Last weekend I took a weekend trip to London with one other friend, and we had a really great time! Since it was the two of us, it was really nice to pick and choose the sights to see, and the things we wanted to skip.
We started out on Thursday morning with our hiking backpacks, took a 2 hrs bus to Shannon Airport, checked in, went through security and waited the two hours for our flight. While we were in Shannon airport we saw U.S. Army Men!! My friend and I were so touched to see them there, in their uniforms, and proudly wearing the Stars and Stripes. We went up to them (I was quite teary eyed at this point...typical) and thanked them for their service to our country and all they do to protect us. He was very moved, and so happy we had said that to him. We chatted for a bit. Come to find out, he was from CT and had gone to Yale as a grad student!! A little bit of home :) I know it definitely made my day, and I'm sure it made his too.
We boarded the plane, flew 55 mins to Heathrow and landed quite safely and in good weather.
By the time we got off the plane, it was around 7, and we made our way down to the Tube. (London's underground subway!) I was sooo confused and had absolutely NO idea where we were trying to get to, or what would be the fastest and/or cheapest option. I didn't think I could EVER master the system or be able to confidently find my way around. (I had never really taken any trains/subways back home...that was too much city for this little country bumpkin) ;) Nevertheless, at the end of the weekend, I almost knew the Tube like it was the back of my hand and I was very sad to leave it behind.
After the hour Tube ride from the airport to the stop for our hostel, we found ourselves outside the city, still slightly discombobulated as to where our hostel was located, after sunset and also raining. Thank you Tante Lise for the waterproof backpack cover!! It definitely came in handy this trip :) We walked up the road still trying to find out hostel, and after asking for directions from a business company, we finally found our way. Come to find out we had walked past it several times haha.
The hostel itself was an old mansion that had been converted into a lovely place. We were in the basement in a 12 person all-female room, but that was fine with me because we were next to the hostel owned restaurant and pub! :) It made for a very short walk to breakfast in the morning! The whole atmosphere of the place was so welcoming and there were lots of great gathering rooms, TV rooms and couches, and also computers right when you walked into the lobby. It was very easy to meet people and be friendly. We met two very nice Canadian girls who were traveling all around Europe, and it was so nice to share stories and get to know them! I also met a couple guys from France when I was waiting in line for the computers, and they were very nice too!
Every morning at breakfast we would snag a couple extra pieces of toast, peanut butter, and jelly, and pack our lunches for the day! I forgot to bring a purse/bag with me so that meant I stuffed my pockets with my sandwiches, orange, and other snacks. Hehe it was quite a sight. But then again, I didn't need to carry any bags, so that worked out well. Day 1 (Friday) we set out bright and early to see the city. We took the Tube, got off and walked around to the Tower of the London, Tower Bridge (I thought that was London Bridge so I skipped across it and sang "London Bridge is Falling Down"...only to find out that it was the wrong bridge), walked along the Thames River, and went to Shakespeare's Globe Theatre!! The Globe was one of my favorite parts of this trip! We spent almost half a day inside! We had a tour guide who lead us into the theatre and told us the history of the place & about Shakespeare's time period. Unfortunately this wasn't the original Globe Theatre, but it was an almost exact replica and was placed about a block away from the original site. After the tour we took our time walking around the exhibit, pretending to be actresses & practicing play lines, looking at the costumes and scenery, and my friend got to be dressed up in Shakespearian clothing!! There was a balcony too, so I pretended to be Juliet calling out and waiting for my Romeo. Haha It was so much fun, and I left the place feeling inspired to read more of Shakespeare's works!
We also took a little detour to a store called "House of Fraser" because we saw "On Sale Now" signs out front!! So we window shopped, and we both decided to buy something...after all it's London! So I bought a fun shirt/dress....and it was only 9 pounds! It was initially 45 pounds, so it was an awesome deal... plus it was from London :) Gotta love bargains!!
