(Sorry to break it to you this way, Mom and Dad.)
Let me start by saying this was quite possibly the most fantastic 6-day weekend of my life. The weekend involved castles, tea with the queen, being in a movie, fireworks, conquering the underground tube, sub-zero temperatures, cars on the wrong side of the road, spontaneous private tours, hearing LOTS of Britishisms*, and much more. (Most of this is mostly true.) ;)
(*That may or may not be a real word. Regardless, see the end of this post for my new fav Britishisms.)
This weekend was simply brilliant (as the Brits would say) and began early Friday morning when we arrived in London. I ventured to London with the fabulous Kaitlyn, Kathleen, Molly and Becca. They are such a fun group to travel with and the most entertaining people I have ever met. After arriving in London, we weren't too overwhelmed with the "Underground" tube system and easily found our way to central London where we enjoyed a fab Mediterranean lunch that in no way resembled pizza or pasta. We then indulged in Starbucks (first one in months so it was pretty thrilling.) We then headed to South Bank which was buzzing with people - families, friends, magicians, comedians, musicians, couples, carnival rides, booths selling desserts, you name it. Molly even accomplished her goal of finding pink cotton candy, so there was just about everything you could imagine there.
Westminster!
We meandered down the river, taking in the beauty of Big Ben, the Parliament, the London Eye and skyline before heading to Harrods, the most amazing department store in the WORLD. Harrods is like nothing else, and their "Christmas World" was our first destination. If you've seen Elf, it's exactly like that - a magical winter wonderland world of all things Christmas related. We were pretty floored by how beautifully it was decorated and spent awhile checking out the ZILLIONS of gifts, toys, decorations, and trinkets they had for sale. We also cruised down to the shoe section (of course) and I picked up a funky pair of heels that turned out to be £4,396 ($7011.65!) CRAZY.
The ultimate department store.
We then headed to a pub crawl which had been recommended to us. It was a really fun way to meet more travelers (including a gentleman from the royal family in Monaco.. too bad he was with his girlfriend.) We were pretty exhausted by this point so we ducked out early, but not before meeting some British lads who let us know that we were in fact staying in the "Compton" area of London. (Not to worry, we later learned it "wasn't that bad" from a separate hotel so we stuck it out and.. survived! If anything, it made our experience all the more entertaining.. gotta love hot and cold showers and sporadic electricity.)
Saturday we all quite literally jumped out of bed from excitement and set out on our first mission of finding an american-style breakfast. Mission accomplished and a few omelets later we were off to Wellington arch, where we met for our free walking tour of London! Dave was quite possible the best tour guide I've ever had the pleasure of meeting, and his hilariously entertaining tour had people laughing for three hours straight. That guy knew how to tell stories about British history in the BEST possible way.. If only he would have been my European History teacher in high school, that class would have been 200% more interesting. Dave kicked off our tour by taking our group of 30ish to Hyde Park corner, and onto Buckingham palace to see the Changing of the Guards (which happened to the tune of James Bond soundtrack!) Dave knew the timing of the ceremony perfectly and has us wait on a street corner way behind the crowds. As the guards began marching up the street, we had a front row view while the rest of the mob stumbled behind them to get closer! We also had the pleasure of watching a policeman on horse pull over a taxi driver and yell him for following behind too closely. Dave had a lot in store for us so we quickly set off and saw Trafalgar Square, The Houses of Parliament, Nelson's Column, St. James's Park, 10 Downing Street (ritzy area where all the famous politicians live), Westminster Abby, and many more sites.
Trafalgar Square!
Watching the Changing of the Guards from very, very far away.
Cop pulling over a taxi driver.
What a beauty.
After our tour, we headed to Hampton Court Palace. Unfortunately, the travel-time was longer than expected and we arrived only two hours before the palace closed. This was simply not enough time according to Roland, an outgoing staff member who we happened to meet. Roland decided that with our lack of time, the only feasible solution was for him to take us on a prive tour to speed things up a bit. (WIN!) He led us between rooms through secret doors and across roped-off areas, all the while telling us everything we needed to know about the palace and history of each room. He even took us to hidden rooms where Pirates of the Caribbean 3 was filmed! We were so grateful for Roland's generosity!
Roland, best tour guide ever.
Kathleen, Kaitlyn & Myself
Yaaaay it's Fall!
Back in London, we divulged in Chipotle for dinner after Kathleen and Kaitlyn set out on a mission to find it. We REALLY missed Mexican food and spicy things, so that was great. We then walked off our dinner by taking a long stroll back to the Thames river area, and decided to go on the London Eye (the huge Ferris Wheel type thing!) and were treated to amazing views of Westminister Abby and the entire city of London. To top things off, a few minutes into our ride, we saw groups of fireworks going off in the distance. Turns our November 5th is a national holiday, so we couldn't have timed our journey better. Such a great experience to see the London sky filled with fireworks!
