Loving London
So we were on to London next, by bus actually which was a little less than enjoyable…but it saved us a lot of money! We were greeted by a typical London shower and news that the underground line we needed to take to our hostel was closed due to construction. No worries! We just pulled out our maps and went about figuring out the bus routes. After getting directions from some lovely ladies at a hotel concierge desk, we found the bus stop we needed and hopped on the next bus to Kensington (the neighborhood that our hostel was in). I asked the bus driver to give us a yell when we reached our stop, and with a wink he assured me that he’d get us there. We finally reached our hostel an hour or two later than we’d hoped and were just plain pooped. So we got out our bag of rice and snow peas that we bought in Liverpool and cooked ourselves a nice little dinner in the hostel kitchen (one of the best things about staying in hostels). After a little rest in our bunks, Beth and I ventured out on the underground to the Troubadour, a little coffee shop recommended by our guide book that we had put on our list of places to check out. I’m so glad we did! This precious little coffee shop was exactly what we needed to refresh and get ready for our busy day of sight seeing that was to come. The walls were lined with shelf after shelf of tea pots in all different colors, sizes, and shapes. Big antique pots and pans hung from the ceiling and there was no lack of unique art and signs adorning the walls. Each table had a single rose and a unique vase holding a flickering little candle :)
We started off early the next day, heading straight to Westminster to begin checking sites off of our “to see” list. Waltzing right up the stairs out of the Westminster underground station, we were taken aback by the sheer size of the British Parliament building that stood right next to us, facing the beautiful Thames River. And then it hit me, I’m in LONDON! I can’t describe the feeling of standing in awe, staring at buildings and places and things that I’ve seen in movies and heard stories about…wow! We wandered around taking pictures of Parliament, Big Ben, and Westminster Abbey - which was unfortunately closed for Commonwealth Day, whatever that means. Next we set off through St. James Park to queue up at the gate of Buckingham Palace and wait forthe changing of the guard…they really do where those crazy black, furry hats and march back and forth in front of the castle. We got right up to the gate and had a great view when the guard band marched in and then proceeded to march around for an hour…playing songs and shuffling about. It was quite comical and the number of people gathered in the square was unbelievable! When we’d had enough we headed back toward the underground and were pleased to run right into the guards as they marched out of the palace back into their guard house. I got a great video of them yelling and marching that I posted on facebook for your enjoyment. We spent the rest of the day taking in all that the British Museum had to offer and visiting St. Paul’s cathedral. We finished up the day with a fantastic plate of fish & chips in Soho…our guide books never steered us wrong!
My good friend Nick from home is studying at Cambridge this semester and I was so happy to hear that he had time to come hang out with us in London the next day. We met him at King’s Cross train station and took a moment to take in the Harry Potter splendor of platform 9&3/4 (I know I know, muggles can’t really see it). He showed us around the sites of Picadilly Circus and the ritzy London neighborhood housing Harrod’s - the king of department stores. We spent atleast two hours in Harrod’s, admiring the gourmet food court and designer clothes at every turn. We found a cozy pub to prop our feet up in and chat awhile before we went our separate ways. It was so unbelievably refreshing to see a familiar face and spend time with a friend from home. It makes me happy to know that Nick and I will always share memories from our day in London together. Beth and I headed off to spend the night in the airport for our 6:30am flight to Berlin…
