Abbey Road: Don't Pass Me By...

On Tuesday, my childhood best friend Ashleigh who's also on exchange in London (deep breath) and I went to go visit Abbey Road.

It was a beautiful day, the sky was so ridiculously blue, just like when I was in Gothenburg, Sweden, not even a week before. In this part of Westminster, the buildings give off a warm glow in the sunshine. Flowers were in bloom, everyone had their sunglasses in tow and I was walking with a jump of excitement in my step. I was finally going to such an iconic place in the history in music.

Abbey Road -- the studios -- have housed acts (besides the Beatles) such as Radiohead, Green Day, U2, The Killers, Morrissey, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sigur Ros, and a handful of acts I never assumed deserved to record there, but oh well.

But really, this place is ONLY about the Beatles. It is not acknowledged anywhere else on their outdoor premises of any other musical entity. The studios painted over their front gate white so over the years, devoted fans and tourists could scrawl their "Imagine Peace" and "All You Need is Love" mementos all over. There's a bus stop right in front of the studios, and everyone in the bus always looks amused or confused.


After gazing at the wall for a while, Ashleigh and I found a spot on the side of the gate to write our thoughts. I chose to write the song title, "Don't Pass Me By" along with "...09" and "Jess + Ashleigh". Ashleigh then signed her name above it along with "Buffalo, NY" in a heart. Taking after her, I decided to write "Jessica L. 09 CANAM" down the side. Fully represented.


Then we saw the timid other tourists standing on separate sides of the intersection, looking nervous. After all, it's quite the busy intersection, mainly filled with taxis looking grumpy. But they have to stop for anyone, even if they're just standing there looking like they want to cross it. But we got our turn.


Visiting Abbey Road was a huge part of my life, and one of the greatest moments of being in London. I'm moving back home to the States/Canada in less than two weeks, and I'm glad I've been able to check that off my life list. Like any child growing up in the 80s/90s my dad blasted the Beatles as early as I could remember. I remember sitting in the car on the way to Long Island or somewhere, going over a bridge, my brother singing Yellow Submarine when he was a little tot. It wasn't until a couple of years ago I was fully able to appreciate the band on my own, but since then it's grown into a huge, delightful history lesson, and Abbey Road was a field trip of creativity and daydreams.


Going home, I saw the moon, and realized I could document it for you, readers at home, the moon a la the other side of the world.