London Eye!
Big Ben
Sunday morning we set off to see the Tower of London. After getting off the tube and in search for breakfast, we conveniently ran right into the set of a movie! We all of a sudden noticed a crew in huge black jackets, fancy sports cars positioned on the streets, and huge camera lights. Turns out they were shooting an action movie called "Red 2" starring Bruce Willis and Catherine Zeta-Jones and were in the process of filming a car chase. We subtly approached people in the crew to ask them a few questions, and they told us they rain was causing delays but we could wait and watch if we wanted to! (We're 99% sure Bruce was in one of the sports cars we saw.) We had to step out of the camera shot (bummer), but were right next to it all happening! Can't wait to see it in theaters and reminisce. :)
The Tower of London turned out to be incredible! It's right on the Thames river, was built in 1078 (!), served as a prison at some points, housed exotic animals and many many queens and kings, and is home of the Crown Jewels! We walked from tower to tower, exploring the medieval castle and feeling like we were thrown back into time. The craziest part was that the king loved having lions, tigers and even polar bears around to display to his guests!
Tower Bridge
On the Tower Bridge! (Excuse my massive scarf, it was THAT COLD.)
We headed to see the Crown Jewels, and first were able to see a film of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on a huge screen! Finally seeing the Crown Jewels was pretty spectacular and I've never seen so much bling in my life. In the actual room holding the crown jewels, the floor is a slow moving walkway so you can't stop in front of any crown for too long! We obviously couldn't take any pictures but trust me when I tell you, those diamonds were SPARKLY.
We left the tower mid-afternoon super exhausted from walking around the castle, and the girls found a pub for real fish and chips. Lunch was great and nice to relax from so much running around. After our bit of down time, we headed back to Buckingham Palace to get a closer look without the crowds from the Changing of the Guards, and then walked over to Westminster Abby! We spent awhile roaming around the outside grounds before heading off to Kensington Palace (where Princess Diana lived!)
Westminster!
By the time we got off the tube at Kensington, it was already pretty dark outside so we raced to the palace to catch a glimpse. We made it just in time and were able to admire the gorgeous palace without any tourists in site! We then walked a few blocks over to Notting Hill and Kathleen, Kaitlyn and I jumped on the tube to head to head to Platform 9 3/4, (where everyone in Harry Potter goes to catch the train to Hogwarts, of course.) Molly and Becca were slightly less ecsatic than we were, so they headed to a different museum nearby.
Where Princess Diana used to live!
Platform 93/4 was all that I had imagined. Too bad running at the wall in full speed wouldn't really take you to Hogwarts, but who knows! (I didn't attempt it, so you never know!)
As if our time in London hadn't been cold enough already (some of my pictures literally look like I'm drowning in my scarf), Molly had heard about the famous London Ice Bar so away we went. The bar was a blast, mostly because the sealed-off ice section was below 0, and EVERYTHING was made out of ice - the glasses, the tables, the chairs, the bar, you name it. We had to wear these huge coats they provided, but being in the igloo was quite cold nonetheless. It was such a fantastic and silly experience, topped off by a late night treat to Cinnabon. Exactly what we needed to warm up!
Tinsy bit cold.
Monday was equally as busy, and by this point I was wishing I had a pedometer with me. We no doubt walked a few marathons. We headed off to Windsor Castle to visit the Queen herself! (Okay, she didn't know that at the time.) Since the Queen lives at Windsor, we knew her home would be pretty fab, but when we arrived in the small town of Windsor we were so shocked by how incredible it was! Right out of a Disney movie. The town was so small and quaint, situated next to a ginormous, perfectly constructed castle on lush rolling hills. Windsor castle was my favorite castle of the whole trip because we were able to see the magnificent dinning rooms, posh drawing rooms, and formal meeting rooms the Queen uses TO THIS DAY! Everything was so extravagant and I truly felt like I was either in a movie or royalty. The rooms we were able to walk through are only open during a portion of the year, since the Queen uses them to host State dinners or formal events with the heads-of-state from countries all over the world. It was a pinch-me-this-isn't-real-life moment. I was probably most excited knowing Kate & Will had been in all the rooms a time or two. At the end of the tour, we were able to see from afar where the Queen lives as well as the State Apartments, which function as ritzy hotel rooms for her super VIP's.
Windsor Castle from the outside.
The Queen lives RIGHT HERE:
I waved. I'm sure she waved back.
