Cheers, ol 'chap!

         London was unexpectedly amazing.

        We were initially going to stop in England because it was on the path to our other sites. I didn't really have any huge expectations but after going there, I was pleasantly surprised. 

        We got in a little late from the airport considering we flew into the one which was furthest away from where we were staying. We hopped on a bus and had them lead us to our first hostel which was in the London Bridge area. It was, as it is quite frequently is in London, raining. This gave us minimal options as far as sightseeing goes, but we made the best of it. We went out on the town in our hooded sweatshirts, maps in hand and circled the cobblestone blocks until we found some pretty amazing historical sites which were close by.

        Not far down the road from us was the Shakespeare Globe. This is an almost exact replica of the original and reenactments of Shakespeare’s best plays are put on night after night. It was pretty neat to see how precise the exhibit was. 

        After surveying multiple bridges which were laying across the river, we crossed Southwark bridge and could not keep our eyes off some of the most architecturally beautiful buildings being constructed among the landscape. So many shapes and sizes filled the air and we wondered how someone could have thought up such intelligent blueprints.

We finally made it to St. Paul's Cathedral. This church was so enormous and was filled with vintage personality. There were statues surrounding it from almost every angle and the doors were unbelievably huge.

        Of course there were some very interesting and different aspects to London as opposed to America. As most of us know, they drive on the other side of the road. On every crosswalk, if you look down, it will read "LOOK LEFT or LOOK RIGHT", as to protect you from the speeding cars flying by. There were mopeds and red double decker buses as frequent transportation and the taxis were little black cars which almost mimicked that of a hearse. I thought it was so cool, and of course made Ryan take a picture of me in one, that all over the streets of London were red, old school telephone booths. And, although the rain kept falling from the sky, people on the streets seemed to not mind it at all. They were running and walking in it because to them, it's just a part of their everyday life.

        The next day we switched hostels to experience another side that London has to offer. We took the train (which is the most popular and efficient source of transportation in Europe) to stay in the town of Kensington, which we heard was supposed to be the posh, classy side of town. When we arrived there, the assumption we were under was apparently right when every car we passed on the streets was either a Mercedes, BMW, Range Rover or Aston Martin. The neighborhoods were gorgeous and the real estate was pure white and high class.

        In the early afternoon we went to meet a tour group at Hyde Park, one of the biggest and most famous parks in London. The tour was great because it lead us to the most famous and prestigious landmarks in the city. Our first stop was Buckingham Palace where the Changing of the Guards was taking place. I was pretty much in awe at this point being as intrigued by the history of the royal family as I am. The guards paraded in their red suits and black fur hats as they played songs and marched together in perfect unison. The police were along the red and blue lined streets on their horses making sure everything was taking place with no disorder. We passed by Prince Charles' home which was crazy because two guards stood still protecting the building and this was their job hour after hour, standing there and not moving an inch.

        The history of London was so amazing! There were monuments and statues everywhere and a story to go along with every one of them. We made it to so many other infamous places; the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben and of course Westminster Abbey. I was so excited to see the massive building of Westminster Abby where so many events in history have taken place. 

        After the tour we went along with everyone to get some lunch and Ryan had a traditional English ale and I indulged in a tasty English cider. I have to say that the English people we really nice and friendly towards us. They were very helpful and accommodating when we needed directions, advice or just plain conversation.

        We got all dressed up and went out to a local pub for our last night in London. Ryan had the classic fish and chips and we shared a pitcher of a local drink specialty which consisted of ginger beer, lime, vodka and other various ingredients. We finished the night off with some gelato where Ryan randomly knew the owner when he met him on vacation to Thailand.

        I was sad to be leaving London. The people were so nice, the atmosphere was refreshing and the culture unique. My chin was held high though knowing that Paris was right around the corner!