Pip Pip Cheerio: London Changed Me

When I last left you all, I was boarding the plane to London with Cassie, Sara, Suze, Carl (one of our American neighbors) and Tessa (Sara's friend studying in the Netherlands). It was only an hour plane ride, but then we had to take an hour long bus in order to get into the city. Once we arrived, made a short walk to our hostel, to find it was probably the best hostel we will ever be in EVER. It was called Wombat's and it was practically brand new, and completely catered to young adults. The decor was just so cool and hilarious, for instance, in the basement where the bar and kitchen were, there was a sign that said, "Cabinet of creepy kids".

Bar and kitchen

Front desk

Isn't it cute?

As it turned out, we were only a five minutes walk from the Tower of London and Tower Bridge, which was close to one of the tube stations. I really enjoyed the tube, it reminded me of taking the subway with Grandpa Art and Grandma Mary when we went to New York. Within ten minutes we were stepping out in to the heart of London, right in front of Big Ben. We took some pictures and walked along the water front, trying to decide where to go to lunch.

Coming out of the tube station

Big Ben

The London Eye 

So lucky to have a beautiful and sunny day

After a bit of walking, we found a small bar next to Trafalgar square. Sara had another friend studying just outside London, so during lunch I got to know the Australians and a little bit more about Australia. Though I don't think I could ever survive the plane ride there, they make me want to visit their country. 

Trafalgar square was a popping place. There were many street performers and people relaxing, talking with friends, and eating their lunches. We decided to go into the National Gallery, since it was free, and I am so glad we did. I was able to view some very famous and inspirational works, for no cost at all. Do you recognize any of them?

The National Gallery

The view of the square at the top of the gallery

Van Gogh's Chair

Such an upsetting picture for a Doctor Who fan

Just a Monet

After casually perusing some of the most famous works of art in history, we strolled down to Buckingham Palace. We walked past Saint James's park on our way, and though we tried, we didn't see the queen.

Lizzie, where you at? 

She never answered me

That night, Suze, Cassie and I all met up with Jill and Maggie to have them take us dancing. There was an amazing view from Maggie's very nice apartment, and they took us to a club called The Circus, and we all had a great time. I'm very glad that I was able to bring my Maynooth world and my Indiana world together and that we all got along so well. 

The view

Cheer, cheer for ol Notre Dame

The next day, Carl, Cassie, Suze and I took to Tower Bridge. We walked along it for some great views, even though it was cloudier than the day before.

Next, we decided to explore The Tower of London. I have to say, I wasn't too excited about going in, but after a little walking around, I was really into it. We were incredibly lucky, too, for we decided to just try to see the crown jewels, thinking if we had to wait too long we'd ditch the line. We saw the jewels in under half an hour, and when we got out, found a line where people were going to have to wait two hours or longer to see what we just saw. There was just so much history to the place and it was really fun. 

The throne

The Tower

Crown Jewels this way

A nice little view of the bridge

For lunch, we went to a super cool place called Love, and no, it's not weird. Aidan, you would have LOVED this place. It was an Italian restaurant, but at every table there was a tablet, where people could pick what they wanted to eat, and it came to you super fast. You actually had to pay extra if you made a waiter take your order.

We got ourselves extremely full, then went to The Natural History Museum to meet Sara and Tessa. It was such a beautiful building, and the exhibits were pretty cool as well. They even had the first edition of On the Origin of Species, which was so cool to see. 

That night, I took the tube by myself to spend the night with the Notre Dame kids. I was a little nervous to go alone, but I ended up switching tubes just fine, and got there in one piece. It was truly an accomplishment for me, and I'm really proud of it. We stayed up late to watch the game, which had such an upsetting ending. (But, at least my spartans are doing well!)

The next day was one of my most British days, especially food wise. In the morning, I had a great traditional English breakfast outside Harrods, and then took the tube to catch the tail end of the changing of the guard. I was still on my own, and took the time to explore the streets, while I waited to make a meeting point with my friends. 

Yes, I see you

Saint James's Park

I reunited with them on Victoria street, and we stopped in a few shops, and went outside Westminster Abbey while we waited for our appointment for high tea. I'm not usually the kind of person who likes to be on my own, but it was cool to be able to say that I'd been having my own adventures in London, and tell my friends about it. 

The Abbey

It was a very rainy day

I am also not one to enjoy tea, as many of you know. I'll do hot chocolate, or water and honey, but I've never really liked tea. London made me like tea. It really did. High tea was such an experience, with the little sandwiches and cakes, nothing like the tea parties I pretended to have when I was little. We felt like truly classy ladies (while Carl watched a rugby match). 

We're girls, we photograph what we eat, okay?

We headed back to the hostel for a little relaxation, and then decided we would treat ourselves to a nice dinner by the river. We went across Tower Bridge, and found a nice place to eat. By the time we were out, the city was lit up, as well as the bridge, which made it even cooler going back to the hostel. 

Before we headed home at 3 in the morning, we hung out in the hostel bar, listened to live music, and talked about how much fun we'd had. We also went up to the roof of our hostel, for a cold, yet beautiful view of London.

We left very early in the morning, and got back to Maynooth safe and sound. I still went to class today, and had a nice surprise when I received my Easter letter from Grandma Kay and Grandpa Bob. I'm a little sad that I won't be able to spend Easter with my family, this is the first time I've ever done that. But, I will be in Italy, not Rome, but still, it should be a cool experience. I have a lot to do before we leave on Thursday, but I'll be able to get it done. I miss everyone very much, and hope everyone is doing well. Thank you all again for reading this, it means a lot to see that you keep up with me. Wishing everyone the best and you'll hear from me tomorrow. <3