After our lovely castle tour, Molly and Becca went on to visit the town of Bath, while Kaitlyn, Kathleen and I met for lunch with Claire, a family friend of Kaitlyn. Claire treated us to an amazing High Tea lunch a stone's throw away from the castle, so we literally felt like we were having tea with the Queen. (That counts right?!) Our tea and scones lunch was so elegant and fitting for our situation. It was great to talk to Claire, who moved to London about a year ago for her husband's job. Kaitlyn, Kathleen and I decided we had so much fun at lunch because even though she wasn't our mom, hanging out with a mom-ish presence is so comforting after traveling for months totally on our own.
It was a scene straight out of The Notebook!
Adorable houses are also why I LOVE London!
We caught a late-afternoon train back into London and spent an hour watching the English countryside speed by our window. Back in London, we went back to Harrods to grab some souvenirs before finding the pub 'Spice of Life' for dinner. We've discovered pubs have some of the best food, and this one was no exception! Plus the vibes of pubs are a lot more fun - there was an open mic night happening so that made for an extra entertaining good time.
On Tuesday morning, all the girls had an early flight back to Italy. I fortunately didn't have class on Tuesday, so I was able to stay for an entire extra day and visit my friend Alexandra studying abroad in Kingston! In the morning, I went to Notting Hill to check out the famous Portobello Market and to see places where Notting Hill was filmed (yes, I love that movie SO much.) (This was the point during my trip where I decided that I was 100% going to live in London at some point in my life. Maybe it will be only for a few months, or a year, but it WILL happen.) Notting Hill was everything like the movie x 20. I even geeked out and had taken screen shots of a walking tour in Notting Hill that took me to all the main places in the movie, so I had a great time pretending I was Julia Roberts strolling down the gorgeous streets. Portobello Market was huge and full of the most amazing, and eclectic, trinkets I've ever come across. From antiques, paintings, appliances, to clothing, this market had it all.
May I please live here?
The real bookstore it was featured after!
I then met up with Alexandra in Kingston after her class, and was able to see the gorgeous university she studies at! While my campus here in Italy is not really like you're typical university campus and more like a big-building-with-classrooms, her school was big and beautiful and oh so university-like! After leaving my stuff in her apartment, we headed to the Victoria and Albert museum in Central London. It's the largest museum in the world for decorative arts and design, and my favorite exhibit was British fashion trends through the past century. There were also dozens of famous sculptures, costumes, jewelry, photographs, and furniture to look at, which was a nice change-up from the typical art museums.
We then headed over to Alexandra's youth group service at a church she goes to right down the street (after a quick stop at the awesome Ben's Cookies). Going to church turned out to be my favorite event of the day for the following reasons: 1. I was able to meet Alexandra's British friends who were so friendly and fun, 2. There were hundreds of university-aged British people all in one room (so fun!), 3. A church youth group led in British accents is the most fun thing to listen to of all time, and 4. Youth groups are always the best, no matter where in the world you are. Felt so blessed to be able to see her service & meet some great people!
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We headed back to her apartment and by now it was getting close to midnight, but we still wanted to skype our good friend from back home. The only bummer of the weekend was my 7am flight and an hour outside of London. Unfortunately, Alexandra's apartment was also an hour away, but the other direction. Alexandra helped me figure out my crazy route to the airport before I set my alarm for the evening. A solid 18 minutes of sleep later, I was up and off for my first, of three, buses at 2am. (Power naps always work instead of sleeping, right?) The adventure to the airport in the dead of night was an adventure indeed, as many very drunk people were also taking the buses home at that time. A few people noticed I wasn't British while waiting at bus stops in between buses, and would try to talk to me for awhile about politics, the presidential election that was in process at that exact moment, and if my life was like the OC, etc. At least it kept me awake and the anticipation of the election kept me searching for free wifi!
In case you couldn't tell, I adored London.
P.S. my fav Britishisms included:
Hello, love! (A cooler way to say: oh hey.)
Cheers! (Means goodbye)
Are you in the que? (Some guy asked us this.. means: are you line?)
My mate and I are going to the pub. (mate, lad, & chap = friend!)
I got a solid first! (Means they got the best grade/A+)
Mind the gap! (This is the most overused phrase in London. At every tube stop, you hear it over 20 times because there is a "gap" between the subway and platform.)
That dinner was so nice! (People say everything was "nice", specifically foods!)
It was brilliant! That's wicked! (aka.. super cool)
Fancy a drink? (Would you like a drink?)
Chips. (Are french fries!! It's a let down when you're expecting actual chips.)
Rubbish! (That's trash or not good.)
Can I ring you on my mobile later? (Can I call you later?)
Rent out a flat for holiday. (Rent out an apartment for vacation.)
Don't you feel more intelligent already? You're welcome.
Oh, London. I love you.
Love,
Your future resident
