We got into London a little late. I think it was around 11:30 when we got our luggage and was finally ready to head into the city (note to self - don't fly if you don't have to. Airports are always SOOOO far away from the city and it takes so much time to get to where you're going).
We had planned on taking the bus into to the heart of the city to save about $20 per person but because it was so late the bus wasn't an option. So, we had to suck it up and pay the $35 per person to take the 30 minute high speed train into Victoria Station. From there we took the Circle Line to our stop and walked about 5 blocks to our hostel.
Since it was after midnight and they didn't have 24 hour reception we had to ring the bell about 4 times before the guy that was sleeping in the reception area woke up and let us in. We were staying in an 8 person room and everyone was already asleep (at 12:15!!) so we had to walk around in the dark to try to get ready for bed. We had to put our sheets on the bed and change and get ready for bed and all that stuff - not a very easy task in the dark.
The next morning we slept until we got up, which was like 9 am, and everyone else in the room was already gone! We got ready and then headed out for the day. I thought these row homes were about the cutest thing I'd ever seen so I had to take a picture (I think I'll probably live in one of these while my castle is being built - and since it'll take years to get the castle built I got plenty of time!)
We went and had lunch at this quaint little bistro around the corner from the tube station. I had a very yummy pasta and the girls had panini standwiches. And we all had a round of Coke Light! We then headed off to Buckingham Palace (where else are you going to start your London tour?!?)
And then of course we had to take pictures in the red phone booths. We even had another guy watch us and then ask if we would take his picture...
And then we found Westminster Abbey. At this point I think we were getting a little burnt out of touring so we decided against taking the tour and opted for sitting on the lawn right outside the door and watch people go in to take the tour.
After we finished up with the Abbey we headed towards Piccadilly Circus. And what's smack dab in the middle of the bustling corner? THE GAP!!! Now, I have a strick policy of not shopping at stores on vacation that I have at home...but seeing that Switzerland only has stores full of suck I got to go to THE GAP!!! I tried really, really hard to buy lots of stuff (because the Pound price is cheaper then the Swiss France price and it was the freaking GAP!!) but the only thing I could find was a 5 Pound shirt - the price not the weight.
Then we did a little more shopping (to no avail) and got handed some McDonald's coupons. It just so happened that we were hungry so we walked down the street to get a Big Mac and medium soda for 2 Pounds - that's the cheapest meal I've had since I moved to Switzerland.
After 'linner' we continued to walk down the shopping street and we saw an orchestra in what looked like a department store across the street. The three of us must have been staring because after about 30 seconds someone waved at us. So we waved back. Then several other people waved. And we waved back. Then they waved us to come over.
The were rehearsing for the BBC Proms. I don't know much about the program but this is an award winning orchestra that goes out around the city and plays free concerts in the summer. I really liked the way this picture turned out. You can see the orchestra with the beautiful city in the reflection in the window.
We listened to them rehearse for a little while and then decided to come back an hour later when they were actually preforming.
For dinner we decided to go to a place that our book suggested on the west end. We walk and walk and walk and WALK and never find the place. FINE! So we walk past about 5 restaurants (that all looked yummy) to go to an area on the map that looked like it was loaded with places to eat. Um, yeah. There was like one place to eat and it was very limited bar food...so we walked back past 4 of the preceding restaurants to go to one of the first one's we walked past. Brookie had clams, Lexi had a chicken burger, and I had fish and chips (a London must I thought!). Since we had a late lunch we had a late dinner and didn't get done until the shows were letting out - and of course it started to rain right as we were done. So we got to wait, in the rain, with the theatre goers to get on the tube to head home. We decided to call it a night.
The next morning we decided to head back to the same place we had lunch. This time we all got different things (well, except for the Coke Light...) Then we saw a salon across the street. I've been needing a hair cut pretty much since I left the states so I decided I would see if they took walk ins. The could take me so I decided I would get a little trim (I'm still trying to grow out my hair so I didn't want to cut it too, too much) and while they were at it I got them to cut me some bangs. That's right, I haven't had bangs since about 6th grade where the look was the taller and more feathered the better - good old bumper bangs. So, now I have my hair cut...Brookie and Lexi told me many, many times that this was the look for me and although they make my forehead sweaty I really it (and try not to sweep them back too often, mostly because it makes me look like I have a mullet. I had one of those too when I was little - thanks mom - but that's another story).