We got back on the Tube to head home for the night, when we saw that there was a stop all the way at the end of "Piccadilly Line" and the stop was called Cockfosters. My friend wanted to take a picture of her next to the sign at the stop, so we rode the tube all the way to the end, then realized it wasn't a great section of town to be in. It was dark out, after suppertime, and the Tube was practically deserted so we quickly took a picture, then hopped on the tube heading back into Central London. We made it back to our hostel, ate dinner, then took a much needed nap. That night, we went to the hostel's pub with our 2 Canadian friends, and then out to a cute little club down the street. I can now officially say that I have been to a club/pub in two countries...but none in my own. Haha.
Day 2 was a great day as well. Seeing as it was Saturday, there were many more tourists in the city, and this made getting from one place to another rather tricky. We started off the morning with our packed lunches&snacks at Buckingham Palace for the changing of the guards, and while we were standing in the crowd, we met 10 or 12 University of Delaware students!! I noticed them (the guys anyway lol) because they were wearing black North Face jackets, and had yellow Timberland Construction boots. So I definitely knew these were not European men...they were Americans hehe. Then I heard their accents (or lack of) and we asked where they were from, and made small talk, etc. I guess I realize how much I miss Americans...the guys talk all the time, and it's about nothing...but at least its talking about something! It really made my day to hear them talking about familiar things...like how one guy thought the symbol on the horse blanket looked like the Green Bay Packers emblem. It was really funny. So after about 2 hours of waiting & standing for the ceremony, my friend and I left the Palace because it was freezing that day, and standing in one place for so long had left our feet frozen. We walked down the Mall, through St. James' Park, and ended up behind Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. We took candid shots in the little red phone booths, and stopped to have lunch in a cute park. As we were eating, we saw a church to our right, and wondered what famous place that could be. (Keep in mind it was one of those days where my head was in the clouds...and I really wasn't all there...) So we ate our lunch, then walked across the bridge to go to our River Tour. Little did we know, that we had sat in front of Westminster Abbey....and didn't go inside. That is probably my only regret about this trip :( Our river cruise was very nice, and it was a very sunny day out on the River Thames. They took us down the Thames underneath the bridges, and we went from Westminster to London, and back. It was absolutely freezing after our cruise, and we were shaking from the cold, so we decided to go back for the day to our hostel. We ate supper, then went on an adventure to go to Mass that night! (So we could have more time in the morning to check out & get to our flight.) The place where we wanted to go was about a 40 min walk, and I didn't know exactly where it was. I asked the hostel manager where this place was, he gave us directions and told us that it was a perfectly safe walk, even at this time of night. To save time, we took a bus, then walked through a city that looked and felt like New Haven, CT. Aka not a good place to be just two girls walking. However, we made it safely to Mass, and it was a lovely little church! Afterwards, we took our first and only London taxi home to our hostel because we did not want to go through the hassle of the bus and the unsafe city.
I spent that night packing for our trip home and went to bed nice and early. The next day, I had hoped to find Drury Lane ... where the Muffin Man lives! Unfortunately we didn't get to go there. Instead we went to Abbey Road!! Of course we had to take pictures next to the street sign, and a picture as we were walking across the street....like the famous Beatles album cover :) Let me tell you, it was quite treacherous!! Those Beatles must have had the street blocked off for their photo shoot because there were so many cars that were driving down that road. My friend and I literally had to sprint across, pause long enough for someone to take our picture, then run the rest of the way to safety. It was a great end to our sight seeing. We boarded the Tube, arrived at the airport with 3 hours to kill before our flight, and made a pit-stop at a restaurant called "Giraffe." Here we decided to spend the rest of our British pounds on Nachos, Melon-Lime Daiquiris, and a Rocky Road Sundae!!! Salty, sweet, and chocolaty. Mhmm it was very yummy and exactly what we needed :)
After we had finished we went to our boarding gate, then took a little coach bus to our average sized plane in the middle of the runway. I had never done that before...boarding the plane by walking up the steps, so I felt like the President or important person lol.
The flight home was great too, and our bus back to Cork was pleasant. I am soooo happy to be back in Ireland! London was certainly a fun time, but not my favorite place in the world. It had a different atmosphere, and definitely less "homey" and welcoming than Ireland. I think I can officially say that I am now able to call my dorm & Ireland home :) It's a great feeling! Once I develop my disposable camera, I will be able to show you all the pictures from the weekend!
