The greatest part about London is that it shares many similarities with America while still being a forgeign city. The worst thing about London is the British Pound, as Americans we lose lots of money on every purchase.
The first day, Jaz and I got their a couple hours before Tara and Jess so we went and acted touristy with Carly who was there visiting Anne (a friend from OC who is studying to get her Masters in London). Anne played as our unofficial tour guide and took us to see Big Ben, Westminster Abbey and Harrods. In a short time she showed us the ease of using the Tube and got me really excited to be back.
*I was in London two years ago for about 24 hours so I was very excited to explore London beyond the tourist spots.
The first night we took a trip to Covent Garden (thanks Bronte for the recommendation!) and had to pick up a little gadget at the Apple Store. I only mention this because while at the Apple Store, we made friends and got a killer recommendation for dinner. We ended up at this pizza place called Home Slice. Home Slice was this tiny little shop bursting at the seems with lively conversations, liters of Wine and lots and lots of delicious pizza. Unfortunately the wait was around 2 hours so instead of sitting in, we found a curb in the little courtyard and sat and ate our pizza in the street. Sounds silly but it was so perfect after a long travel day!
After dinner we walked around for the rest of the night to try and stay on London time for as long as our bodies would let us. We walked all around Covent Garden, Piccadilly Circus and Regent Street before calling it quits. The city was absolutely beautiful at night.
The next day we began the marathon touring. Our first stop was to watch the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace. *first I would like to start a petition to ban selfie sticks. They were OUT OF CONTROL in this crowd.* There were a ton of people around but we ended up picking a spot next to this wonderful couple from Arizona. These are the times when the world feels really small and friendly. The changing was cool to see and we continued on our tour. We went into an art museum to use the restroom and ended up losing Jaz to the art. Those this know her know how typical this is. The rest of us hit the touristy stuff in Westminster before we went to tea. Tea time will get its own post because it was so memorable and unlike anything we do.
After dinner we walked around for the rest of the night to try and stay on London time for as long as our bodies would let us. We walked all around Covent Garden, Piccadilly Circus and Regent Street before calling it quits. The city was absolutely beautiful at night. The next day we began the marathon touring. Our first stop was to watch the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace. *first I would like to start a petition to ban selfie sticks. They were OUT OF CONTROL in this crowd.* There were a ton of people around but we ended up picking a spot next to this wonderful couple from Arizona. These are the times when the world feels really small and friendly. The changing was cool to see and we continued on our tour. We went into an art museum to use the restroom and ended up losing Jaz to the art. Those this know her know how typical this is. The rest of us hit the touristy stuff in Westminster before we went to tea. Tea time will get its own post because it was so memorable and unlike anything we do.
After tea we decided to continue the site seeing. Site seeing is a LOT more fun after unlimited champagne at tea... We went by the Thames and walked to the Tower Bridge and Tower of London. Stopping of course for impromptu photo shoots along thre way.
We had big plans for the night but after the idea of a nap happened, we weren't going anywhere. Jet Lag finally got the best of me and I was up awkwardly from midnight to about 2:30am then forced myself to sleep. That was really the only night I had sleeping issues and it actually worked out fine because I got to chat with my fam bam!
The 4th of July came and went without any actual fireworks but I was a super fun day. We joked all day (with American superiority) that they should be mourning the day but instead they did what we do on Cinco De Mayo, turn it into a drinking holiday. We explored Shoreditch and ended up at markets, outdoor bars and discovered some amazing food! (I will update with more pictures soon!)
The night brought some fun local surprises and earned Jess a gold star (yes we give out gold stars!) One of Jess' cousins hooked us up with one of her guy friends who completely stepped up and gave us a great night. We started the night at this Tapas place in South London and then walked over to this parking garage where they were casually holding a full orchestra concert. The coolest part was that they played Appalacian Spring which I studied endlessly in AA10. (Yes, I studied in that class) The orchestra was short, only 45 min, then we continued up the parking garage to the roof where a lively rooftop bar showed us the whole London skyline. The view completely won over our hearts and the night was made. However, our night wasn't over and we enjoyed the London nightlife scene.
This was a perfect end to our time in London. The next morning we said goodbye to the hostel and headed to the airport to catch our plane to Barcelona!
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