On Monday my grandma, Lindsy, and I flew to London from Cologne, Germany. It was my grandma’s and Lindsy’s first time in the UK. I have been there once before when I played a show with Foxygen in London in 2013 at The Lexington and also did a BBC session there but I had no time at all to explore the city. We booked a small apartment in North London that was conveniently located near the tube station. I found after reviewing prices that it was cheaper to stay in a small apartment for 5 days compared to renting a hotel room. It ended up being a good choice except that the kitchen and bathroom area had an unpleasant aroma but thankfully it wasn’t next to where we were sleeping. There’s a pedometer on my grandma’s phone that keeps track of how many miles you walk and I was amazed to see how much walking we did in just one day. Our record was 7 miles as we explored Covent Garden. It took a few days of adjusting to get used to people walking and driving on the opposite side of the street. There were a few times I felt like people were going to knock us over. By the end of the trip I was pretty much a pro at using the subway. It reminded me of the subways in New York but a bit easier to use and understand. On Wednesday (the 22nd) we went to the Tower of London which was fascinating but also creepy. The grounds of the place are oozing with history and years of stories that you can feel just by looking at the castle from a distance but walking through the castle really makes you feel that that heaviness. The phrase “sent to the tower” originated from the 16th and 17th century when the castle was used as a prison. The White Tower was built in 1078 by William the Conqueror and is ghost like. For some reason all of the polaroids I took at the Tower of London were completely white and over exposed. I took some photos with my cell phone though. On Friday (the 24th) I played at The Lexington with a band from New Jersey called “Screaming Females”. The show was sold out and I was really nervous before performing. I haven’t been that nervous at a show in years. After playing my set I felt extremely happy, joyous, and uplifted. It made me feel like I had a natural high. The audience was very receptive to my music and I was able to meet people who have been listening to my music for the last year. I honestly have never experienced the kindness from fans the way I did in London. I had multiple girls come up to me and tell me how much my songs meant to them and how it inspired them to write their own music. I felt truly touched. It was my favorite show I have ever played as Globelamp. That night we got back to the apartment late and ended up getting two hours of sleep because we had to catch a flight back to Cologne, Germany early in the morning. With minimal sleep, Lindsy and I got back to my uncle’s house and passed out for two hours, only to get up again and attend another sold out rock show. Time warp much? Two sold out shows in two different countries in two days?  Except this time the show we went to was a punk rock show, one of my favorite punk bands from when I was a teenager, Against Me! I had been corresponding with the lead singer of the band (much to my shock that they even listened to my music) and she put Lindsy and I on the guest list. We got a ride to Cologne, Germany and went to the merch booth to check out what Against Me! had for sale. The man working at the booth asked me my name and when I responded he told me, “Laura told me to bring you to her immediately when you got here”. Lindsy and I looked at each other in a fan girlish sort of way and followed him backstage where I finally got to meet Laura Jane Grace.  Well not only did I get to meet her but she suggested we write a song together. So basically if I wasn’t in Europe this opportunity wouldn’t have happened.

After recovering from our intense weekend Lindsy and I went to downtown Bonn to find a cafe to do some research in. The house I am staying in has horrible internet connection and it sometimes takes up to ten minutes to even load a page. We went into a church called St. Remigius Parish Church which is included in the “Beethoven walk” and it is where the young Ludwig played organ at 6am morning services in the Minorite Church. Today it is the church of the Catholic Chaplaincy Bonn and the organ is now kept in the Beethoven House where visitors can go view it. Inside the church I lit a candle for all of my loved ones who have passed away. It’s something I do whenever I go into a church in Europe and have extra change with me. Today we visited LVR-Freilichtmuseum Kommern, an open air museum out in the country that shows how people lived 100s of years ago. It was interesting to see because the house we are staying in is exactly like the houses that can be found in the “Eiffel” section of the village. Tomorrow Lindsy and I are taking a train to Hamburg to hang out with Laura Jane Grace of Against Me!. Hopefully we begin writing a song together or at least start throwing ideas at the wall.