After my longer then necessary hair cut we were off to the Kew Gardens. Wow, these gardens were amazing and well worth the $20 admission charge! This is the oldest and biggest garden in the world and it has some nearly extinct plants that were really neat to look at. They were very good about labeling everything so you knew what you were looking at.
They also had a very neat aquarium, here's Brookie making out with a fishy. This fish followed Brooke all around the aquarium the entire time we were there just watching her.
Here are some giant lily pads in Princess Diana's memorial garden:
On our way back to the train station we stopped by the grocery store where we picked up dinner and drinks for our evening. Lexi found a free outdoor movie to fill our evening by London Bridge. We took the tube to the London Bridge stop and then walked across to get to the movie. Here's a picture of Brookie and I with London Bridge in the background (notice the new 'do!).
The movie we went to was 'Sound of Music' and it was maybe the most fun time I've ever had at a movie (minus SITC). If you've ever gone to a 'Rocky Horror Picture Show' showing think that - only with less rice, toilet paper, and transsexuals. We were there pretty early so we sat down and eat our dinner and took pulls from our litter of blue alcohol (don't worry everyone was 21 and the legal drinking age in London is 16 - no laws were broken). As it got closer to show time the place really filled up and people were arriving in costume!
Once the movie started it was like the best sing-along ever! Everyone was singing the songs and when the baroness or Nazis would come on everyone would boo. People would scream out 'I love you Julie' and when questions were asked on screen the audience would answer. It was such a great time (and I understood everyone because they spoke English!!!)
After the movie we had quite an ordeal to get back to the hostel. It took us a LOOOOONG time and really isn't worth repeating, just know it took us about 2 hours to get home when it should have taken about 10 minutes...
The next morning we just walked around the the area by our hostel and had lunch at a DIFFERENT place (fish and chips baby!) until it was time for us to head to the train. Now we had to say bye-bye to Lexi. She was going back to Rome to get her flight back to the states.
Next stop - PARIS!
We had planned on taking the bus into to the heart of the city to save about $20 per person but because it was so late the bus wasn't an option. So, we had to suck it up and pay the $35 per person to take the 30 minute high speed train into Victoria Station. From there we took the Circle Line to our stop and walked about 5 blocks to our hostel.
Since it was after midnight and they didn't have 24 hour reception we had to ring the bell about 4 times before the guy that was sleeping in the reception area woke up and let us in. We were staying in an 8 person room and everyone was already asleep (at 12:15!!) so we had to walk around in the dark to try to get ready for bed. We had to put our sheets on the bed and change and get ready for bed and all that stuff - not a very easy task in the dark.
The next morning we slept until we got up, which was like 9 am, and everyone else in the room was already gone! We got ready and then headed out for the day. I thought these row homes were about the cutest thing I'd ever seen so I had to take a picture (I think I'll probably live in one of these while my castle is being built - and since it'll take years to get the castle built I got plenty of time!)
We went and had lunch at this quaint little bistro around the corner from the tube station. I had a very yummy pasta and the girls had panini standwiches. And we all had a round of Coke Light! We then headed off to Buckingham Palace (where else are you going to start your London tour?!?)
And then of course we had to take pictures in the red phone booths. We even had another guy watch us and then ask if we would take his picture...
And then we found Westminster Abbey. At this point I think we were getting a little burnt out of touring so we decided against taking the tour and opted for sitting on the lawn right outside the door and watch people go in to take the tour.
After we finished up with the Abbey we headed towards Piccadilly Circus. And what's smack dab in the middle of the bustling corner? THE GAP!!! Now, I have a strick policy of not shopping at stores on vacation that I have at home...but seeing that Switzerland only has stores full of suck I got to go to THE GAP!!! I tried really, really hard to buy lots of stuff (because the Pound price is cheaper then the Swiss France price and it was the freaking GAP!!) but the only thing I could find was a 5 Pound shirt - the price not the weight.Then we did a little more shopping (to no avail) and got handed some McDonald's coupons. It just so happened that we were hungry so we walked down the street to get a Big Mac and medium soda for 2 Pounds - that's the cheapest meal I've had since I moved to Switzerland.
