Constantly watching the clock all day during class. I could not wait to get out so I could go home and pack up all my stuff for our weekend adventure to London! Having never been to England, I pretty much expected it to be just like Dublin. Seeing how it's right next door, how much different can it possibly be right? Thankfully, I was wrong. Not that Ireland is bad or anything, its great, but I was just ready to see something different. Anyway, this is the first big trip that I have taken since being away from home, so I was very excited. We had a late flight, it was supposed to leave at 10 pm, but it got delayed so we ended up leaving around 11 or so. Going on the trip was me, Katie, Amber, Bonnie, Louis & Devon. Or so we thought. The second we got the airport the boys wanted nothing to do with us, so it ended up being just me and the girls for the whole trip, which was totally fine. The plane experience in itself was a little different than what I had done in the past. When boarding the plane, there was no terminal thing... we actually had to walk out and climb up a ladder to get on the plane which was kind of fun. And there was no arranged seating, so we got to sit wherever we wanted.
We had a safe flight over, it was only about 55 minutes which was nice because we had such a late start anyway. Once we got the the airport in London, we still had quite an adventure ahead of us to find our hostel. We had to take a bus from the airport to Liverpool st. Which took about an hour or so, because Ryan Air does not ever fly to the airport that you want it to, so it is always a big inconvenience. Anyway, that part was a success, but then we didn't know how to get from that bus station to our hostel, which was still quite a ways away. We were told to get on the Underground and it would bring us directly to Kennington, where we were staying. However, we did not account for the underground being closed because we were getting there so late. Now we knew we had to make a quick decision because it was like 1 am.. and we were a bunch of girls in a strange city, clearly lost because we were carrying all of our stuff with us. We really must have looked pathetic. haha. We are kind of smart though, so we figured out that the buses run along and stop at the same places as the underground, so after a few minutes of trying to figure out which one would take us there we were on our way. To make things even more embarrassing, when we were getting on the bus, you need to pay with exact change or you do not get your money back, so me and Katie were sitting there digging through our British Pounds that we had just exchanged our euros for. We had no idea which coins were what and it was dark so we couldn't see. It was hilarious, but we felt so stupid.
Finally we arrived at Kennington station. Now to find the hostel. This place looked even sketchier than where we were before.. so we were a little nervous. We went into the only store we could find to try to find out where our street was, and the man did not speak English very well so he was no help. We walked around a bit, and finally gave up and hailed a taxi to take us there. It felt so good to see the Journey's London Bridge Hostel sign. we could relax finally. Once we got inside, the guy at the desk was really funny and joked around with us for a little while
before sending us to our rooms where were we could get some rest, for the long days ahead of us. I had never stayed in a hostel before, so I wasn't really sure what to think. We were staying in a room with 12 other girls so it was kind of crazy. We all had our own little cubbies in bunk beds. <- pic. It was cozy to say the least. It was a little weird leaving all of our stuff out at first, but we were smart and didn't being anything of real value so it wasn't bad. Thankfully no one had anything stolen either!
Fri. Feb 11, 2011
Today we got up early, after not getting enough sleep, and adventured all over London. We figured out how the Underground system worked fairly easily. I wish that they had one of those in Dublin, because it would be very convenient. The first thing we did was go see Tower Bridge because it is stunning. It is easily the prettiest bridge I have ever seen. I mean that doesn't say much because I haven't seen that many great bridges. But this one was just amazing. we walked around for a while, saw the Tower of London, which was also pretty cool. After that we went to Parliament square because we had heard so much about it.
We checked out Westminster Abbey, and saw Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. I don't know why it was, but seeing Big Ben was my favorite part of the day. Before coming to London, I knew that Big Ben was a giant clock, but I didn't know what he looked like. So getting to see him was cool and he was MUCH better looking than I had initially expected. It was actually kind of funny because we took the underground and got off the Westminster stop and went out the exit that said "tourist attractions:Big Ben" and once we walked outside we were like hmm where is he? As we turned around we realized that we had actually come out from underneath him.. We actually almost missed him. After taking like a thousand pictures of Big Ben, we went and got some food a cute little restaurant and continued adventuring. I got to take my picture in one of those infamous red telephone booths =) I have no idea why those things got so famous haha, but yes I did the most touristy thing I could think of.
