Her Campus Skidmore presents this year’s best Spring Break photo! Suzanna, an HC Skidmore writer, took the photo herself in London, England. Here’s a little background on the scene from Suzanna!
Spring break in an expensive country with typical grey skies and drizzle probably doesn’t sound ideal. While my friends headed off to Mexico, The Bahamas, and Florida, I crossed the pond to London to visit an old camp friend. The trip was incredible and of course the week flew by and unfortunately ended too suddenly. Ok, I exaggerated the bad weather in London last week. Luckily I got about three full days of rare sunshine to walk the city and see the sights with my friend, Emmie. London is truly a city of elegance. The historical beauty of Europe is something that too often gets overlooked. Some of the buildings are hundreds of years older than America itself! The architecture of Westminster Abbey, the Parliament Building, Big Ben, and Buckingham palace left me with a heightened sense of appreciation for the craftsmanship and artistic brilliance that went into these mighty structures years ago.
As you might have heard, the exchange rate for the dollar to the British pound is NOT in our favor. However, caught up in all of the markets, shops, pubs and attractions it becomes far too easy to forget where you are and forget that you’re spending over twice the money you would on each purchase in the States. Of course the city’s incredible array of small boutiques and larger shops in Oxford Circus made me forget all about exchange rates and economics – a dazzling six floor TopShop, the surprisingly cheap but terrifyingly overcrowded Primark and more sucked me under their spell. Let’s just say I left with a suitcase double its size on arrival and a Bank of America warning about my dwindling balance. No regrets though, the purchases were worth every lost penny!
I was lucky to stay in Emmie’s flat for free, meet her friends (a great array of Poles, Swedes, and Italians) and experience the nightlife from a local perspective. Long evenings began around six at the nearby traditional English pub with a few beers and good conversation followed by an extravagant meal of some international cuisine (and of course, plenty of wine) and culminated with hours of dancing, bottle service and (free) fun at some fancy club. Now, I obviously lucked out big time having a friend who knew the right people to experience that kind of luxury but to be honest, even if you never step foot in any crazy clubs you will definitely not be without lots of fun alternatives for the night! Taking a risk in my spring break destination was the best decision I could have made and I would encourage every girl to venture outside the Caribbean comfort zone for spring break 2011!