London

So- after arriving on a pleasant British Airways flight (tea and all), we found our way to Paddington Station from the Gatwick airport. And I know what you’re thinking- you’re thinking, “is that the station where Paddington Bear lives?” And, my friend, you are quite right! So after we arrived we found our classy of classy joint called Tony’s House Hostel- which was really in a a nice location. It seemed clean enough, and the staff was... nice enough... so we got settled in, then went out for Fish and Chips! On the way to the hostel we had gotten a TAD bit lost (in that we were wandering the completely WRONG direction...) and a guy stopped to help us- Paul. Paul told us where to get some good eats near the hostel (about a block away, if that) and showed us to our hostel. So... of course we went to the place he recommended. It was VERY good. I’m not a huge fish fan at all- but those fish and chips were... AMAZING! So amazing that I ended up eating there for dinner the two following nights as well- but we’ll get there later (and for the record, another GREAT thing this little place had going was the price- the GBPound is 2X stronger than the USDollar, so every time you see a price you have to double that t see it in dollars- needless to say cheap and good food were a joyous find!).
The next day we shot out early and headed to the Big Ben and Parliament (beautiful!), the London Eye (like a big Ferris Wheel), Westminster Abbey (SO much history there! Queen Eliz 1, Henry VII are both there- plus a TON of other people!), the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace (pretty neato), Trafalgar Square, the British Museum (and saw the Elgin Marbles!), Tower of London, Tower Bridge (very pretty and colorful!), London Bridge (really boring), Then we headed back to the hostel to get dressed (cram dose number two of Fish N’ Chips in), and then headed to Camden Town to Barfly where the great We Are Scientists played! It was great to see Ian and they performed well despite all three being sick and jet-lagged! The bar was cool, and even cooler with the knowledge that just a week and a half before Gavin Degraw had played Sold Out there! But really- Ian looked great, the band sounded good, and the crowd seemed to like it- I hear Platinum!
After that it was a race to ge t home before the Tube closed because we were there until around midnight and apparently the Tube closes at midnight for the most part- so we got to know that metro system real well that night... but finally made it home about an hour later.
The next day we were up pretty early again, and we headed to the famous shopping department store Harrod’s. That place is CRAZY. Besides the Egyptian elevator and miles of designer clothes, this place has a FULL fresh market- including bakery, fish place, sushi place, coffee bar, pastry shop, soup place, veggie stands... and on and on! IT was INCREDIBLE! Staci and I knew we weren’t going to buy anything (hello pricey) so we jotted down to H&M and were happy to find a WIDE selection of nice clothes at prices more our speed!
After some lunch at a bar type place we hopped over to Hyde Park- the weather was especially gorgeous that day- almost hot, and certainly bright and sunny, so half of London was at the park too! It was so cool to see everyone out and about! Through Hyde Park we wandered to Kensington Palace where Princess Diana lived, and had tea at the Orangerie there- if you’re going to London I’d recommend that as a cheap tea stop, along with lovely gardens etc. surrounding you- high tea can get pricey in L-town!
After Tea we split up- Staci and I had a mission- get tickets to a show! Staci had never seen Phantom of the Opera and we had seen posters for it all over- and of course I’m a sucker for musicals, so we started the hunt! We headed back to Trafalgar Square, just north of there is a TKTS- but we struck out there. We found out where the theatre was and charged! At the theatre there were two balcony seats and two floor seats left- and you know we opted for the good ones, cause you can’t go to a show in London and see Phantom for the first time from a Balcony Obstructed View Seat!
We wandered back down to the Underground stop, looked in a market or two, and then made our way back to Tony’s House. We got ready for the show, grabbed meal number THREE at Sussex Fish and Chips, and then headed to the show! The London Underground is very unreliable in my opinion. There are constantly delays, and although the system is convenient and seemingly efficient, don’t count on it for timeliness! So- we were late. Mind you, we only missed the first half of a scene, so it was ok. When we got seated we realized we REALLY got our money’s worth- GREAT GREAT GREAT seats! IT was such a FUN experience, including the icecream at intermission!
Sunday was our last day sadly- and it was another beauty! We parted ways again since Alexis, Jacqueline, and Sabrina had done a bunch of the stuff we had yet to do the night before. Stac and I hit up St. Paul’s Cathedral where Charles and Diana were married, then walked across the Millennium Bridge, did a tour of the reconstructed Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, had lunch at a Greek place and a Frappaccino at Starbuck’s (and the angels sang), and then hit the Tate Modern Museum. This museum was like a dream- SO much information, no superfluous info on t he labels, children's programs going on in every room- it was awesome! TRULY the most “efficient” museum I’ve been to in terms of traditional stuff like labeling and info- which I think is ESPECIALLY important in a modern art museum where half of the stuff looks like (sorry Jackson Pollock) a child could have done it. It was REALLy informative, and I was pleased to be confronted with Jackson Pollock, Andy Warhol, and other artists that I have seen pictures of their work in books, but never live. And for the record, no, I don’t think that just anyone could have done what Pollock did, but you get my point?
After a GREAT (but too short) time at the Tate we headed back, met the other girls, boogied to the airport, sat around, and then boarded the plane home. It was a GREAT trip!
My only sadness from the trip was not getting to spend more time with Ian, but hopefully I’ll be able to make it to NY this summer to see him, or ideally he’ll come to Hawaii with us! We both said that London was a place we could live- and wanted to- so maybe in the near future we’ll have apartments just blocks from each other in London!
Conclusions: I loved London WAY more than i thought I would! The people were nice, the city is very navigable, and the food, despite all the horror stories, was really good! The sites were amazing, the museums were all SO nice, and the weather while we were there was ideal, so i have no complaints! I will surely be back- wanna come?