Headed on up to the UK!

After four months in Barcelona I said my goodbyes last Friday. Although it was tough to leave, I was so excited to spend the entire month of May travelling throughout Europe. Right now, I’m in the midst of a two-week trip through the UK. I started in London, now I’m headed to Ireland, then it’s Scotland and then I’m making my way down to Paris. From Paris, I’m meeting up with my friend Tony and we’re going to Budapest and Vienna. In Vienna, we’ll be meeting up with our friend Brian and going to Prague and Amsterdam. So while Barcelona was incredible, I’ve still got a lot to look forward to! After saying goodbye to Eulalia and my roommates on Saturday, I headed off to London to begin my trip.

A view up the Thames from Waterloo Bridge

The Wellington- Where Kyle and I grabbed a drink the first night

I had been to London once before, but that was only for one, exhausting day during Spring Break of my freshman year of high school. I was pretty excited to have 3 full days and 4 nights to really get to explore London. I arrived in London pretty late on Saturday night and met up with my friend, Kyle Chapman, who I was staying with. We dropped my stuff off in his room and then immediately made our way a nearby pub where I had my first pint in London. I had been looking forward to spending time trying the different ales in the pubs in London, and from the get go, it didn’t let me down! We had a great time catching up and hanging out for a little bit. The pubs in London all close around midnight (very early by the Spanish standards I’m used to) so we only had about a half hour at the pub until last call. We took a freezing cold walk in the rain back across the Waterloo Bridge to his dorm room where we watched a movie before falling asleep. I knew it would be pretty cold and rainy in London but was not quite ready how cold that first walk across the Thames would be. I was more than happy to get in bed after that!

Outside the British Museum

We got an early start on Sunday morning, Kyle had to spend the day working on some papers and I had a lot I wanted to see so we both made sure to get up and moving. The first sight I wanted to see was the British Museum, so I checked my map and walked over to it. What I didn’t realize was how cool the walk there would be. I ended up walking through the theater district and Convent Garden on my way to the museum. It was still very cold and raining but I bought and umbrella and sucked it up for the walk over. The neighborhood was so much fun to walk through that I hardly noticed the cold. After about 20 minutes walking, I found the museum. The museum was amazing, I only spent about an hour in there but I have never been in such a huge museum. I immediately went to the ancient Egyptian exhibit where I saw the Rosetta Stone and a piece of the Sphinx’s Beard! I wandered through a little more, saw an exhibit on mummies and some of the Asian exhibit and then headed back out in search of lunch.

The Rosetta Stone

An Egyptian Sculpture

I wandered around for a little bit before finding a pub called the Three Greyhounds where I decided to have some lunch. It was still cold and raining outside so the beef rib pie and mashed potatoes and the pint I had for lunch were the perfect comfort food. After eating, I headed back out in the direction of the National Gallery. This walk took me through Leicester Square, Piccadilly Circus and then down to Trafalgar Square where the National Gallery is. Trafalgar Square was definitely my favorite of the three sights, I loved the monuments in the middle of it and the view of Big Ben in the distance. I took a few pictures in Trafalgar and then headed into to National Gallery. I made it through the National Gallery pretty quickly (it was sunny outside and I didn’t want to waste an opportunity to be outside) and really enjoyed seeing some of the Dutch paintings that were inside. After the gallery, I headed down towards the Parliament building.

Beef rib pie, roasted vegetables, mashed potatoes and a pint for lunch

Piccadilly Circus

The National Gallery in Trafalgar Square

A monument in Trafalgar Square

On the way to the Parliament building, I got sidetracked and ended up instead walking down the mall to Buckingham Palace. It was a beautiful walk with the sun shining, the tree leaves budding and St. James Park to my left. I got to the palace, took a few pictures and then walked through St. James Park on the way to the Parliament building. It was a gorgeous afternoon to walk through the park and I took my time getting to the Parliament building and Westminster Abbey. I got to Westminster first and saw a sign that said I could go inside in about 45 minutes to watch organ recital. I figured that was too good an opportunity to pass up, so I went to a pub and grabbed a pint while I waited out the 45 minutes. The organ recital didn’t disappoint. I didn’t think the inside of Westminster was that spectacular, but it was amazing to hear the organ in there. I then walked to the Parliament building and then back along the Thames to Kyle’s dorm. We cooked some stir-fry for dinner and then headed to sleep pretty early.

