just dropped down in london-town

What an amazing weekend! For ever my mom has been telling me how much I would love London, and for ever I told her I didn't think I would. Well she was right. Again. What else is new? 

Jena, Mary Marshall, and I landed in London right as it was getting dark, but were able to find out hostel without incidence. We stayed at Astor Quest right near Hyde Park. We stayed in an 8-person co-ed room. Our hostel was located just north of the park, but an easy distance from Bayswater tube station. It was our first visit to a hostel, and at first I think we were all out of comfort zone, not really knowing what to expect and being relatively paranoid about theft. However, taking into account cost and how little time we actually spent there, it worked out really well! Our roommates were also pretty nice. We had one empty bed, two guys from Holland, a girl from Brazil, and another man from France, who had actually been there for quite some time.

The first night we wandered around the neighborhood a little, ducking into a few bars and enjoying our first London cocktail. However, it was really late and we were exhausted from travelling, so we headed home early.

Friday was our first full day in the city and we tried to make the most of it. We walked through Hyde Park to Buckingham Palace for the changing of the guards. The park was gorgeous, and much larger than we expected. There were so many dogs everywhere, I know it made Mary Marshall and I a little bit homesick for our pups. But the Serpentine River was just stunning and we enjoyed walking at a somewhat leisurely pace. We got lost a few times, but finally made it to the palace.

Buckingham was legitimately like Disney World. It was just a mob of people all speaking different languages trying to get a glimpse of the guards. We didn’t really get a good look at anything, but it was quite an experience.

From there, we wandered through James Park, took pictures with the guards who don’t smile, stopped for a drink, and headed to Parliament and Big Ben. It was beautiful, way more beautiful than I had expected. I feel like you see pictures of these things all the time, but in real life it was even more than picturesque. We each probably took about 500 photos, and wandered around the entire building and Westminster Abbey. The parliament building wasn’t open for tours, which was a little bit of a bummer. We also crossed the bridge to see it from the other side, and got quite a view of the London Eye. We contemplated doing the entire Ferris wheel ride, but ultimately decided against it. We stopped at an adorable little place on the Southbank for lunch, not spending too much money but having some good food.

After lunch we did another leisurely walk (a theme in our vacation) back to Buckingham Palace. Since it’s summertime and the queen is on vacation (Jena was bummed, she really wanted to try to meet the queen…) the palace was open for tours! Just the staterooms, but one of the most amazing things I have ever done. The sheer magnitude of the rooms, as well as the intricacy of the decorations that adorn every corner of the palace, was overwhelming. We went through ballrooms, living rooms, dining rooms, as well as were able to view the entrance of a secret passage and some of the gifts the queen has received from other nations as part of a special exhibit. No photos were allowed, which was a huge bummer, but I don’t think I’ll forget those sights. I think my favorite part was the portrait galleries where we got to see original paintings of Queen Victoria and her family, as well as older paintings dating back to Queen Charlotte and King James I.

We headed back to the hostel to meet Taylor, one of the guys from our Dublin trip who was also staying with us at the hostel. After quick relaxation, we headed to a cheep pizza and pasta joint (yay for attempting to save money) and then headed to Picadilly Circus. We found a bar my friend Amelie had recommended, enjoyed a few drinks, and wandered around the area of a little bit.

Overall, I feel like I really got a grasp of the tube system in London. I thank the heavens I understood New York City better after this summer, I really feel like it helped me navigate London; especially since I feel that the tube system is easy than the New York subway.