London

Throw back to 2004: Karleigh, my Mom, and I spent a few days exploring London before heading to Portugal for a beach volleyball tournament

After having such a great time in Ireland, we were so excited to be heading to London. Instead of getting a flight into London, we opted to take the ferry because it was cheaper. We were so lucky to have made that decision, because little did we know that all of Europe would be hit with bad weather. The Dublin port was absolutely crazy; not only were we traveling on Christmas Eve, but there were also so many people trying to purchase ferry tickets because of cancelled or delayed flights. When we boarded the ferry, I really had no idea what to expect...something along the lines of some benches, maybe tables and chairs, etc. I was so surprised to see how nice the ferry was; it was like a little mini cruise ship. It had tables and chairs, big screen TVs, a food court, coffee shop and even a little convenience store. Em and I boarded as soon as we could and plopped ourselves in these comfy sofa type chairs that were set up in front of a bunch of TVs playing Christmas cartoons for little kids. As soon as we sat down, we both passed out for the whole 2 hour ferry ride. The ferry brought us to Holyhead, Wales. From Holyhead, we took the train into London. I didn't even know that we would be going into Wales, so I thought it was kinda neat to see what it looked like from the train windows. We were on the train for about another 3 hours or so, and then had to take the tube into downtown London where we were staying in the Victoria area. By the time we made it to our hotel in Pimlico, we were exhausted. The nice thing we noticed was that there was no snow in London! After living in snow all the time in Switzerland and experiencing some in Ireland, we were so relieved that we could explore London without having to deal with snow. Anyway, that night we walked around a little bit in the blocks surrounding our hotel and found a cute little cafe to have some dinner. After reminiscing a little about Ireland and some planning for wandering around London, we decided to head in for the night to get some much needed rest for our eventful Christmas day.

The longest train stop name I've ever seen!

Taken in Wales

Photo of Wales taken from the train

Our hotel's street in Pimlico, near Victoria

Our teeny tiny bathroom haha

Well, the next morning we woke up and gave each other our Merry Christmas hugs and we were ecstatic to be in such a cool place on Christmas day. We got ready for a long long day and made sure we had everything we needed because we had no idea when we would be back in Pimlico. We had some breakfast at the hotel, then headed over to Saint Saviour Pimlico church across the street for Christmas mass. It was a pretty neat experience to attend Christmas mass in a neat old church, and we got to sing some Christmas carols to get us in the holiday spirit!

Em and I ready for Christmas day :)

Saint Saviour Pimlico church

In front of the Christmas tree inside the church

We knew that we had more than enough time to see everything we wanted to in London, but that didn't stop us from doing most of it on Christmas day. The only downside was that there was no public transportation (taxis, red double decker buses, and the tube), which makes traveling around London so easy. So we had to improvise and walk EVERYWHERE. London is huge, and I'm pretty sure we walked everywhere possible all in one day haha. Luckily, Em has a European travel book which provided us with a walking tour that helped us map out some of our day. Of course, the one day that we walked everywhere just happened to be the coldest day on our London trip, haha. After walking around the Victoria area for a little and seeing Westminster Cathedral, we were off on our tour and the first few stops included Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, and the Palace of Westminster (House of Parliament).

A neat restaurant/pub that was randomly in between two big buildings

On the back side of Westminster Abbey

We couldn't go inside, but the outside of the church was pretty enough!

Westminster Abbey

Big Benny

Palace of Westminster

After walking around a little and taking lots of pictures, we then crossed the Westminster Bridge over the Thames River. We just continued to walk along the Thames for awhile, taking in the scenery and seeing things like the London Eye, Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, Gabriel's Wharf, the Tate Modern, etc. (all of which weren't open on Christmas day). Eventually we really had to use the restroom and we were starving. We had been struggling to find anywhere that might be open and have a bathroom...that was quite the task. Because we were on the other side of the Thames, there wasn't really anything open that catered to tourists...most of what stays open during the holiday is on the other side of the river in the Piccadilly area. We hadn't seen anything open along our walk and we had already walked so far from our hotel that it wasn't like we could just turn around and go back. So, after a long time of searching, we happened to see people down the road entering a small building with lights. We took the chance and I still can't believe the poor decision we made haha. This place was a run down fast food joint called Chicken Cottage. It was small, like the type of place that just has a few tables and the cashier counter, definitely no bathroom. So, I asked the man if they had a restroom we could use and he kind of gave me a funny look. Thankfully, he let us come under the counter and go back through the kitchen and into the restroom. I must say, this place was pretty disgusting, so dirty and unkept. Dare I say say it...YES, we ended up eating there! Not by choice...but Em and I felt like the man was nice enough to let us use the bathroom, so we could not just walk out without buying some greasy fried food haha. Plus, we were so hungry and at this point, we had no idea if anything would be open if we had decided to keep searching (we didn't know that Piccadilly had quite a few things open until we walked there later at night). Well, I guess it makes for a funny story, right!? Anyway, I had no idea my Chicken Cottage story would take up so much space, haha. Anyway, after we got back on track with our walking tour, we crossed the London Bridge and were on our way to the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge. Along our walk, we saw all of these tourists holding coffee cups, we were freezing and craving a nice warm coffee. When we reached the Tower of London, there was a small snack shack where we got coffee and started our walk around the area. Luckily, Em and I had both already been to London and toured through the Tower of London, which was closed on Christmas day. I guess you could say we just wanted some cool pictures ;)

