Londontown

So it's back to the blog I go, as I have time before the real work of the semester kicks in. Ironically enough, it was about a year ago exactly that I left to go abroad. Funny that it's taken this long to finish!

So how did I happen to get to London? Well, this was the last trip we planned, exactly a week after our epic Italian adventure. It was right before we had to start hitting the books - quite hard in fact - to study for finals. So it was truly a trip to 'live it up' and take time to relax whenever possible.

We were really excited about our hostel as it was only a few blocks from Hyde Park - the infamously large park that is home to the Peter Pan statue. (Sadly, this was something we didn't make it to see, so one of those things on the list of "must-see" when I make it make to Europe. This make-up trip is going to happen. I know this.)

But back to the trip. Our plane landed in the evening, as most of our planes seemed to do. So we had to learn to navigate the 'Tube'. We were delighted to find out that our stop to get off was on Baker Street - the infamous avenue that housed Sherlock Holmes. We had to switch 'lines' a few times but were completely successful. We found our hostel on a very quaint little street. It was a perfect hostel - one that was cozy, and fit perfectly into the culture of the city. We girls had a room to share with other hostelers...8 others in fact. (Carolyn and I) The boys had a different room. We never mastered all getting a room together. But back to our room with lots of people - it was another one of my favorites - LOFTED! There was only one open bed up in the loft however, so Carolyn and I flipped for it. WINNER, WINNER CHICKEN DINNER! I slept wonderfully up in my sweet, lofted bed under the skylight which looked right up at the stars.

Day one in the city started off nicely. Their was a large kitchen/seating area in the hostel where we all enjoyed coffee and lots of toast and jam to start the day off right. Then it was off to explore! In proper London tourist fashion, the first photo op of the day was in a telephone booth. It was only appropriate. :)

We began the wandering...we walked down the side of Hyde Park, and past the Prince Albert memorial and Albert Memorial hall. (He was a popular guy!) Lots of park pictures as we walked along of course. Soon enough we made it down to Buckingham Palace (bottom photo below)! We had timed it as to see the changing of the guard, but so did everyone visiting London it seems. We took some pictures, though we were quite far away. It was also about this time that the sun was getting exceptionally hot. We all started seeing the signs of sun burn! (This was actually exciting...as Europe, especially England, rarely sees sunshine.) We also saw the Victoria Memorial (top photo below) which is right out front. At that point we thought we'd try to see a more close-up view of the guards, so we changed to a more close spot to view the passing 'changing of the guard parade'. Sadly though, they kept the guards on the other side of a chain link fence (see very top photo - that was as close as we could get. The movies sadly set up high expectations which were dashed. Thank you Hollywood.) We did what we could though, and snapped photos continuously. :)

Side note - we thought it would be fun to do one of the free walking tours, as London IS such a big city and we wanted to make sure we saw the best stuff. We joined up with the group right before the Palace. So with the group we traveled on to the St. James Palace, the Trafalgar Square (see below and note the sunburned faces), and the Horse Guards Palace (one of the major spots for the sporting events of the 2012 Olympics!). Then it was off to see Big Ben (which brought me back to Peter Pan and their pit-stop on the clock face) and to Westminster Abbey. The church was a beauty, truly, but we didn't make it inside as our group was moving on to the later stops.

The next stop - my favorite. FOOD! We went to a great little pub to get traditional UK fare - fish and chips (see right...it was tastier than it looks and the fish is sitting on more fries...I swear I got more than seven). It was just as tasty as last time I had it - back in Dublin. At lunch we all assessed our sun burns - which were actually QUITE bad. My nose rivaled Rudolph's and my forehead matched stop signs all over the world. Thankfully, I was in a dress that day, so I was cool as we walked around. However, my shoulders got quite pink! Poor Ryan was beet red. His skin loves sun more than mine (who thought that was possible).

But, it was back out into the streets to discover more of London. This time it was just our group, as the 'tour group' ended at lunch. We made our way towards the Thames. We lounged about in a park by the river - in the SHADE before heading closer and taking in the view of the river itself and the London Eye. We walked along the river for the majority of the afternoon, eating whippies (what they call ice cream) and stopping to take photos at all appropriate opportunities. (In our group - this is ALL THE TIME!) Parliament was a popular photo opp as was the, other side, of Big Ben. (See left for the London Eye, the Thames AND my whippie...and below is me taking in Parliament.)