Next we crossed the River Thames and went over to the London Eye to check that out. We decided not to get on it because it was really foggy out, so we probably wouldn't be able to see much anyway. We figured we would wait and see if tomorrow was a better day. Instead we went to something that was near buy called Death Trap. It was basically like a haunted house, and it really was scary. They brought us out back and locked us in a pitch black room and told us the only thing we had to do was get out. We were supposed to follow this Doctor around who was wicked cute. It was fun. We all got scared and screamed a bunch, but we made it out successfully, and had fun doing it. Not quite sure it was worth as much as we paid though, it was kind of a short trip through the house.
After that we went back to the hostel for a little while and got all dolled up to go out. We went on a "pub crawl" around London. We met up with this group at Belushis, paid like 10 pounds to enter and from there we got to go with the group to 4 other clubs (cover charge taken care of). At all of the bars we got a free drink, and after that the drinks were reduced price. So we definitely made our money back, and it was really fun. We had to call it an early night though, because we wanted to catch the underground back to our hostel, and none of us got much sleep the night before so we really needed a good rest.
Sat. Feb 12, 2011
Today we got up early again. The first thing on our agenda was to hit up Buckingham Palace and see the changing of the guards. We knew we had to get there a bit early so we could get a good view. The palace was really pretty, but I have to say that I was a little disappointed because there were no guards in red that I could see and go up to and try to make laugh. BUMMER. That was another really touristy thing that I wanted to do while I was in London. Anyway, after being there waiting patiently with hundreds of other tourists, we realized that there was no changing of the guards scheduled for today. Apparently in the winter months they only do it once a day every other day. So that sucked, but as we were leaving we got to see like 8 important guard-looking people on horses, so that was cool anyway.
Later on I tried Fish N Chips for the very first time. Apparently it is supposed to be London's best dish, so I had to give it a go. I didn't think I liked fish, but I guess I was wrong. It was actually really good. After getting food we walked over to St. Paul's Cathedral. The inside of it was beautiful. You really have to go there to see just how amazing it is. We all decided we wanted to climb to the top to get the great view.... half way up I think we were all regretting out choice. The only way to the top is to go up flight after flight of spiral staircase. Like seriously, it never ends. There is something like 530 steps to the top. And believe me it takes so long. I got so dizzy from going around and around.
To add to the dizziness we were getting claustrophobic because the spaces kept getting smaller as we went up. It was frightening to say the least. We were all having slight panic attacks it was scary. Once we reached the top it was worth it though. Just so happens it was a beautiful day, and we could see for miles. London is beautiful, as you can see. We were glad we did it. Going down was just as bad though. Tight spaces and spiral stairs. I don't ever want to do it again, but I'm sure I would if I were with people that really wanted to, just because it was worth it.
After seeing London from the top of the cathedral, we decided that going on the London Eye might be a little repetitive. What else could we possibly see from up there? It just seemed like a waste of money so we didn't do it. Maybe next time. Instead we went and checked out the Clink Prison Museum. Apparently the Clink was an actual prison in London, and that is why people now call jail or prison the 'clink'. The museum was alright. We learned a lot about different torture devices that they used back in the day, which was interesting.
After that it was getting dark so we figured we should go back to the hostel and get ready for another night out. On our way home we passed a view that could not be avoided.
