I headed out at about 9:30 this morning- I was basically a zombie ;) Sam had just returned home and he and Melissa had an appointment so I was going to hit the town on my own- EXCITING! I decided that it would be the perfect day to do a hop-on-hop-off tour.
Today was the day that I became a Londoner- I made my way to the underground station easily. I hopped on and was on my way- until about 5 stops in. My line was closed due to train problems on the track- eek! My stop, where I was to switch lines, was one of the ones that was ‘out of service’- my ‘easy’ ride was foiled. I got off the train and had to rearrange my journey. I found where I wanted to be on my handy-dandy UG map and found an alternative route. I felt so ‘London’ when I was able to do this so easily!
I made my way to get my ticket for the Hop on/off. I went with ‘The Original Tour Company’ because...well, it’s original...Also, I didn’t know where to buy tickets for the other ones haha I had to wait about 30 mins for a bus, but it was well worth it! They take you around all of the major tourist spots in London and, as the name suggests, you can hop on or off the bus at any point. It was handy. They have tour guides there to tell you about the history of everything and to point different landmarks out. I ended up doing almost the entire tour before hopping off just after Downing St(!!!!!)
For those who don’t know British politics, 10 Downing is where the Prime Minister, David Cameron, lives. It is famous for its big black door. While you can’t actually see the door (the street is gated off and it’s guarded by men with guns), I got a photo with the sign- it was really neat.
Enjoying the big black gate instead of the big black door ;)
I walked around for hours- I saw the horse guards, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, Supreme Court and a gazillion red phone booths. I then opted to take a boat ride down the Thames River (who am I right now?!)
The Cruise was lovely and I made some friends! I met a guy from Spain who is living in London and was showing his mom around. They were super nice. He was super handsome- little bit of a beard going on, Spanish flare, I didn’t hate it ;) She didn’t speak a lick of English, so he spent most of the time translating haha She taught me that ‘Bonita’ means ‘nice’ in Spanish. They were bonita!
One of my new Spanish friends and I by Tower Bridge
The cruise ended at the Tower of London. You can go in and see the Crown Jewels on display. But with a 4 hour queue (line), I decided against it. I tried to hop on a bus. Key word: tried. I couldn’t find a stop anywhere! I ended up walking across Tower Bridge and on the other side of the river. I found a stop, but a sign said that it was out of service. Of course. I pulled out my map and it led me to believe that St. Paul’s Cathedral (where Charles and Diana were married) was nearby. Of course, I thought it best to check with a local. St. Paul’s was eons away. Damn maps, they’re always wrong. Although, during all of this I saw a bus go by! I caught the next one and was on my way.
It started to rain. I was cold and wet, but I was cold and wet in London! It was worth it. I decided to head to Oxford Street to do some shopping I headed to Primark aka heaven. It is a ‘cheap and cheerful’ store, as Melissa would say. Literally, you can get shirts for 2 or 3 quid (that means pounds and it would be like 4 or 5$ here). I LOVED it, but had to contain myself. You have no idea how hard that was!
I almost got lost on the way back home, but I just choose a street and went for it- good thing I have such killer instincts because I made it home in great time ;)
Melissa had made tikka masala. DELICIOUS. I will definitely be making it next year!
All in all, it was a full day. I got wind burn on my face, but riding on top of the double decker bus was 100% worth it. The weather was nice for the most part and I really started to feel like a true Brit! I am getting the hang of the UG and I’m finding it easier and easier to get my bearings. Being here makes me really want to move over. I could definitely see myself living in London for a while. Shhh, don’t tell Mom! ;)
*A little update for my Mom's peace of mind- I am in Devon right now with my first host family. They are nice and don't seem like serial killers :) I'm working on getting skype set up for you so we can chat- love you and miss you!
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