Looking down the mall toward Buckingham Palace

Me at Buckingham Palace

Westminster Abbey

Big Ben and the Parliament Building

We got off to another early start on Monday. Kyle still had to spend the morning finishing his papers and I wanted to go see the Imperial War Museum. We agreed to meet up again around noon so we could go to the Tower of London and the London Bridge in the afternoon. The Imperial War Museum was my favorite of the museums I visited in London. There were all sorts of old tanks, planes, submarines and other military equipment all around the inside of the first floor. There were also great exhibits about the British Special Services and all of the wars England has been involved in. My favorite exhibits were the Trench Warfare experience and the Blitz experience. I had a great morning looking at everything in that museum and then headed back to meet Kyle.

Outside of the Imperial War Museum

Inside the Imperial War Museum

Thumbs up to cool tanks

Kyle and I met around 12:30 and headed off to the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge. We walked up the Thames to get there and passed St. Paul’s Cathedral along the way. We didn’t go inside, but stopped for a few to take some pictures of the outside. It was a huge cathedral and pretty awe-inspiring to look at. When we got to the Tower it was very busy, but we waited out the line to buy tickets and made it inside just as one of the Yeoman Ward tours were beginning so we tagged along. Our tour guide was hilarious and knew everything about the tower and its history, I was happy to be on the tour. I had seen the tower from the outside before, so it was interesting to see the inside. I didn’t realize all of the history behind it and loved hearing about some of the stories of the executions that happened on Tower hill. Seeing the Crown Jewels was incredible too!

King's College

St. Paul's Cathedral

The Tower of London

Our Yeoman Warder tour guide

A prisoner's graffiti preserved in one of the towers

The Tower Bridge from inside the Tower of London

Kyle and I in front of the Tower Bridge

We left the Tower and took some pictures of the Tower bridge and then headed back because we were going to meet up with a couple of Kyle’s friends to watch the Manchester City vs. Manchester United game at a nearby pub. We got back, had some incredible chicken at a restaurant called Nandos and then headed off to watch the game. The first pub we tried was full but we found another once called the Wellington and watched the game with a big crowd there. It was very different watching the game with the English than the Spanish. It’s a much more social experience with the English whereas the Spanish only watch the game and really don’t even talk to each other. We had a great time meeting some people there and watching Man. City win 1-0. After the game, we all headed home, made some more stir-fry and then went to sleep.

At the pub watching the Manchester United vs. Manchester City match

On Tuesday, Kyle and I got up, met up with Kyle’s friend Jeff and headed out to have a full English breakfast. The full English breakfast was so good, it consists of two eggs, sausage, bacon, beans, mushrooms, hashbrowns and black pudding. The English comfort food definitely treated me well, but there’s no way I could get used to eating those huge, rich meals everyday! After breakfast the three of us headed over to the Churchill War Rooms. This was another incredible museum. They turned to underground rooms used for all of Britain’s planning during World War II into the museum. Most of the rooms were left at they were in 1945 and we learned a lot about Churchill and British planning and operation during WWII. After a couple hours down there, were very happy to come back up to the sunlight and walk over to Harrods.

The War Council Room at the Churchill War Rooms

I knew a little bit about Harrods before going in, but I could not have prepared myself for how extravagant that store was. We only saw a little bit of the store, but we did manage to find the fine watches and jewelry section where we found a watch for over 500,000 pounds! After Harrods, we took the tube up to Camden.

Outside one of the markets in Camden

Inside the Camden Market

Another inside Camden Market

Camden was a really interesting neighborhood to walk through. It consisted mostly of outdoor markets where you could find just about anything to buy. It was a lot of fun to walk through the markets and look at all of the bizarre things people were selling. The people watching in Camden was also the best, we had a great time just sitting and looking at the people walking by. It’s definitely one of the more edgy and alternative areas in London. We walked through the markets for a while, grabbed some fish and chips for dinner and then took a long walk back into central London. I had tickets to Phantom of the Opera at 7:30 that night, and I made it to Her Majesty’s Theater with just a little bit of time to spare. I’m so glad I could a show in one of London’s theaters. I knew next to nothing about Phantom before going and was totally wrapped up in the show the whole time. It was great because I found a relatively cheap seat, but could still see the whole show and loved it! After the show, I took the tube back to Kyle’s so I could get packed up and ready to head out for my early morning flight to Dublin.

Inside Her Majesty's Theater at Phantom of the Opera

London was so great, I’m a little bummed to have left, but beyond excited for the rest of my trip. I’ll be sure to update this as often as I can and keep posting my pictures!

For more pictures of my London trip, go to: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151603260035481.846393.588220480&type=3&l=62233f7e67