My other favorite time of the day - DINNER was up next. But before we could do this - we wanted to make it back to the hostel. Which, was on the OTHER side of London! We accidentally took the scenic route back, which may or may have been due to my inability to read the map. (Hard to believe, right!?) But after about another hour, with rumbling tummies, we made it. We did make stops along the way though - including Buckingham Palace once again. This time, we could get right up next to the gates and yes, photos happened. (See right for one of those.) Back at the hostel we asked directions to any nearby restaurant that was 1) cheap and 2) TASTY! We ended up roaming some very cute neighborhood streets as we made our way to this small Italian restaurant. I know, I know, Italian food? We had that LAST week. (HA!) But pasta was something we all needed to fill up on, and there was no wait. Which was ideal! The inside of the restaurant was painted like giant fresco, and with a glass of wine, it almost felt like we were back in Italia. (Plus, see left...that pasta makes me drool right now! Well, again, maybe that's just me.) After we finished up, we walked back to the hostel and to our snug little beds. (HA, mine was the cozy, LOFTED bed!) A wonderful day, FULL of the sights of London, but yet, there was so much left to see! My poor feet took a beating that first day, in my flat, non-supportive sandals. But out of principle (it was warm AND more attractive than my usual tennis shoes AND I was wearing a skirt the next day) I wore them on day two as well. Yes my friends, I am a champion. I may whine (which I did, on multiple occasions) but I, am, a champion.

So, day numero two! What better way to start off the day (in our minds) than at Platform 9 3/4?!? For you non-Harry Potter fans, this is his mythical Tube stop. We made our way to King's Cross and attempted to find HP's place. (We had time to kill while waiting for our different trains, so to the left is a us, less sunburned and PUMPED for some HP sightseeing...in the Tube station.) It took awhile, as the stop they've now made into a tourist attraction, is NOT between stops 9 and 10 (which, c'mon London - is where it SHOULD be!), it was between 8 and 9. What the hell, right?! That's what we thought. But, we did find it after getting some help, and took the appropriate "running-into-the-wall-picture." (See below) Sadly, we didn't get through the wall and could not board the Hogwarts Express. Damn the bad luck! I didn't need to see anymore, it was a good day...we could go back to the hostel. But, it was only 10:00 AM...so we walked onwards.

That day we got a tube pass, as we discovered it would get us to all the places we missed the day before as well as save our poor feet. We had definitely put a lot of miles in the day before, so the slight extra cost was well worth it. (Less complaining by yours truly as well.) Next, we wanted to see Regents Park - which, we were told, were some of the prettiest gardens in London. thanks to our friend the Tube, we got there quickly. It was yet another BEAUTIFUL day so we took lots, and LOTS of park pictures. I found a tree that I happened to match that day, in fact! He knew I was coming. Smart tree. (See right) The park was massive, and we walked around only a part of it before we were ready to head off to the next adventure - CAMDEN MARKET!

This was particularly exciting for Carolyn and I, as we are very into finding fun things to buy. Particularly, jewelry! We told the guys we'd meet up later, and we wandered around, looking at all the great stuff out for sale. We found our way into a location that was all jewelry and I knew I was going to be purchasing something! I found a very neat, candy-looking necklace which was lots of colored glass squares strung together with a narrow, curvy bead in-between each square. I wear it a lot back home, and always enjoy telling those that ask where it's from. I also found a few pairs of earrings...which were one of the easiest AND best purchases I made in Europe. Why? They take up NO SPACE in your luggage, are still very neat and easily wearable with many things, and also a great conversation starter. (Yes, I'm a genius. A rebel...as discussed below... and a genius, and surprisingly, usually modest. :)

We grabbed lunch around this time - nothing fancy, just sandwiches at at little shop. Very much in the budget. We all were, by this time, scrapping the bottom of our bank accounts. It was our last trip, and we all were heading home in only a few weeks time. But, we also wanted to save our pennies, well, pounds, for a hearty, BIG dinner. More on that, later.

St. Paul's was next! The site of Charles and Diana's wedding and the soon-to-be royal couple - William and Kate! This one we were able to go inside, and it was indeed breathtaking. I LOVED the floor - which was black and white tiles. Sadly, pictures inside = illegal. However, after feeling extra rebellious after my Sistine Chapel activities, snagged one. It sadly isn't the best - only of the ceiling. BUT - proof my friends. I am, indeed, a rebel. (I posted a better picture though - see right. If you want to see proof, I can show you my album.)

