So I decided that I would split up my spring break adventure into two parts because there is a lot to tell, and I find myself with less and less free time in order to write these posts. This first part I am going to talk about the beginning of my trip. Our spring break trip technically started on the cuisine trip to Parma. The day after we came back from the trip, we woke up very early and headed to the airport to leave for London. For the first part of the trip, it was Shannon, Nico, Nick and me. We got to the airport early in the morning and checked in at the counter (I FINALLY had my passport stamped when we left/arrived at London. When traveling within the EU, they usually don't stamp it). Nick and I shared a large suitcase and brought our own carry-ons. We were going to be gone for a while so it was the best idea. The flight took a couple of hours and once we finally reached the airport, we went through customs and, like every other time during this trip, they felt the need to give me a hard time. The lady at the London-Gatwick airport was not very nice. She kept asking me why I was there, for how long, to show her my ticket home, asking me why I was leaving from Dublin and not London and basically just not making it easy for me to enter the United Kingdom. After a good 5 minutes or so, she finally (angrily) stamped my passport and we headed towards the train. Right before, we had to experience the very brutal task of taking money out at the current exchange rate. This part of the trip was NOT so much fun. I am not sure if you are aware how high the exchange rate is from the dollar to the pound but if you take out 200 pound, it is about $334. Also known as CRAZY. So, after this miniature stab in the heart we boarded the train and headed into the city. Once we arrived at a station closer in the city, we then asked for directions to our hostel and hopped on "the tube" (what they call their metro, also known by this symbol, http://londonunderground.ws/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/london_underground_logo.jpg) Our hostel was located in an area off the metro station South Kensington and near Hyde Park. The moment we stepped out of the metro, we walked through the best smelling neighborhood I have ever been in in my entire life. The smell of crepes and other desserts hit us first, shortly followed by the smell of delicious, fried pub food. It was incredible. In Milan, you mostly have the smell of pollution and stiff air, so getting out into this new clean environment was a very nice relief. So we started walking to the hostel and, of course, like the smart college students that we are, we walked the wrong way and had to turn around and head the other direction. Our hostel was very cool and the people who worked there were very helpful. So, thanks to Shannon, we were able to see so much in such a short amount of time. She made an itinerary that was very thorough and we followed it thoroughly during the 3 days that we were in London. So after we were checked in to our hostel, we set out to do some exploring. We headed into the center of town with one major goal in mind-to find Chipotle. For those of you who don't know, Chipotle is a restaurant that has amazingly delicous burritos and other mexican food and because you can't get it anywhere in Italy, this was our first mission. We eventually found the place and devoured this beautiful taste of home. Feeling extremely satisfied and 5 pounds heavier, we made our way through Picadilly Circus and into the center of the city. Picadillly Circus is basically a famous junction in the city that has a lot of shopping and entertainment. We walked through the area and through a very nice park (I don't remember the name) and onward towards some of the more "major" attractions. We finally came to our first real "tourist attraction", which was Westminster Abbey. This is a massive church and is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English monarchs. We took the tour inside and it was a very cool place. (Nothing like the duomos here in Italy) Many famous people throughout history are buried here such as Geoffrey Chaucer, Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin. Another great part was that Westminster is right across the way from Big Ben and Parliament so there were many a good photo opportunity. Of course, along the way, we saw many of the traditional things that one expects to see in London, such as the double-decker buses, phone booths and the guards who refuse to smile, move or acknowledge anything else going on around them. We walked a little further across one of the bridges to go check out the London Eye. (A giant Ferris wheel on the banks of the River Thames) After this part of our trip, we headed back towards our hostel in order to get jackets (it cooled down a bit) and regroup for the night. We walked back down through Picadilly and ate dinner at a chinese buffet (it wasn't too bad). We bought some beer and wine and headed back to the hostel to hang out. People were sitting in the common area and we were talking with everybody, playing pool and it was really fun. Not too much happened after that, so we just got ready for day #2. April 2nd was the day we arrived and the following day (April 3rd) was my birthday. I didn't really care about what we did, I was just happy to be in London on my birthday. So we followed Shannon's wonderfully thorough itinerary and started marking things off the list. We left from our hostel in the morning and started walking towards Buckingham. (Of course, going the wrong way again) But, the one positive was stopping at a place called EAT to eat. I had an amazingly delicious hoison duck wrap with cucumbers. (I would eat three more before leaving London) We eventually hopped on a bus and turned around toward the Palace. You were not allowed to go into the Palace except during the summer months because the Queen is there. Although we did not head in the right direction, it did give us a chance to see many different gardens, buildings and monuments along the way. Once we made it to Buckingham Palace, we took a tour of the stables and all of the carriages that the Royal Family has used throughout the history of the Monarch. The horses that pull the carriages were there and even the cars in which the Royal Family are driven. It was a pretty interesting exhibit because they are some of the things that are not normally seen as close as we had the opportunities to see them. We then made our way through the city on a very long walking tour. We stopped to take pictures at many fountains, monuments, buildings and other landmarks that were photo-worthy. We crossed the city to the Millennium Bridge and the made our way back towards the area that our hostel was at. So, there was really only one thing that I wanted for my birthday and that was a traditional fish and chips dinner. Luckily, there was a great pub near our hostel that we took refuge (from the pouring, London rain) in. We ordered a couple of beers and I scanned over the many options of fish and chips until I found the perfect one. Like a ray of sunshine during this rainy hour, there it read-"The Codfather". This wonderful idea of a dinner was to have a massive piece of cod, sitting atop a bed of french fries, accompanied by onions, peas, four thick slices of bread and tartar and curry sauces. I was in heaven. I attacked this dish with much vigor and went home feeling about 5 pounds heavier and 5 times happier. The next day we woke up early and went back to Buckingham, although this time we were going to see the changing of the guard. It was a pretty cool procession and the entire park was filled with tourists and admirers. We were on a pretty tight schedule so we made our way through the park and back to the metro station in order to continue our last-day adventures. We made a quick stop at Somerset House, which is an important arts and culture center in the city and then finally off to explore the Tower of London. At the Tower of London, we saw so many different things. There were different exhibits in each of the towers that talked about the history of the Tower and different uses that each of the towers had. You can check out a lot of the different information here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_of_London) but while we were there, we also had the opportunity to see the crown jewels. The crown jewels were really cool to look at. The monarchy has so much incredible wealth it is a little crazy. There were all kinds of crowns, robes, plates, robes and other items that had been used or worn by the Royal Family. From the Tower, we headed towards our final stop on our London trip. We went to the very famous department store, Harrods, and had high tea. The department store was filled with all kinds of luxury brands and floors filled with different kinds of gourmet food markets. On the top floor of the store there was a very nice, sophisticated resstaurant where we had our tea. We split two different types of teas (I had my favorite, Rooibos Chai) and then there was a little tree-type tray filled with incredible little sandwiches and desserts. Each sandwich was more delicious than the last and the desserts were so rich. We spent a bit of time there before heading back to our hostel and packing everything up before catching the train. To hear about the night train/ferry ride, you will have to read part 2 of the spring break adventure (whenever I write that!)Luke
