Sorry that I stopped blogging during my trip. While I was in Ireland it was easy because the bus had wifi so I usually wrote there. Once we were traveling around we wouldn't get back to the hostel until at least 8 or 9 PM and by then I was exhausted and just wanted to go to bed. I'm rewriting the days based on my journal entries. Each city will get one blog post rather than each day.
May 30th
Well getting to London was interesting. The ferry ride was relaxing and easy, the first train was overfull but luckily we got seats, and the second train was much nicer. I was a little worried about navigating the Underground but there were signs everywhere so it was easy. Paying for tickets, on the other hand, was terrible because the line was huge and they were expensive! We're staying in a nine bed bed dorm which is unique because it has 3 sets of triple bunk beds. I'm glad I'm not on the top one. After arriving we walked down the river to see Big Ben, the London Eye, and Parliament Square. It was already evening so we just took some pictures and went back to the hostel for a good nights sleep. |
May 31st
In the morning we got up and carried out laundry to a local launderette. I'm glad we got there early because eventually it was packed. Once our laundry was dry we actually took it outside to fold it and put it back in our backpacks because of the lack of space. Nothing like folding your underwear outside in London!
We walked back down the river to Big Ben and the Eye. We bought tickets for the Eye and to the London Aquarium. The line for the eye was about an hour but it was amazing to see the city from so high up! There were tons of skyscrapers and cranes everywhere.
We walked back down the river to Big Ben and the Eye. We bought tickets for the Eye and to the London Aquarium. The line for the eye was about an hour but it was amazing to see the city from so high up! There were tons of skyscrapers and cranes everywhere.
Afterwards we went and had lunch and did some souvenir shopping before heading off to the Aquarium.
It looked tiny from the outside but had tons of massive tanks full of fish. There weren't any large animals like dolphins or orcas but it was amazing what they did have. I got to touch a starfish too!
It looked tiny from the outside but had tons of massive tanks full of fish. There weren't any large animals like dolphins or orcas but it was amazing what they did have. I got to touch a starfish too!
After this long day we went to Tesco and got ourselves dinner before calling it a night.
June 1st
Today we rode the Underground out to London Tower. It was tricky because the line we wanted was closed at out station but a grumpy worker helped us out.
First we went to the London Tower, which wasn't actually much of a tower and more like a small brick castle. There were some cute demos going on outside the castle such as catapaults and fake jousting. Karlee went inside to see the crown jewels but Emily and I went to Tower Bridge instead because it was so expensive to go inside. There was an exhibition at the bridge that let you go up into the top parts of the towers and down into the engine room while also learning about the history.
First we went to the London Tower, which wasn't actually much of a tower and more like a small brick castle. There were some cute demos going on outside the castle such as catapaults and fake jousting. Karlee went inside to see the crown jewels but Emily and I went to Tower Bridge instead because it was so expensive to go inside. There was an exhibition at the bridge that let you go up into the top parts of the towers and down into the engine room while also learning about the history.
After meeting up and eating lunch we walked west down the Thames River. We got to see London Bridge which is actually very bland and isn't even the original bridge. If I remember correctly the original is actually in Arizona now. However, the bridge is famous because it used to be the ONLY bridge in London. At one point it had buildings on it too.
We crossed Millenium Bridge (which I was excited about because it got destroyed by the Dementors/Death Eaters in 6th Harry Potter movie) and visited the Globe Theater. Originally there weren't any tours happening so we just went through the exhibition. Karlee got to be dressed up like a high class English women from Shakespeare's time which looked like a lot of fun! We got lucky and they opened up the theater for a couple of short tours so we got to actually go inside. It isn't the original theater though which was actually a few blocks away and doesn't exist at all anymore. This new theater was built in the 1990s.
We walked back across the bridge and got to see Saint Paul's Cathedral. It was beautiful inside and out. From there we walked towards Trafalgar Square. There was some sort of Turkish Festival going on in the square which was very strange. We didn't get back to the hostel until 9 PM and finally ate dinner and went to bed exhausted.
June 2nd
We got up early today to go to the Victoria Coach Station for our day trip to Stonehenge, Salisbury Cathedral, and Bath. We went to Stonehenge first and got an audio guide. There is so much history surrounding Stonehenge and we spent an hour slowly circling around it and learning everything. From there we drove to the cute little village of Salisbury. The Cathedral is huge, absolutely gorgeous, and from the 12th century. It houses the Magna Carta which is from 1215 and written in Latin on calf skin. Next we spent about an hour driving to Bath. Every building in this city is made from the same yellow sandstone which gives it a very unique appearance. We got to tour the original bath building that the Romans used and even got to drink some of the treated water. It just tasted like hot water with way to many minerals. We hung out in the beautiful park for a little bit after getting some gelatto and eventually got back on the bus for our two hour drive back to London.
We got back to London later than expected because traffic was crazy due to a One Direction concert. We practically ran to Waterstone Bookstore which was at the corner of Trafalgar Square so that I could buy more books for our trip. We went back to the hostel and ate dinner around 10 and finally went to bed.
June 3rd
This morning we got up at 7, packed, and had a real English breakfast and the cafe next door. It consisted of 2 eggs sunny side up, two sausages, two pieces of bacon, two pieces of toast, and beans. It was a little strange but super good. We checked out of the hostel, put out luggage in storage, and headed off to Buckingham Palace. We were hoping to see the Changing of the Guard at 11:30 and got there about an hour early. The square was super packed and it was pouring rain. At about 11:15 they announced that the changing of the guard was cancelled due to the weather. Did I mention that none of us had an umbrella or raincoat? We were all soaked and cold. We did some souvenir shopping on our way back to the hostel and then just went to the train station.
We took the Victoria line from Pimlico to Kings Cross/St. Pancras. Of course since we are all Harry Potter fans we visited Platform 9 and 3/4 and got out pictures taken. It's actually just a prop stuck to a brick wall but that's okay because it was still totally cool. I decided to send a package with some of the souvenirs I had bought thus far and the book I had finished in order to get some more room in my backpack. It was quite a fiasco to buy the box and tape and get it all together but it was definitely worth it in the end. I made it back to the train station just in time to use the restroom, grab an amazing sandwich, and for us to make last call on the train to Paris!
We took the Victoria line from Pimlico to Kings Cross/St. Pancras. Of course since we are all Harry Potter fans we visited Platform 9 and 3/4 and got out pictures taken. It's actually just a prop stuck to a brick wall but that's okay because it was still totally cool. I decided to send a package with some of the souvenirs I had bought thus far and the book I had finished in order to get some more room in my backpack. It was quite a fiasco to buy the box and tape and get it all together but it was definitely worth it in the end. I made it back to the train station just in time to use the restroom, grab an amazing sandwich, and for us to make last call on the train to Paris!