March 1st was a day of stress thinking that I couldn't re-enter the US, but funnily enough that was the least of my worries.
We headed to the airport on May 2nd dressed for California; no coats, just trainers and I had packed mainly shorts and Tshirts. We were going to the Golden State so seemed sensible, no? Our flight connected through Philadelphia, so on arrival at the airport we were slightly concerned that almost every flight to the East Coast of America was cancelled. New York, Boston, Washington, even some to Philly - cancelled. Our flight went ahead as planned though so we didn't really think anything of it until we arrived in Philadelphia after the worst flights of our lives to a snow storm. At this point we kind of realised that we might not be leaving Philly for a while, but we thought it would be a couple of hours delay and we would make it to San Francisco that evening. The departure boards were a sea of red, more cancellations and delays than flights leaving the airport and the arrivals board was a similar story, but somehow our flight was still on at that point.
We sat at the gate for a couple of hours until 15 minutes before we were supposed to takeoff and the American Airlines rep informed us all that the flight was cancelled, the airport was closed and their system was down so we couldn't book onto another flight - great. Many frantic phone calls were made; the hostel in San Fran that we were supposed to stay at, American Airlines and our families back home. Eventually we all got booked onto a flight to LA on the Monday (three days later), and had found a hotel (with no help from the airline and no compensation @ American I'm looking at you), but we now had three days in Philly and were not even going to make it to San Francisco at all - it's safe to say we were pretty upset. That evening we moped around the hotel (is there anything more depressing than an airport hotel? I think not) and made some provisional plans for the next couple of days.
We spent our first day exploring Philadelphia and freezing as we had packed for Cali. Despite the cold and not being in San Fran we had a really good day. We went up the tallest building and got a great view of the city, ate a Philly Cheesesteak and explored the old, colonial part of the city including Elfreth's Alley and Independence Hall. Philly is actually a gorgeous city that I never would have visited otherwise so I am glad that if we were going to be stuck somewhere, it was a place with plenty to do. 
We had seen on the map that Washington DC was fairly close by, and after exhausting our options in Philly, we decided to book the 3 hour bus to Washington for our second buffer day - it was one of the best decisions we have ever made. DC is stunning, I completely fell in love with it and we got to see so many sights that I never imagined I would see. The White House, the monument, Capitol and the Lincoln Memorial to name a few, we even managed to find a Nandos to cure our broken hearts. Although I was worried the entire day that our bus would break down or we would miss it and not make it back to Philly in time for our flight, it was one of the best days of my exchange experience so far. 
On the Monday we went back to the airport for our second attempt at making it to California and my hopes were so low, I had even thought about other options in the Philly area in case we didn't make it. This was where our trip turned around. Our flight boarded on time, we took off and made it to LA mid afternoon. Los Angeles has always been near the top of my bucket list so I was over the moon to have made it. As soon as we stepped off the plane we felt the sun on our skin and I could have cried with happiness and relief. We arrived at our hostel and I was amazed by its location. I was on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and I would highly recommend if you are ever in the Hollywood/LA area (https://walkoffamehostel.com/). The rooms were lovely, breakfast was provided and the employees were super helpful, especially as we arrived a day earlier than planned. That evening we went to Universal CityWalk, somewhere I have seen in so many vlogs (lol), and always wanted to go. It was pretty cool but very expensive and our meal was far from nice. The time difference was messing with our bodies and we were in bed by 10pm and woke up at 5am, yay.
The second day was easily one of the best days of my life. We started by walking through Hollywood to Melrose Avenue, walked all the way down that to Beverly Hills and explored that area. The whole city was gorgeous, the weather was amazing and I was so so happy. I could totally see myself living in California (LA is super busy with traffic but I could def live nearby). We ate incredible food at Urth Cafe on Melrose and somehow managed to walk 13 miles that day. In the early evening we caught a bus down to Santa Monica and watched the sunset on the beach which was another bucket list thing done. We then walked down to the Venice area and had the best Mexican for dinner (http://casalindamexicangrill2.com/). 
The entire trip feels like a dream, from the nightmare that was not making San Fran, to the whistle stop tours of Philly, Washington and LA. I had the best time and feel so grateful to have seen three diverse and different cities in such a short space of time. San Francisco isn't going anywhere and I will make it there at some point. I would like to give my travel buddies Vic and Sab a little shoutout and thank them for putting up with me in all my emotional states, proving that we can make the best of any situation, and for being the best duo to spend my Spring Break with - so much love.
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