After 'linner' we continued to walk down the shopping street and we saw an orchestra in what looked like a department store across the street. The three of us must have been staring because after about 30 seconds someone waved at us. So we waved back. Then several other people waved. And we waved back. Then they waved us to come over.
The were rehearsing for the BBC Proms. I don't know much about the program but this is an award winning orchestra that goes out around the city and plays free concerts in the summer. I really liked the way this picture turned out. You can see the orchestra with the beautiful city in the reflection in the window.
We listened to them rehearse for a little while and then decided to come back an hour later when they were actually preforming.For dinner we decided to go to a place that our book suggested on the west end. We walk and walk and walk and WALK and never find the place. FINE! So we walk past about 5 restaurants (that all looked yummy) to go to an area on the map that looked like it was loaded with places to eat. Um, yeah. There was like one place to eat and it was very limited bar food...so we walked back past 4 of the preceding restaurants to go to one of the first one's we walked past. Brookie had clams, Lexi had a chicken burger, and I had fish and chips (a London must I thought!). Since we had a late lunch we had a late dinner and didn't get done until the shows were letting out - and of course it started to rain right as we were done. So we got to wait, in the rain, with the theatre goers to get on the tube to head home. We decided to call it a night.
The next morning we decided to head back to the same place we had lunch. This time we all got different things (well, except for the Coke Light...) Then we saw a salon across the street. I've been needing a hair cut pretty much since I left the states so I decided I would see if they took walk ins. The could take me so I decided I would get a little trim (I'm still trying to grow out my hair so I didn't want to cut it too, too much) and while they were at it I got them to cut me some bangs. That's right, I haven't had bangs since about 6th grade where the look was the taller and more feathered the better - good old bumper bangs. So, now I have my hair cut...Brookie and Lexi told me many, many times that this was the look for me and although they make my forehead sweaty I really it (and try not to sweep them back too often, mostly because it makes me look like I have a mullet. I had one of those too when I was little - thanks mom - but that's another story).
After my longer then necessary hair cut we were off to the Kew Gardens. Wow, these gardens were amazing and well worth the $20 admission charge! This is the oldest and biggest garden in the world and it has some nearly extinct plants that were really neat to look at. They were very good about labeling everything so you knew what you were looking at.
They also had a very neat aquarium, here's Brookie making out with a fishy. This fish followed Brooke all around the aquarium the entire time we were there just watching her.
Here are some giant lily pads in Princess Diana's memorial garden:
On our way back to the train station we stopped by the grocery store where we picked up dinner and drinks for our evening. Lexi found a free outdoor movie to fill our evening by London Bridge. We took the tube to the London Bridge stop and then walked across to get to the movie. Here's a picture of Brookie and I with London Bridge in the background (notice the new 'do!).
The movie we went to was 'Sound of Music' and it was maybe the most fun time I've ever had at a movie (minus SITC). If you've ever gone to a 'Rocky Horror Picture Show' showing think that - only with less rice, toilet paper, and transsexuals. We were there pretty early so we sat down and eat our dinner and took pulls from our litter of blue alcohol (don't worry everyone was 21 and the legal drinking age in London is 16 - no laws were broken). As it got closer to show time the place really filled up and people were arriving in costume!Once the movie started it was like the best sing-along ever! Everyone was singing the songs and when the baroness or Nazis would come on everyone would boo. People would scream out 'I love you Julie' and when questions were asked on screen the audience would answer. It was such a great time (and I understood everyone because they spoke English!!!)
After the movie we had quite an ordeal to get back to the hostel. It took us a LOOOOONG time and really isn't worth repeating, just know it took us about 2 hours to get home when it should have taken about 10 minutes...
The next morning we just walked around the the area by our hostel and had lunch at a DIFFERENT place (fish and chips baby!) until it was time for us to head to the train. Now we had to say bye-bye to Lexi. She was going back to Rome to get her flight back to the states.
Next stop - PARIS!
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