Snack time was next - aka - FOOD! We found ice cream, again, as it was another hot day. We sat in the shade at St. Paul's as we consumed our treats. Now it was time to head across the Thames, so we found Millennium Bridge and made our way across. None of our group are big 'art' people, except me (at times). But, Carolyn really wanted to go inside the Tate Gallery, so we did! (See right - Millennium Bridge and the Tate in the background.) It was free, if I remember correctly. (Which was probably part of the appeal). But, it was a lot of very strange, extremely modern art. We lasted....oh...about a half hour. The less than appealing art mixed with the walking, standing pain in our feet, led us to the exit (or sortie as they say). We wandered on, along the Thames, past the Globe Theater (see left) and onto more cobblestone streets. I found a sign that is PERFECT for me, as we walked. It will be in the Top Five. So prepare for humor in that post. (Below is our group in front of the Tate, which isn't in the photo obviously, with St. Paul's and the Millennium Bridge in the background.)

We were walking in the direction of Tower Bridge (see left, I'm on the bridge with a bit of the Tower in the background), as we planned on walking back across over it. It didn't take us long before we were there, and on the other side admiring the infamous Tower of London. I've always had this curiosity about the Henry VIII era time in England. I have read many books, mostly fiction, about that time including quite a few on Anne Boleyn. Needless to say, seeing the Tower Green gave me chills. Ooky (rhymes with kooky) to think what went on, both in that building and on the Green. Crazy what humans do to each other out of fear.

On to a happier note, it was DINNER TIME! We wanted to hit up this pub we came across the day before - the Albert (see left). We saw a sign for their dinner option - which was a buffet of sorts - and beverages they had available. We were sold. (Doesn't take much for our group. Or maybe, just me.) I enjoyed my very first, hard cider. I highly recommend (see right)! If you are at all into champagne, it's the closest thing I could think of to compare it to. Less bubbly, however. Our dinner was about as English as possible, which was not only extremely delicious, but a lot of fun to eat while in London. Delicious roast beef, hearty mashed potatoes and even bread pudding (see below...AWESOME right? You drooling? If not, you should be...I made the picture the largest size for a reason)! We slowly wandered home...wanting to take in the last sights of London. We walked back along the parks, and by the Wellington Arch (our original meeting spot for the tour group the day prior which you can see on the right) and along a pretty little pond in Hyde Park (at the very bottom of the post). It was getting dark, and the park was closing in enough time where venturing to see Peter Pan's statue wasn't feasible. The only, true letdown of the trip. But as I said - I'll come back to see my friend Peter. He'll still be there.

We walked back to the hostel to take in the last hours of London. Our flight was VERY early the next morning, so we were packed up and ready to go at an insane hour. The girls that is. The boys were staying longer in London, to see more sights as they could miss more of their classes than Carolyn or I could, or dared to, prior to exams. (I may be a rebel, but I'm not stupid!) But back to the early flight, we were waiting for our shuttle to take us to the airport. And it was late. VERY LATE. We were starting to panic that it wouldn't arrive and we'd miss our plane! Carolyn and I were on the verge of legitimately freaking out when it pulled up. THANK GOD! We were ever so thankful to be on the bus, even if it was an obscene hour. We had plenty of time at the airport to make it to the gate. A Top Five moment even had time to occur. We made the plane, made the trains/buses to make it back to Maastricht...all by mid-afternoon. Just in time...to study. Damn!

In all, I really enjoyed London. But, the city is truly HUGE! We saw a lot of great things, but so many were missed due our minimal time there. I would love to go back, to take more time to wander the parks, shop at Camden Market (dangerous!) and go inside Westminster Abbey. There are also some great museums that we didn't go to, for lack of time. And, my friend Peter and I need to finally meet.

My friends, the travels are almost over. I do still have the trip home to document for you as well as our 'final' day around Maastricht. I'd love to share that particular day, through pictures. We walked along our daily route to University, by our favorite pub, by the river again, to our beloved train station, past our very close friend Bart (home of the exploding pastry) and by the Vrijthof one last time. Stay tuned for the London Top Five - hopefully you're excited to read that - and the finals days in Maastricht. I will not however, blog about exams. I know, I know, you're VERY disappointed. But let me tell you, not worth it. Those exams were the most stressful thing I've ever done in my life, and I would rather talk about things that were FUN and HAPPY. Exams = the opposite of those words.

Hope you enjoyed London...Top Five up next!