London

Hello from London! (read that in a British accent)

I don't even know where to begin. All I can say is that this weekend was one of the best weekends of my life! Myself and 3 other friends planned a 4-day trip to London and Dublin. Not a lot of time I know, but its better than nothing!

So, Thursday morning we woke up before the crack of dawn to get to the airport. We were off to a great start when we were running through the airport almost missing our flight, and the fact that I left my phone in the taxi. But the driver was nice enough to return it to Olga. Our flight was only about an hour and 50 minutes. 

Once in London, we walked about 1.5 miles to our hostel and dropped our stuff off. With no time to waste, we set out for the tube (whats known as the metro). Once we arrived in the city center we purchased our tickets for The London Eye. Everything in London is super expensive, plus the exchange rate to the dollar is about $1.60. Murphy's Law made an appearance when I was taking a picture of Big Ben, a breeze came in and sent my ticket into the nearby river. Needless to say I was not amused, and had to purchase ANOTHER ticket, thus making my London Eye experience worth 36 pounds. But in the end, it was worth it. The scenes were breathtaking and it was so cool to see all of London.

There goes ticket #1

So gorgeous! 

Parliament and Big Ben

Afterwards, we headed across the bridge over to check out Big Ben, Parliament and Westminster Abbey. It was SO cool to see to see Westminster Abbey because all I could think about was the royal wedding I'd seen on TV within the past year. It's crazy where you can end up sometimes! We also spent an embarrassing amount of time playing in the phone booths.

London in a nutshell 

Big Ben! 

Chatting with Prince Harry

We then headed over to check out Buckingham Palace (where the queen lives). Unfortunately she wasn't in, but it was still so so cool to see. It was very official. The guards outside took their jobs very seriously and marched back and forth. 

Outside my house

Buckingham Palace

 After a quick power nap, Hannah and I set out to see The London Bridge (which is really called Tower Bridge). The Tower of London houses the crown jewels, which would have been cool to see but instead we just walked around the bridge. I think seeing the Tower Bridge was my favorite part, it was so beautiful all lit up at night.

I'm glad London Bridge was not falling down 

We spent the night in St. Christopher's hostel in Camden. It was pretty nice, they even had a bar underneath it. We spent the night hanging out in their bar listening to the open mic night. I loved hearing everyone talk. British accents are my favorite. I wanted to pay someone to just sit down and talk to me for hours! The people of London were so friendly and willing to help if we needed them. It was so nice to know exactly what to say at all times. I missed being around English-speakers.

On our last day, we checked out The Camden Markets. Ugh, being a shopoholic it was quite difficult to control myself. They had everything, including the cutest dresses. It was a little easier to hold back though because London is just so freaking expensive! After the market, I was able to get some tea which I had been wanting to do in London. I chose the tea called "Wanderlust" -I thought that was very appropriate.

Such a typical tourist 

You'd be surprised how confusing it is that they drive on the other side of the road.

Overall, London was such a great time. Although we basically only had a little over 24 hours, I feel like we got to see a lot. The highlights of London were seeing the famous historical sights, listening to the accents and taking a break from Spanish for a little. Definitely have to get back there and give a little more time to London.