Tuesday, April 27, 2010

London

Big Ben in the background!

I loved London so much! I know that a lot of people don't like it because it is so crowded, but I really don't think it was bad. When you get out of the city and into the suburbs, it's a lot nicer. I mean, yeah there are places that are not so great, but Westminster, where my room was on my last night in London, is a really nice area!


I saw this while we were walking around in London! I just thought that it was funny, so I took a picture. :)

We saw all of the London classics. But I think my favorite thing that we did while there was going to St. Paul's. We were there the week before Easter, so one night we went to an Easter service. It was all just music, but it was amazing. I've been to a bunch if churches and cathedrals while being over in Europe, but I haven't actually worshiped in any of them. I light a candle while I was in Notre Dame, but that's about it. There are churches everywhere in Denmark, but the Danes aren't very religious. (though most will tell you they are Christians....)



This was a garden near Buckingham Palace. It was beautiful!

I'm not one of those people who can spend all of my time with 1 other person and not get tired of them (except a few close friends and my family). Unfortunately, the girl I was with in Dublin and London was not one of the few. That was a huge stress factor for me and I should've known better than to think it would be ok. Luckily there was another person that I traveled with in London, but I felt bad for her. There was a lot of tension. I'm also not one to hide my feelings--I can, but I don't like to. Therefore, it was fairly obvious that I was tired and annoyed.



We saw these guards walking on the road, and we followed them because we weren't sure if it was part of the changing of the guard. It was the changing of the guard for the Calvary and not the palace, but it was still fun, nonetheless!!

Even though there was unnecessary drama on our trip i still had a great time! I saw King's Cross Station and though I was by myself, I found another tourist there and got my picture taken. I also went to Baker Street and intended on going to the Sherlock Holmes museum, but there was a massive tourist group waiting to get in, so I just walked around the area instead. It was so pretty while I was there!!! Then I hopped back on the tube and went to Hyde Park (my hotel was right by there) for a little while. I think my favorite thing about London was the parks. I fell in love with them. I don't take the time to appreciate the parks and gardens back home. I really should...especially by Trinity because there are a lot of them.



This is in front of the National Gallery right before these creepy men wanted to take a picture with me. Absolutely not!

I think this trip has just made me realize that there is so much of my own country that I don't know about and haven't seen. I've only been to the west coast once. There is a lot of Texas that I haven't seen too!! I just really love traveling to new places now. Before this semester, I hasn't really traveled on my own and I wasn't comfortable with mass transportation. But now I feel like I'm ready to take on the world!



In the gardens again near Buckingham Palace.

Back to London-- Harrod's was an intense experience! I got completely distracted in the jewelry and food sections and didn't get to the rest of the store, but I'm sure it was just as beautiful and expensive!! The building itself was gorgeous too. I'm glad I got to see it. We got lunch there one day and then we went to a park to eat it. It was cold, rainy and windy but I still enjoyed it!



Buckingham Palace!!

We also went to Notting Hill one day. It was a really pretty area. I'm sure the houses are worth a lot of money though. The Portobello Markets are over there (I think...I can't quite remember which one it was. We went to a couple markets) and they had some pretty cool stuff! There were these 2 fantastic men walking around joking about these fake diamond door knobs and about how they would make fabulous cuff links. Hahaha they were priceless. I wanted to take them home with me!!



View of London from the Millennium Bridge. This is my attempt at an artistic shot!


We also went to a farmer's market while we were there. I got a bacon and egg bap (apparently a British classic). IT WAS DELICIOUS! I should have taken a picture of it. One of my friends and I were trying to figure out what we were going to order, but we didn't know what a bap was. The minute we asked the woman behind the counter, she told us that if we wanted to experience an actual British meal, we should order one. Haha so I did. 


Shakespeare's Globe Theatre


While I was in London, I could definitely see myself living there. But now that my time here is ending, I've realized how much I would miss my friends and family if I lived abroad. But who knows what the future holds....


This was some graffiti that I saw outside on a wall in Notting Hill

Another shot of London from the Millennium Bridge

London Tower Bridge

View of London from the Tower Bridge

Platform 9 3/4!!!!!! :)

1 comment:

  1. SO awesome!! I would have definitely gone to platform 9 3/4 with you!! I plan on going this summer for sure :)

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