Walking down the streets of London with my mom, I saw red double-decker buses pass by like roaring trains. Noisy taxis zoomed along the busy roads. On the sidewalks, fancy shop buildings towered over us, some decorated with British flags others with historic architecture. The shops were bustling with people. Everyone looked so well dressed.  Looking around the city with big eyes full of wonder, I was excited to see the rest of the city on my spring break trip.

Life in Park Ridge was nice, and I was fine with everything, but my every day felt repetitive, I did things such as go Uptown, shop, and do other things. It got boring doing the same thing after a while. Then the trip to London came during the spring break of my eighth-grade year, and I was so excited to go. I’ve always wanted to see London, and I was going that week. When my mom and I got to London, we checked into the hotel, which was next to Green Park and right across from Buckingham Palace. After unpacking our bags, we then got on a double-decker bus to go to the Tower of London. It was really cool; there were a bunch of old things in the tower, and they had these ravens in the yard. On one of the days in London, my mom and I went on a tour of the Harry Potter Studio, and that was super cool. I got to see all the costumes and sets and everything they used in Harry Potter, and I was able to buy some things from the gift shop.

My newly developed love of travel has made me want to go see new places. The places I really want to travel to are Italy, Greece, and Denmark. It would be interesting to try authentic Italian food and explore the history of Greece and Denmark. Traveling to places outside of our hometowns can help us grow and introduce us to different cultures, and I think traveling is good for the soul and mind. It makes you happier. It broadens your surroundings. It shows you people and places that you don’t see every day. If we were unable to travel we wouldn’t get to experience new things. We also wouldn’t be able to discover new interests and learn things about ourselves that we never knew.

As we walked along the street, something grand caught my eye. It was Buckingham Palace, and it was more beautiful than I had imagined. My eyes popped out with wonder and excitement. People were taking pictures as I went up to the gate and stared at the stone structure. In front of it were lush gardens with beautiful red and yellow tulips. Staring at the magnificent setting, I realized that I had a love for going to new places. I knew there was so much more beyond the city of Park Ridge that I haven’t seen, and I want to see much more as I grow up.