5 Days in London

Thursday, October 21st
Got into the Stansted airport and caught a bus into London. The bus dropped us off at Finchley Road and then we took the tube to Willesden Green. The tub is FANTASTIC! We checked into our hostel and met our roommates for the first 4 days, Josephine and Evie who are both from Sweden and are very nice. Then we went downtown to Oxford Circus and walked around looking for a place to eat. Turns out they don't serve late in London like they do in Italy, kitchens here close at 10 or 10:30! So since it was 10:30 we just grabbed some McDonald's which actually tasted pretty darn good. I had a massive headache though from being tired so we went back and called it an early night. Hostel perks: free breakfast and internet!

Friday, October 22nd
We woke up, ate breakfast and headed back down to Oxford Circus today. We walked around for a long time just looking at buildings and shops. Then we went to Buckingham palace but were a little disappointed because they only change guards every other day in the fall/winter. Then we walked to Westminister Abby and Big Ben and took some pictures. We ate at a little pub nearby and had jacket potatoes with chicken, bacon and cheese. They were delicious! I washed it down with a Strongbow, a cider that is hard to find in Italy.

After that we stopped back by Oxford Circus at a tourist shop and bought postcards and souvenirs. We went back to the hostel and got ready to go out on the town. We went to the Soho district and once we located the bar we wanted to go to we found some food. It was unusually difficult to find a place with fish and chips, but we did. I was a little disappointed though, it wasn't that great. We stayed at Candy Bar all night and it was......."unforgettable" I guess. We even met some "nuns" at the bar who were really fun :P

Saturday, October 23rd
Today was the best so far because I went and saw WICKED!!!! It was AMAZING! I had delays getting there because the train doesn't run at some of the stops on weekends so I had to take the bus, but apparently it was to my advantage. I arrived 40 minutes before the show and the ticket guy said if I had come 1 hour earlier there would've been nothing. Then he told me it would be 62 pounds and my jaw dropped! That's a lot of money for a matinee! I asked if he had a student discount and he did. It was only 25 pounds since I am a student. Score!!! Since I saved so much I even bought a program :) After seeing the musical I kind of want to go into that industry. They do tons of public relations/communications work. I think it would be fabulous...but it would mean living in Chicago if I want to stay in the Midwest...we will see.

Didn't really do much else the rest of the day since the musical was right in the middle of the day. Paige and I ordered a late night pizza and had it delivered. It was delicious and tasted like America :P

Sunday, October 24th
What a busy day! We woke up and had breakfast and then headed right to the bus (because the train was still out) and went to Tower Hill to see the London Tower and the Tower Bridge. It was a little pricey to get in but it was pretty cool. I thought the part on the old torture techniques was pretty interesting, and scary! I also finally got to see one of those guards in the red uniform with the big, black furry hat! Paige and I actually made him laugh, so that was pretty fun. We got lunch inside the castle walls and it was delicious! I had winter minestrone soup and french baguettes. It was soooo good!

When we left the Tower we looked at the Tower Bridge, took pictures, then crossed it. We stopped by Shakespeare's Globe Theater but there was a performance going on so we couldn't go inside. We continued along the river to Tate Modern Museum where there was the sunflower seed display that I really wanted to see. It was really neat! A huge room filled with hand-painted porcelain sunflower seeds. You could sit along the edges and write things with the seeds. Very cool!

Then we caught the tube to Camden Town to go to the market. We were pretty tired by this time so we didn't go very far into the market, but we did find some awesome Converse shoes! I bought my first pair of Chucks ever :) They are black and have a double tongue that you can fold down so it is bright blue! I like how it looks. I also had the best steak sandwich ever! It was basically a Philly cheese steak, but so much better! It had steak, mushrooms, onions, and cheese on a french baguette (my new favorite type of bread). Simply amazing! And it was only 3.50 and was probably as long as a footlong sub, if not longer, made fresh right in front of me.

The rest of the evening consisted of Paige and I packing our bags and hanging out because we had to switch rooms for the last night in the hostel.

Monday, October 25th
Another busy busy day! Paige and I started out at Oxford Circus because she wanted to go to a couple of clothing stores. I ended up giving up to peer pressure and buying my first pair of true skinny jeans. They are light gray...I haven't decided how I feel about them yet, but they do look pretty sweet with my new chucks! After shopping we went to Covent Garden and found a tea shop! I bought some instant tea and it is delicious and very very sweet :) Like me! When we left the store we caught the end of a street performance that was pretty cool. This guy climbed a free standing ladder and then juggled knives at the top!

After the show we got lunch at White Lion. I hesitantly tried fish and chips again and was NOT disappointed! It was AMAZING! Very very very good fish and chips. I also had some Strongbow again...had to drink it while it was available! After lunch Paige and I split ways because we wanted to see different things and I had a great time.

I went to Hyde Park which was amazing. I have missed being around grass and trees since I have been overseas and this place definitely fulfilled my nature needs. The trees were turning, the sun was shining and it was just beautiful. Throughout the park there were sculptures by a featured artist that were reflective but turned everything upside down. They were really neat. I spent a long time just walking around and snapping pictures.

After the park I went to St. Paul's Cathedral. I had a lot of time to burn, so I went to the Clockmakers museum first. It wasn't the most thrilling thing I've ever seen, but it was still interesting. Even after the museum I had some time to waste so I bought a chocolate milk and a granola bar and sat on the steps of the cathedral while I waited for the Evensong Mass. The mass was very cool. Unfortunately the choir boys were gone on 1/2 semester break (just like me!) so they weren't there. However, they brought in another choir and they were really good. The acoustics of the church made the singing very cool.

After mass I headed back to the hostel, stopping on the way to grab some take-out Chinese food. It was actually pretty good! It was nice to be in a country where I could get the same type of food I get in the States. I had Doritos too! They were delicious. The rest of the evening was packing and preparing to leave the hostel at 3 AM for Sicily. Yucky!