his house so we (a group of six decided to walk). We were crossing the road at one point when a white pick up came speeding down and the driver yelled “hurry up n*ggas” at us, one person in the group was so mad that he hit the car, luckily a police car was close by and the situation didn’t go any further than that.

We got to the party, had fun, took the bus home.

DAY 4

Lion King, The Lyceum Theatre

We sat there, ready, with the movie in memory, expecting a nice experience. When the first tune was sung in The Circle of Life, it was so strong and emotional, I felt my heart go warm, and I was weeping immensely taken away by beautiful sunrise, the beautiful animals, and the amazing music.

The singers are talented beyond belief, the music makes the blood flow remarkably different in the body, by it all: the music, the singers, the story, the nature they are portraying. What an homage to every subject this story is covering. I also found a Jamaican and a few other Caribbean nationals who were a part of the cast. A lovely show!

You can find some of London’s best-value food in the city’s ethnic neighbourhoods – try Chinatown, Kingsland Road for Vietnamese food and Brick Lane or Southall for Indian food. There are also some good-value food chains to look out for like Nando’s. There’s this Jamaican spot in Croydon called The Dutchie Restaurant & Bar which we went to about three times after mistakenly discovering it. After the show we went to Chinatown to have some food before walking through the city to catch the winter lights.

DAY 5

Central London

We started our day at one of the most iconic of all London sites, Buckingham Palace, the official residence of the United Kingdom's sovereign and the administrative headquarters of the present-day monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. The closest tube stations to Buckingham Palace are Westminster (Circle, District, and Jubilee lines), St James’s Park (Circle and District lines), Victoria (Victoria, Circle and District lines), Hyde Park Corner (Piccadilly line) and Charing Cross (Bakerloo and Northern lines). The train stations are CRAZYYYY especially if you don’t come from a big city like London, we used the Tube Map and City Hopper app to get around along with our London tour guide, Kearn.

All our days began when it looked like this, at sunset because of the bleakiness that we weren’t used to.

We moved from there and continue from St. James's Park to Parliament Square, a meeting point of sorts. Bordered by major attractions like Westminster Abbey, Big Ben (under construction), the Palace of Westminster, and lesser but equally as interesting sites such as the Statue of Winston Churchill (my fave) and the Statue of Oliver Cromwell, this particular area of London is chock full of history and things to explore.

BoxPark Croydon is where we finished our final night out in London, just a chill area made of shipping containers. A culmination of innovative street food and live events with great drinks is what I would describe it as.

DAY 6

We ended our journey in London by spending the last night at a hotel close to the airport that was good for what it as worth.

Thank you London, I will be seeing you soon.