I'm sitting in the gorgeous hostel courtyard in Vienna and realized I should keep updating. So here's the rest of London ! (Man I've fallen behind, been in Europe for 4 weeks today!)
July 10:
Long day! Got up early (8am) showered and ate breakfast (opted out of the omelette), talked to Lyle again, then headed out to Hyde Park and Wellington Arch for the free tour with Steph. She totally stole the Eddie Izzard bit about flags! Good tour - saw Big Ben (Elizabeth II clocktower), Buckingham palace, Trafalgar square, Downing Street, the old MI6 headquarters, Westminster Abbey, and a lot more. After we went to Old Monk Pub for more fish and chips and Nathan had chili. Meh but only 6 euro each so... we got interrogated by a Wisconsin man asking Nathan about Polaris, was awkward. His daughter was studying in Germany. We then ran (3pm) to the London Eye, waited in line to pick up our river cruise and Eye tickets. Then ran to the pier to get in line again to get on the boat. Got inside and sat next to the window. There was an audio tour through the speakers but people/kids were being so loud and rowdy it was very hard to hear. Saw Big Ben, Shakespeare Globe, London school, Tower, Millennium Bridge, London bridge, St Paul's cathedral, and more from the Thames. After the cruise we waited in line for the London Eye - got in car #12 (2 cars away from the orange car #10). Amazing views- super high. Then went home for a bit and tried to pack. Off again to the HRC (near Hyde Park, had to wander a bit to find it), then to Piccadilly circus, then back to Westminster for night pictures of the London Eye and Big Ben. Finally home again, wrote postcards and now bedtime.
Holy crud. I started typing this up almost a week ago! I'm in Berlin now enjoying my "day off." Going to finish up this dang London post if it kills me!
July 11:
Early morning again. Packed up and stripped beds and hauled everything downstairs. Put the bags in a storage area and headed up to Camden Town to check out the markets. Picked up a small photo for my Euro art collection and wandered around more. Headed back and stopped at the post office to send some postcards. Walked back to the hostel, now just hanging out until we leave for St Pancras station and Paris! Took the bus to Pimlico then the tube to Kings Cross/St Pancras station. Should have stopped by Kings Cross to satisfy the screaming Harry Potter fan inside me but basically rushed through security and passport control to the platform. Nathan is off to spend our coinage on food.
I'm going to end July 11 here because after this point we're in Paris.
London summary:
This city felt overwhelming - too much to do and not enough time. The tower of London was exhausting and the weather went from HOT to chilly in our 4 days here. Was sunny though. Met some rude people - worker at McDs, people shoving, etc. Hostel was more early-to-bed early to rise than Amsterdam. Better public transit, but that might just be because we used it. Lots of history here and free museums (that we didn't go to!). Nathan: "big city, lots to do, but nothing too exciting. Except for the theatre." Shows are here in full for sure - Wicked for 25# was great. The hostel was nice - big lounge, fancy breakfast, free drinks, cheap WiFi but it was up 2 flights, the lockers didn't lock, and the lobby closed at midnight. Also had the impression that we were bothering the staff. Cars parked on the street faced any direction. Less bikes but still around. Confusing ordering food in pubs. Pay to use toilets - but not in restaurants at least! London Eye was good, river cruise meh.
"City of No Time"
3 out of 5 stars