Looking at Tower Bridge and the rest of the city at night was amazing. The picture really doesn't do justice to it. We didn't realize that it lit up at night so it was a surprise to us and made it that much better. I have to say that so far I think London is the prettiest city I have been to. It's so classy. Not too over done, but just enough to keep you interested for a while. The only thing that I was not as impressed with as I was hoping was the night life. Well- the night life that we got to see. The pub crawl was fun, but I think we could have had a lot more fun than that. Also, Saturday night we went to place called Fabric that was so far away, and it was supposed to be 4 floors of craziness - said the girls in our hostel that we went with- but it turned out to be lame. It looked like it would have been a good time if you were on a lot of drugs, but it wasn't the kind of place that we wanted to go. The music was very techno-like and not what we wanted to dance to. So yeah, if I could do one thing different it would have been to go to different clubs than the ones we did. But that's not what the trip was really about anyway. We just wanted to go to see some amazing things and we did. So we can't complain.
We had a safe flight over, it was only about 55 minutes which was nice because we had such a late start anyway. Once we got the the airport in London, we still had quite an adventure ahead of us to find our hostel. We had to take a bus from the airport to Liverpool st. Which took about an hour or so, because Ryan Air does not ever fly to the airport that you want it to, so it is always a big inconvenience. Anyway, that part was a success, but then we didn't know how to get from that bus station to our hostel, which was still quite a ways away. We were told to get on the Underground and it would bring us directly to Kennington, where we were staying. However, we did not account for the underground being closed because we were getting there so late. Now we knew we had to make a quick decision because it was like 1 am.. and we were a bunch of girls in a strange city, clearly lost because we were carrying all of our stuff with us. We really must have looked pathetic. haha. We are kind of smart though, so we figured out that the buses run along and stop at the same places as the underground, so after a few minutes of trying to figure out which one would take us there we were on our way. To make things even more embarrassing, when we were getting on the bus, you need to pay with exact change or you do not get your money back, so me and Katie were sitting there digging through our British Pounds that we had just exchanged our euros for. We had no idea which coins were what and it was dark so we couldn't see. It was hilarious, but we felt so stupid.
Finally we arrived at Kennington station. Now to find the hostel. This place looked even sketchier than where we were before.. so we were a little nervous. We went into the only store we could find to try to find out where our street was, and the man did not speak English very well so he was no help. We walked around a bit, and finally gave up and hailed a taxi to take us there. It felt so good to see the Journey's London Bridge Hostel sign. we could relax finally. Once we got inside, the guy at the desk was really funny and joked around with us for a little while
before sending us to our rooms where were we could get some rest, for the long days ahead of us. I had never stayed in a hostel before, so I wasn't really sure what to think. We were staying in a room with 12 other girls so it was kind of crazy. We all had our own little cubbies in bunk beds. <- pic. It was cozy to say the least. It was a little weird leaving all of our stuff out at first, but we were smart and didn't being anything of real value so it wasn't bad. Thankfully no one had anything stolen either!Fri. Feb 11, 2011
Today we got up early, after not getting enough sleep, and adventured all over London. We figured out how the Underground system worked fairly easily. I wish that they had one of those in Dublin, because it would be very convenient. The first thing we did was go see Tower Bridge because it is stunning. It is easily the prettiest bridge I have ever seen. I mean that doesn't say much because I haven't seen that many great bridges. But this one was just amazing. we walked around for a while, saw the Tower of London, which was also pretty cool. After that we went to Parliament square because we had heard so much about it.
We checked out Westminster Abbey, and saw Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. I don't know why it was, but seeing Big Ben was my favorite part of the day. Before coming to London, I knew that Big Ben was a giant clock, but I didn't know what he looked like. So getting to see him was cool and he was MUCH better looking than I had initially expected. It was actually kind of funny because we took the underground and got off the Westminster stop and went out the exit that said "tourist attractions:Big Ben" and once we walked outside we were like hmm where is he? As we turned around we realized that we had actually come out from underneath him.. We actually almost missed him. After taking like a thousand pictures of Big Ben, we went and got some food a cute little restaurant and continued adventuring. I got to take my picture in one of those infamous red telephone booths =) I have no idea why those things got so famous haha, but yes I did the most touristy thing I could think of.Next we crossed the River Thames and went over to the London Eye to check that out. We decided not to get on it because it was really foggy out, so we probably wouldn't be able to see much anyway. We figured we would wait and see if tomorrow was a better day. Instead we went to something that was near buy called Death Trap. It was basically like a haunted house, and it really was scary. They brought us out back and locked us in a pitch black room and told us the only thing we had to do was get out. We were supposed to follow this Doctor around who was wicked cute. It was fun. We all got scared and screamed a bunch, but we made it out successfully, and had fun doing it. Not quite sure it was worth as much as we paid though, it was kind of a short trip through the house.
