London

Day 27: Saturday 12 July 2014

We arrived at our flat in London around 4:30pm. I'll tell ya what. I don't want to be cliche or anything, but arriving in London is like being in the twilight zone. With the cars driving on the other side of the road and the legit British accents it really throws your brain for a loop.  When we crossed the street I think we looked double the amount than we had anywhere else.  Luckily, most of the streets have "Look left" or "Look right" painted on, because they know dumb-struck American tourists like us visit on a daily basis.

This is the street we stayed on. It was everything I ever could have imagined.  The flat we stayed in, however, was not my favorite.  I think it had the nicest kitchen out of all the apartments we'd seen, but it was definitely the smallest overall.  Not only that, but unlike all the others, this one was actually lived in by someone.  He was a flight attendant, and we're assuming he just rented it out when he knew he was working; so it was full of all of his stuff.  It was good enough for four nights, but if we go back, I wouldn't rent it again.

This was literally it. Bathroom was through the door and the kitchen was behind me.

This little outside patio area was definitely the best feature! We ate out here every night.  The guy who owned the place had a bunch of birds, too that lived in little cages.  Kind of strange.  He also had like, 5 fish tanks. Which luckily, we weren't responsible for taking care of.  He had a friend who came while we were gone who fed them, so we didn't have to!

After settling in, you guessed it, we went to a grocery store! Okay, so the best part of our flat was that it was in an awesome location.  Just off of Hyde park and about a 10 minute walk to Kensington Palace. On our way to the grocery store we walked right past the hospital where little Prince George was born.  All those tabloid pictures I saw of the Duke and Duchess with little George last summer, I was walking right where they were taken! I'm not one for obsessing over celebrity culture, but I do love seeing that little royal family, like I mentioned about Versailles, the whole idea of royalty and their history really fascinates me, plus Kate is a total fashion icon, and I love every piece of clothing she wears! If I had all the money....you'd bet I'd be better dressed.

Speaking of the royal family...after dinner we decided to finish out the day we'd take a walk through Hyde Park and to see Kensington Palace....which is where the Prince William, Catherine, and little George live....of course, I was hoping for a miracle glimpse...but, no luck.

We walked past the palace and proceeded towards the High Street.  We continued a little ways down it and looked at all the ritzy stores that we could never afford to shop at.  We also walked down the street that connects back to the other side of the park called Kensington Palace Garden.  It's a street that has many different embassy homes and you can see the Kensington palace greens.  The street is actually guarded with security, but you are allowed to walk through, just can't take pictures because of all of the different embassy homes as well as the view of the the palace.  I suppose if you got lucky you could see William or Kate loading themselves in or out of a car in the driveway near the greens! It was a really beautiful place, all of the homes were gorgeous, and of course it was just surreal to be walking in front of Kensington palace, where so many historical figures have lived!

We made it back to our flat, warmed up a pizza and called it a day! Ready for some Zzzs and an upcoming busy day!

Day 28: Sunday 13 July 2014

So, first things first! We went to church in the Hyde Park building.  We barely made it on time due to missing a turn in Hyde Park, but it was alright because we ended up seeing more of Hyde Park than we had anticipated! Win-win! 

After church, which was conveniently located on the same street as many of the major museums, we hopped on over to the Victoria and Albert museum.  This museum is marketed as a museum of art and design, so it showcases things like furniture and fashion as well as art from many different parts of history.

I tried on a corset too, but no picture of that! :)

Michael would make a cute Sherlock.

The Great Bed of Ware 

from the Victoria and Albert Museum website:

"The Great Bed of Ware is probably the single best-known object in the Museum. The four-poster bed is famously over three metres wide, the only known example of a bed of this size, and reputedly able to accommodate at least four couples.

Constructed in about 1590, the Bed was probably made as a tourist attraction for an inn in Ware, Hertfordshire. Ware was a day's journey from London and a convenient place to stop for the night for travellers going to Cambridge University or other destinations. Visitors often carved their initials on the Bed or applied red wax seals , which are still visible on the bedposts and headboard today."

Next, we had a quick lunch that we packed, then we checked out the Natural History Museum, which was just next door.  Nice thing about London is that all museum entrance is free - you can just walk on in!  It makes up for the ridiculous amount of money you have to spend everywhere else!

We learnt about volcanoes and earthquakes!

Dinosaurs, too.

This is the main entrance of the museum. Just love the old architecture!

After the museums we strolled along and popped into to Harrod's for a quick glimpse.

Then on to Buckingham Palace!

They mean business! Wouldn't want to fall on to this!!

**Singing: Duh - duh - duhduh - duh ding duhduh dong diiiing** (If you can decipher this tune, I will be amazed.)

After the palace we went and said hi to ol' Ben and Westminster Abbey.

We had done a lot of walking this day and were tuckered out, so we headed home and made some pasta and relaxed for the rest of the night. Here are a couple of pictures of the birds I was talking about earlier.  One thing we had to take care of this night was contacting my dad's cousin, Dianna.  She and her son, my second cousin, were also in London at the same time as us!! And We wanted to meet up with them.  She had given us a cell phone number, but we didn't have a phone to use, so we decided to go to Paddington station, which was only five minutes from our flat, to use a payphone!  Everything worked fine, except instead of charging 60 pence for a few minute call is charge our card like...6 or 7 pounds, like $12 US dollars, oh well. Figuring out our meet-up the next day was important, everything worked out!

