First of all, I had a blasty blast in London! I love that city so much! I saw pretty much everything I wanted to and was so happy to share the weekend with some of my best friends!
The train ride there was so easy and awesome-it was really early in the morning so I slept most of the way and it was only about 2.5 hrs. Crazy to think I was under the ocean for part of it! Eren and Jonathan met Hayley, Jayda and me at the train stop and it was such a happy little reunion! We checked into our hostel--it was out in Greenwich, real cute--and explored the area including the old royal navy academy. We tried to do some sightseeing but only made it to St Paul's Cathedral before 4 pm when all tourist spots close. We had pints at a pub on Fleet Street (from "Sweeney Todd") and just caught up. That night we met up with 2 other girls from Tulane who are studying in London and went to this pub/restaurant for fish and chips--my first time! I didnt like it that much, honestly, but it was the experience that counts. We then went out to the bars and clubs around Piccadilly--this one club had a cover band that we all really liked. Jonathan and I stayed out longer than everyone else and just explored some more bars. We even rode on the top of a double decker bus! Saturday morning we rose very early because we wanted to get tickets to a show for that night. We ended up scoring "Spamelot" tix for only 30 pounds (1/2 price!!!) Saturday was a sightseeing day and we did it all! Saw the changing of the guards, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Hyde Park, the London Eye (we didnt go up though), Leicester Square, Trafalgar Square, London Tower--did go in here and saw Britain's crown jewels (breathtaking!), the old torture chamber instruments, the famous ravens and everything-So neat! especially since I just finished reading THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL about King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. We even stopped while we were walking over a bridge to play "London Bridges." We had lunch at a Subway (haha) and then went back to the hostel to change. We had dinner in Chinatown --so good. Poor London isn't exactly known for its food.
The best part for me was "Spamelot" that night. I really loved it. I was quoting the lines and thinking of Robbie the whole time. "'Tis but a scratch," "Five is right out" and "We are the Knights who say 'Ni.'"
It was really funny and cute and the singing was wonderful. The entire audience even joined in when they sang "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" and whistled along with them. After that, we went to a pub in Euston Square and just enjoyed each other's company for a few hours before we caught the bus back to the hostel. Before my train back to Paris this morning I had a cup of tea and even put a little cream in it for the effect.
Such a fun weekend and so nice to see some really good friends across the pond. We all loved their funny phrases, "cheers (or cheerio)" "mate" "bloody," and the styles are so different than in Paris. It was also a nice break to speak the language;)
Here are some funny things I liked about London: on the street, they have printed "look left" or "look right" depending on where you're crossing so tourists don't get hit by unexpected oncoming traffic (driving the wrong way), their cigarette packs say "Smoking Kills" in big block letters--no Surgeon General's polite warning here, the girls there are thicker and wear tighter clothes than Parisian girls, they also have no rules about white shoes after labor day.
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