Let me just start by saying that the pound (London’s currency) is horrible for Americans. I had to budget to the extreme in London, but I was still able to see and do everything that I wanted to. Figuring out how to get from the airport to the hostel proved to be much harder than we imagined. We ended up taking a 1.5-hour bus ride to a random bus station then a cab to our hostel. Another group figured out that the train was 20 minutes and took them right to the hostel… O well, we were in London!
We stayed at the YHA hostel- a nice hostel that had way too many hidden fees (we had to pay to be members, pay for internet, and pay for breakfast)… O well, we were in London! We got in pretty late, so we went to eat a late dinner at a great little Japanese restaurant by our hostel then went to bed.
Feb. 7
On Tuesday morning, we went to see the changing of the guards at the Buckingham palace, which was amazing! This is a tradition in London that draws a huge crowd. After watching this for about an hour, hearing them play the James Bond theme song and seeing more horses (this time with police on them, not carriages), we were off to explore London.
Changing of the guards
In front of the Buckingham Palace
We had lunch at a small Irish pub called O’Neill’s (we missed Dublin) then headed back to our hostel to get ready for High Tea! High Tea is another tradition in London. Literally you are “just” drinking tea, but we got really dressed up and went to a five star hotel to enjoy our tea and treats in their “lounge.” I chose the “Whole Rosebuds” tea (very cleansing and good for the skin according to the waiter). After tea, we were off to a show! What a London-esque day!
Getting ready to leave for high tea.
We got really cheap (17 pounds) group tickets to go see Wicked at the Apollo Victoria Theater. This is a Broadway musical that I have been wanting to see for a while now, and what better way to experience it than in London?! The Apollo Theater was smaller than I thought it would be, so our seats were great! (There really were no bad seats). Wicked was absolutely terrific! Although my memory is not very good (and I have seen my fare share of musicals since I was really young), I’d say it is easily top 3 best musicals I have seen. The acting was great, the music was great, and the story line was GREAT! Wicked is the back-story of Wizard of Oz, and it explains how the good and bad witches came to be. It is a very clever and well done script. I even recognized some of the songs that I did not know were from Wicked. After the play, some people went out, but a few other girls and I were just too tired from our day of activities that we called it a night and took the subway (known as the underground) home (London transportation is so easy and great!).
In front of the stage at the end of the show.
Feb. 8
On Wednesday, we saw Big Ben (the big clock), the Parliament building (huge and attached to Big Ben), the London Gallery, Westminster Abby, the London Eye (The giant farris wheal), and the British Museum (where the Rosetta Stone, pieces of the Parthenon, and much much more is held). It was a packed day, but I am so glad I got to see all of these things! Outside of the London Gallery are giant lions that a lot of tourists tend to climb up and get pictures on. Needless to say, we all did this.
Countdown to the Olympics in London!
In Front of the London Gallery also.
Big Ben and a small section of Parliament.
Westminster Abby
In front of the Rosetta Stone!
Design for the 2012 Olympic Medals! (In the British Museum)
Everyone met up back at our hostel to get ready for dinner and a night of festivities. A few of us ate at a place called The Court. I had a great burger and a great beer for only 4 pounds! After this, the small group I was with lost the bigger group who could not find tables at The Court. We got on a bus to go to Camden where everyone was eventually going to meet up. After getting sufficiently lost, we found a strange cobblestone alley with a lot of different bars. We chose to go into a bar resembling a barn and were met by the sound of rock music and people having a great time. The bands playing were strange but pretty entertaining. Only later did we realize that this great time was most likely induced by hard-core drugs. Upon this realization, we promptly made our way out to try harder to find our friends. Finally we found them at the Wagon Wheal bar where more live music and fun was happening. Luckily this fun was far from drugs and we ended up having a blast!
Feb. 9
On Thursday, we went to finish our tour of London. We saw Abby Road (where the famous Beatles picture was taken), the Tower of London, the Tower Bridge and London Bridge. Unfortunately the London Bridge was not as exciting as we thought it would be… It was like any bridge you would see in America with cars driving across it and all. The Tower Bridge was more exciting and colorful and no cars were driving across it (a much better tourist attraction). We ate an early dinner at the hostel and went to bed early because our train to Amsterdam was at 6a.m.!
Tower Bridge
Abby Road picture!
(Lots of traffic so this proved to be quite challenging.)
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