Day 29: Monday 14 July 2014

A beautiful day!!!! Probably one of the finest days of weather during our trip. Sunny skies and a small breeze. Absolutely beautiful.  We made it to the Tower of London early so we could pick up our tickets and was able to find my cousins without too much delay! We started with a tour with one of the resident "Beefeaters" - formally known as the Yeoman Warders.  They are actually retired Armed Forces of Commonwealth officers, so they're the real deal. Not costumed actors, which is cool, because they really know their history.  We didn't stick with him to long before we decided to explore ourselves.

Michael and I with my second cousin.

It was so cool to be able to meet up with my cousins! They live on the other side of the country from my family and I and I hadn't seen them in years! Funny that of all places we met up across the world!

We departed ways and Michael and I walked across the Tower Bridge to find a place to eat.

Eating some fish n' chips!

St. Paul's Cathedral from afar!

This is one of the oldest pubs in London - very close to the Globe Theater.

Seeing St. Paul's

After seeing St. Pauls our day was already spent! It was about 5pm and Michael wasn't feeling too great.  We'd made it through our entire trip without too many health issues, but Michael felt like he was coming down with some sort of cold so we wanted to take it easy. We only had one more day in Europe!

Day 30: Tuesday 15 July 2014

Well, the first thing we did is boring.  We had to get to an internet cafe to print off some tickets and such for our departure the following day. We had to figure out how to get to Victoria bus station the next day at about 4:30am, because our bus was leaving at 5am to take us to Gatwick airport.  We came up with a solution...I will explain soon.

After we squared away our plans we headed out to see Piccadilly circus on our way to Trafalgar square and the National Gallery. We ate a packed lunch when we made it to the square.

Photos weren't allowed in the National Gallery, but I really enjoyed the artwork there. After the National Gallery we headed to the British Museum, where I really wanted to see the Parthenon friezes. Now I can say I've seen the whole Parthenon!

The Rosetta Stone

The Parthenon friezes

I don't know why but I really wanted to see the mummies!!

Crazy stuff!!

Wouldn't be a trip to London without visiting Baker Street!

We made a quick stop to Regent's Park and zoomed through the Queen Mary gardens. We had to be quick for two reasons. One, I really had to pee, and two, because we wanted to make it to the 5pm Evensong service at Westminster Abbey.  It was probably 3:45pm when I took this picture.

After the gardens we headed to the nearest tube stop so we could make our way to Westminster. The tube doors don't wait for anybody and when we got down to the platform the train we needed was about to go. We tried to rush on, but only Michael made it and my arm almost got stuck as I pulled away from the rubber siding of the door! It scratched my arm and everything! It was an adventure. Luckily we didn't have to make any connecting stops, so I just waited for the next one and met up with Michael at Westminster. Luckily it wasn't anymore complicated, because we had no cell or internet service! Could've been a lot worse!

These babies are packed!

 Riding solo!

We made it to the service with about 10 minutes to spare. I have to tell you. This was one of my favorite experiences in London.  The Evensong is appropriate for anybody.  It's mainly just singing and a couple of Bible passages and prayers are said, but even if you are not a person of faith, it is very cool to be able to experience the cathedral in it's true purpose.  PLUS, it's free.  To tour Westminster Abbey during normal visiting hours is 25pounds PER PERSON.  That's like...$77.00. So, it's totally worth it.  Couldn't take pictures, but that was kind of nice, because I made a point to keep it better in my memory.  At the end of the service everyone walks down the main nave of the church. I imagined all of the great historical events that had happened there.  Queen Elizabeth's coronation, and many royal weddings, including Prince William and Catherine's just a few years ago. It was so SO cool. If you're planning a trip to London, you've got to go! They do the same thing at St. Paul's Cathedral if that's more your cup of tea!

After the service we decided to eat out in the SOHO district. We found a cool Korean style place that was really good called Bi Bim Bap.  They serve your food to you in a hot stone bowl, it's still cooking when you get it! The steam almost burned my face it was so hot! We talked about how we couldn't believe how fast our 4.5 weeks in Europe had gone by.  I'm writing this now in December and I can't believe it's already been six months since we've returned. Just crazy how time flies!

One last walk through Piccadilly and then we were back to the flat to pack and prepare for a VERY early morning the next day.

Day 31: Wednesday 16 July 2014

We'd made it. We'd successfully (with a few bumps in the road) made it through Italy, Switzerland, France, and London.  We loved our time in Europe, but I think we were ready to be back on US soil. Our trip wasn't entirely over yet!

So I mentioned that we had found a solution for how to get to the bus station.  We hardly slept Tuesday night.  I think I stayed up until 2:30am packing and getting everything ready and we had to wake up at about 4am!  Our initial problem with getting to Victoria station was that the night buses and tube did not run this early in the morning, so Michael came up with the lovely idea that we get street bikes - with all our stuff on our backs - and bike ride to the station.  It was really our only option, and looking back on it now it is such a funny thing.  It's London, so of course there were people out still.  Everyone we passed by just smiled and nodded at the two crazy Americans with giant backpacks and bags strapped to their street bikes! Ha! How many people can say they've ridden a street bike through London at four in the morning?? Probably more than I think! But, it still made for a fun experience! Unfortunately due to the extreme lack of sleep Michael and I were so grumpy, so I didn't get a picture of us riding...just take my word, we really did it!  We made it to the station in about 25 minutes and had no problems at the airport. We were ready to go.  Nice thing about our journey home was that this time is would be split up.  We planned to stay in NYC for a couple of nights and then we went to see Michael's family in Rochester, NY for a few days.  So unlike on our way to Europe where we took four flights back to back, this time we only had to take a short flight from London to Dublin, then to NYC. It really helped a lot with our travel fatigue!

Thank you, Europe! You were pretty darn good to us! Hope to come back soon!