Some neat buildings we saw while walking around

Tube

The London Tower and Tower Bridge

Em and I at the London Tower

Me at the at the Tower Bridge

Em and I at the Tower Bridge...the lighting turned out kinda funny, but its still a good picture

After hanging around the London Tower for a little, we then walked to check out St. Paul's cathedral. To my amazement, there was a Starbucks on the corner in front of St. Paul's that was actually open, of course it was packed with tourists. We continued on towards Covent Garden, Leicester Square, and Piccadilly Circus, which are areas with shopping and restaurants. We walked around for a long time and took a lot of pictures. This area of London was decorated for Christmas, so it was a nice holiday feeling for us. We would get so excited to see Christmas lights or any sort of decoration haha. Most of the souvenir shops were open, and Em and I happened to find santa hats and reindeer antlers on sale for 99 pence. Of course, we had to take advantage of such a good deal! Em got the santa hat and immediately traded it for her other hat and wore it the rest of Christmas night. I got the reindeer antlers and wore them later on in the night. Even though there were some restaurants open on Christmas night, Em and I weren't quite hungry yet, so we kept walking around. Our next mission was to find somewhere that would be playing the Laker vs. Miami Heat game. Surprisingly, we were stopped by someone trying to promote their bar/nightclub and we said we would only come if they could play the game. They were able to play it and even had signs up advertising it after we had made the special request haha. Em is a huge Laker fan, so it was a big relief for her :) For dinner, we had been planning on eating at the Hard Rock Cafe near Hyde Park, which was quite the walk from Piccadilly. Anyway, we walked all the way there only to find that it was closed on Christmas day. We thought it would for sure be open, because on Christmas day last year, Em ate at the Hard Rock in Rome. So, we ended up having to backtrack and just found a little restaurant on the main street. Everything in London is pretty pricey, so we both just ordered a sandwich that came with a salad and chips. We didn't even get a drink, a cafe au lait was 6 pounds...that's over $9! Anyway, our Christmas meal was actually very good. After dinner, it was off to the Zoo to watch the Laker game! Em even brought her Lakers shirt to change into once the game started, haha. Unfortunately, it wasn't the Lakers' best showing. People kept coming up to us and couldn't understand why we were so focused on the basketball game. Finally, a guy came up to us and said he could tell we were from America, specifically CA. What a small world because he was one year older than me and went to UC Irvine, crazy huh! Anyway, we had to take a picture throwing up the ZOT sign, haha. After the game, we hung out there for a few drinks and then called it a night.

St. Paul's Cathedral

Christmas lights!

Switzerland flags in London :)

Outside a huge souvenir store

If you're ever in London, you have to take a phonebooth pic :)

Christmas dinner

We didn't stand out or anything haha

Had to take a "zot" pic with fellow UCI alum on the far left

After such a fun Christmas day, Em and I took it easy on Boxing Day, which is a holiday in London. So, many places still weren't open and the subway workers went on strike because they didn't want to be working on Boxing Day. Anyway, all of this didn't really affect our plans. We woke up and went for a run in Hyde Park. It was still freezing and for lack of better headwear, Emily wore her santa hat which was great decision, haha. Hyde Park is huge, just under 400 acres. We ran all around it and took some pictures; looking like big goofballs. I even came across a little cottage in Hyde Park where one of my best friends and I took a picture together in high school. There was also a carnival sort of event set up in the middle of the park called Winter Wonderland, which catered towards families with young children. There were rides, games, sweets, and all sorts of food, as well as little booths selling various items. After we finished our run and browsing through the Winter Wonderland, we headed back to the hotel, showered up and went to go do some shopping. Boxing Day is a huge shopping day in London and stores have some crazy sales. So, we did a little souvenir shopping and we even bought tickets to see a show for later that evening. After finishing some shopping, we happened to come across a Mexican restaurant and couldn't pass it up. We knew it wouldn't even come close to comparing to California, but we couldn't resisit...we hadn't had any since August! Once we were finished with dinner, we went to see the show, Stomp; which was so entertaining. The performers use all sorts of things to make really cool music, it was pretty impressive. After the show, we walked around a little before heading back to the hotel to get some sleep.