After that we went back to the hostel for a little while and got all dolled up to go out. We went on a "pub crawl" around London. We met up with this group at Belushis, paid like 10 pounds to enter and from there we got to go with the group to 4 other clubs (cover charge taken care of). At all of the bars we got a free drink, and after that the drinks were reduced price. So we definitely made our money back, and it was really fun. We had to call it an early night though, because we wanted to catch the underground back to our hostel, and none of us got much sleep the night before so we really needed a good rest.
Sat. Feb 12, 2011
Today we got up early again. The first thing on our agenda was to hit up Buckingham Palace and see the changing of the guards. We knew we had to get there a bit early so we could get a good view. The palace was really pretty, but I have to say that I was a little disappointed because there were no guards in red that I could see and go up to and try to make laugh. BUMMER. That was another really touristy thing that I wanted to do while I was in London. Anyway, after being there waiting patiently with hundreds of other tourists, we realized that there was no changing of the guards scheduled for today. Apparently in the winter months they only do it once a day every other day. So that sucked, but as we were leaving we got to see like 8 important guard-looking people on horses, so that was cool anyway.
Later on I tried Fish N Chips for the very first time. Apparently it is supposed to be London's best dish, so I had to give it a go. I didn't think I liked fish, but I guess I was wrong. It was actually really good. After getting food we walked over to St. Paul's Cathedral. The inside of it was beautiful. You really have to go there to see just how amazing it is. We all decided we wanted to climb to the top to get the great view.... half way up I think we were all regretting out choice. The only way to the top is to go up flight after flight of spiral staircase. Like seriously, it never ends. There is something like 530 steps to the top. And believe me it takes so long. I got so dizzy from going around and around.
To add to the dizziness we were getting claustrophobic because the spaces kept getting smaller as we went up. It was frightening to say the least. We were all having slight panic attacks it was scary. Once we reached the top it was worth it though. Just so happens it was a beautiful day, and we could see for miles. London is beautiful, as you can see. We were glad we did it. Going down was just as bad though. Tight spaces and spiral stairs. I don't ever want to do it again, but I'm sure I would if I were with people that really wanted to, just because it was worth it.After seeing London from the top of the cathedral, we decided that going on the London Eye might be a little repetitive. What else could we possibly see from up there? It just seemed like a waste of money so we didn't do it. Maybe next time. Instead we went and checked out the Clink Prison Museum. Apparently the Clink was an actual prison in London, and that is why people now call jail or prison the 'clink'. The museum was alright. We learned a lot about different torture devices that they used back in the day, which was interesting.
After that it was getting dark so we figured we should go back to the hostel and get ready for another night out. On our way home we passed a view that could not be avoided.
Looking at Tower Bridge and the rest of the city at night was amazing. The picture really doesn't do justice to it. We didn't realize that it lit up at night so it was a surprise to us and made it that much better. I have to say that so far I think London is the prettiest city I have been to. It's so classy. Not too over done, but just enough to keep you interested for a while. The only thing that I was not as impressed with as I was hoping was the night life. Well- the night life that we got to see. The pub crawl was fun, but I think we could have had a lot more fun than that. Also, Saturday night we went to place called Fabric that was so far away, and it was supposed to be 4 floors of craziness - said the girls in our hostel that we went with- but it turned out to be lame. It looked like it would have been a good time if you were on a lot of drugs, but it wasn't the kind of place that we wanted to go. The music was very techno-like and not what we wanted to dance to. So yeah, if I could do one thing different it would have been to go to different clubs than the ones we did. But that's not what the trip was really about anyway. We just wanted to go to see some amazing things and we did. So we can't complain.
