Welcome to another installment in the Europe Scrapbook series! I’ve been working through documenting my 2017 study abroad trip, and Part 6 is all about London. Our adventures involved lots of Shakespeare, exploration, and good food.

We’re picking back up with a visit to Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. I kept this spread mostly photo-focused, because how gorgeous is this stage? I included a bit of journaling on my homemade “Field Notes” card to be sure I remembered the important details, but the photos really speak for themselves.

I was surprised and thrilled to find that our walk to and from the Globe Theatre involved crossing the Millennium Bridge. I recognized the iconic bridge as soon as it came into view (admittedly because of Guardians of the Galaxy and Harry Potter, not because I am at all cultured.) Casually crossing over it to get to our destination and back was so exciting to me.

Our next outing was St Paul’s Cathedral. I created this nifty half page using a 6×8 page protector, an adhesive tab, and a heat tool to make it the perfect size to hold the brochure. I also added in some journaling cards and the admission ticket amidst the photos.

I was very happy with the photos I was able to include on this spread. I was a bit disappointed that photography was prohibited inside the cathedral, because it was truly beautiful. But I did manage to capture some incredible photos from the top of the tower! (My friends somehow convinced me to climb all 530 steps to the top of the tower on a rickety metal spiral staircase, so despite how serene the photos may look, I was shaking and hyperventilating the entire time.)

That evening, we visited Hyde Park as the sun set. I made this another photo-heavy page, focusing on the mini photoshoot I did with my friends.

This was a late-night outing to see a Cirque de Soleil show called AmaLuna at Royal Albert Hall. Definitely something I wouldn’t have bought tickets for if I’d been planning the trip myself, so it was a cool experience that I never would have done otherwise! I tucked my ticket into one of the pockets, along with a matching patterned journaling card.

The next day, we made a day trip to Stratford-Upon-Avon, where we visited lots of Shakespeare-related historical sites. Our first stop was Shakespeare’s birth home. Traces of his parents’ professions and lifestyles were evident all around the house.

Next, we visited Holy Trinity Church–the site of Shakespeare’s baptism, marriage, and burial. I included the church leaflet in the right-hand page protector for reference, so I can pull it out and read about the church as I’m flipping through the scrapbook.

I created a single-pocket spread with my photos and journaling for Shakespeare’s New Place. Since his family home no longer stands, the grounds are kept as a garden, which was fun to walk around and photograph. I created another brochure pocket page so I could save and reference the pamphlet.

On the other side of the pamphlet are some photos and journaling about the cottage of Shakespeare’s wife, Anne Hathaway. This was the most true-to-history site from Shakespeare’s life, so I enjoyed imagining them walking around the cottage grounds together.

If you’re in London, how can you miss the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace? My fingers were freezing off the whole time, so I only snapped a handful of photos. I filled in the rest of the pockets with journaling and patterned paper.

This spread of the Charles Dickens museum was a lot of fun to put together. I used the dark teal color from the brochure in all of the embellishments, mixing them in with ephemera I brought home as well as photos of some of the artifacts we saw.

To document my visit to the The British Museum, I included photos of my favorite artifacts. (Apparently Doctor Who props and Disney Dollars rank right up there with the Rosetta Stone.)

I can’t create a scrapbook without including some food photos. I loved these little chipboard numbers I got from an Ali Edwards travel kit, so I used them to list off some of the foods I ate in these couple of days: cannoli, calzone, and Greek chicken that I still dream about to this day.

As always, here are a few of the products I used most for these spreads. I’ll be see you back here in a few weeks for the next installment of the scrapbook!