Em and I in Hyde Park

Happy to be in London :)

For Karleigh!

Mmmmm Mexican

Such a good show!

Em and I at Big Ben

I love Big Ben, probably my favorite thing in London

The next morning, we were able to make better use of our time because the buses and subways were running. We took the subway and bus to Abbey Road to check out the studio where the Beatles recorded almost all of their music, as well as take a few crosswalk pictures. Next, we hopped on the bus to Buckingham Palace where the changing of the guards would be taking place. It was pretty elaborate with soldiers marching around, some playing music, while others were on horses. It was so incredibly crowded, Emily and I could barely stand it, haha. We just hung around behind the crowds, took some pictures, and then left shortly after. After, we had to go to Harrod's, a huge upscale department store. The toy department was like a child's greatest fantasy, even I was so mesmerized and I'm 23 years old! I can't even imagine what it must feel like to be a kid in Harrod's, haha. Anyway, I made sure to get my Mom a little something from the souvenir section, because she was so adamant that we had to go to the world famous Harrod's. Em and and I then had a nice lunch in the cafe at Harrod's before we headed off to the Tate Modern, where we looked at some modern and contemporary art. Most of the art was pretty strange if you ask me, but admission was free so we figured we might as well check it out. After the Tate Modern, it was starting to get dark out, so we decided to go on the London Eye. The line was a little long, but worth it. The ride takes about 30 min and you have some great views of London. Once we got off the London Eye, our next mission was to find a pub to watch the Arsenal vs. Chelsea football (soccer) game. We thought this would be the biggest event of the night in London, and we were sure it would be easy to find a pub with some rowdy fans. Boy, were we wrong! We walked all over and went inside so many different pubs. To our surprise, not only were the pubs not playing the game, but most of them didn't even have TVs! Em and I had even gone through a bit of trouble trying to buy t-shirts for the game too, haha oh well. After searching for a long time, we finally sat down at the Prince of Wales pub, which was playing the pre-game show. All we really wanted was to eat some good pub food and watch the game, but of course they weren't serving food anymore. We were starving, so we walked back to one of the pubs we had just passed and had a good dinner. Then, we went back to the pub to watch the rest of the soccer game. The place was packed and we definitely stood out as total tourists, haha. After the game was over, we headed back to the hotel and decided the best way to end our last night in London was to eat some Ben and Jerry's ice cream and cookies :)

Abbey Road

:)

In front of the gates at Buckingham Palace

This one's for my Mom ;)

Em and I walking around before the London Eye

Taken from the top of the London Eye

Big Benny!

We had to be up really early the next morning to catch a train to the airport. I was about to wrap this up, but I just remembered a funny story! For luggage, Emily and I both had a carry on mini suitcase and then each shared a check bag. Anyway, we were flying on Easy Jet, and of all my years traveling, they are the only airline to make you put your stupid carry on inside that little box to make sure its "regulation size." My bag does fit in those dumb boxes, because I've had to do it several times when flying with Easy Jet before. I knew it would be a tight squeeze because it was packed to the max. Anyway, I was dreading hearing the lady ask me to put my bag in the box and when she did, I walked over to it and gave it my best effort. There was a huge long line, and everyone was just staring at me, watching me struggle. Anyone who knows me well, knows that I hate being the center of attention, and that's exactly what I was for about 3 LONG minutes. But, the funny part was, it was like everyone in line could feel my pain, haha. I got my bag inside the box pretty easily, but just a tiny part was sticking out, and the lady wasn't satisfied and made me push it all the way in. I knew that I would immediately regret that decision, haha. I had several people walk up to me and give me words of encouragement and help me. I must have looked like such a goon trying to get my bag out of that stupid box. I had Emily and a few different people holding down the contraption so I could use all my might to pull it out. Finally, I retrieved my bag and probably gave the lady a little glare...like really? You're gonna make me go through all of that just because it was barely sticking out? The bag fits, lady...Don't worry, I think there will be enough space in the overhead bins. Needless to say, not only was I a little embarrassed, but very relieved that I didn't have to play extra money to check my bag that fits inside the box. And, you can imagine that I was already worried about having to put my bag in that dumb box again when the flight attendants check your tickets to board the plane. Of course, I was right. I promised the flight attendant that it fit and she really shouldn't make me do it again, but she had no sympathy. Thankfully, this lady was a little nicer and didn't make me push it all the way in the box and I was so happy that I didn't have to experience that whole fiasco again, haha. Well, that about sums up my trip in London...Em and I had a blast! Thanks for reading :)