Entry 2: July 6, 2008

Before I traveled to London of course I had hoped I would meet/see a famous person either walking down the street or in a show. On July 2, 2008, this dream came true for me and four other girls traveling to the National Gallery.

Chelsie Batten, Kelley Petcavich, Sally Unrein, Hillary Goodson and I decided to use the tube as our source of travel so we walked to the High Street Kensington Tube Station not far from where we are staying, swiped our oyster card and were looking at a tube map to locate what tube to get on to make it to our destination. I was glancing at the map when I notice a well dressed gentleman quickly stroll down the stairs and by instinct I turned my head. As I saw this man’s face I knew he was not someone you see regularly waiting for the tube and I just knew I recognized him but his name slipped my mind. I powerfully yanked on Kelley’s bag and whispered, “Hey, is that the Virgin Mobile guy?” and her eyes got real big while she said, “Oh my goodness, it’s Sir Richard Branson.” 

After seeing another tube traveler getting an autograph from Sir Richard Branson, I asked him if he would take a picture with me. He politely said, “I am so sorry but I think the tube I need to get on is on the other side and I must catch it.”  I understood him needing to catch the tube and was just so happy that we were even able to see and quickly speak with someone of such high regard. As the five of us were talking about what had just occurred, I looked up and saw Sir Richard Branson walking back down the stairs to where we were coming straight towards us. He approached us and said, “Sorry about that, what about that picture?”  Ecstatic inside, I quickly grabbed my camera and Kelley took my picture with Sir Richard Branson and Kelley was able to get a picture with him as well.

As we were standing waiting for the tube, Sir Richard Branson exchanged a couple words with our little group. Before we knew it the tube had arrived and I knew my dream of meeting someone famous in London was soon to be over but boy was I wrong. Sir Richard Branson happened to take the same train car on the overly packed tube with us and we were right next to him. When I say right next to him, I am referring to the closeness of if you were sitting in a packed pew at church. Still in disbelief of who was standing next to me, I forget to hold onto the bar on the tube as the train was leaving which caused me to tumble over but Sir Richard Branson grabbed my arm and pulled me back up.

Due to delays on the tube, the tube rides were much longer than they usually are and due to the closeness of the packed people on the train you had to talk to feel comfortable so we talked to Sir Richard Branson. He asked us where we were from and we told him our hometowns but that we were all from Meredith College in Raleigh, North Carolina studying different subjects. After he became aware that three of us were music students he asked if we had gone to a big concert in Hyde Park but unfortunately we hadn’t arrived in London until the day after the concert occurred. He also asked us how we financially prepared for the trip and we told him that Meredith provides scholarships that help us afford this opportunity. He also asked if we had been challenged by the exchange rate and we definitely said we were being careful with our money. Sir Richard Branson said he was traveling all around and that his next stop was Geneva. Overall we had a 20 minute conversation with Sir Richard Branson and then his tube stop approached and he politely said, “Nice to meet you girls, have a safe and fun rest of the trip.” 

Then and there I knew we had experienced something abroad that not all students get to experience. I had seen a VH1 television show about Sir Richard Branson and never in a million years thought I would be standing next to him on the tube. I was shocked to see that he had little items with him. He had no security, no briefcase, just a billfold, and his cell phone which had the Virgin Mobile logo on the screen. He was such a nice and humble man and I am so glad I had to opportunity to talk to him and proudly represent Meredith College as we talked through our conversation. I can’t wait to find out if I see anyone else on this trip but I know meeting Sir Richard Branson definitely changed my travel experience forever!

Entry 1: June 30, 2008

Hey from London! We made it! What an eventful experience it has been so far. Our first day was full of many activities to try to keep us all awake. These activities consisted of constant double decker bus tours of the wonderful sites of London as well as a boat tour. This experience really made it a reality that I am actually here in London. I know it hasn't hit me that I will be here for a month, I feel like I will only be here for a week because of everything that was seen on the bus tour.

I had a wonderful night of sleep but I need to get used to falling asleep to the tube running next to my window rather than the lovely sounds of crickets and bull frogs in Virginia. Today was a restful day as we are preparing ourselves for a week full of all different wonderful sites such as the British Museum, Tower of London, the National Gallery, and many more. I will have much more to write soon but for now I will leave you with just the lovely thought of me arriving safely. I will be back to write more soon.