Hello my lovely readers! (That is if I have any!)
I just spent a marvelous six days in London, England for my spring break. And boy oh boy was it wonderful! London has been a place I've been dying to visit, but have never had the opportunity to go. Back in October I found out that my school was planning a trip for spring break and I jumped on the opportunity to go. So last week three of my sorority sisters, and my real sister, Allie, jumped on a plane and flew across the pond to one of the best places I have ever been.
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| 8AM and new money |
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| Sleeping in the British Museum! |
We hit the ground running. We landed in Heathrow around 7:30 in the morning, met out tour director John (who we fondly called JohnJohn throughout our trip) and dropped our bags off at our hotel. We went into the city and started our tour. We saw Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square, and Covent Garden. We then made our way to the British Museum where we saw some mummies and the Rosetta Stone (not the language software!). Amy, Amanda and I were so tired that we passed out in the middle of the food court f the museum, and according to Allie, strangers were taking photos of us (so was Al). We then had a Fish and Chips dinner (which I didn't eat. Ew! Fish!) and took the tube back to the hotel.
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| Sometimes I play the tourist role. |
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| Windsor Castle |
On Monday we went to Windsor Castle, and visited the little city around it. Man was that place beautiful. We explored the castle, and had lunch at a cute Italian restaurant. We then hopped back on the coach (bus) and went on a bus tour of London. We got to see all of the major
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| Posing for Al. |
sights, and then we hopped off the coach a St. James' Palace, and walked to Buckingham Palace. The tour guide just took us across the street from Buckingham we really did not get a good look at it. He then walked us to Westminster Abbey where we got to see the Evensong Service (once again we were a little sad because we wanted to actually look around the Abbey). Then we were whisked off to dinner and then saw Wicked on the West End. I was shocked at the quality of the production. I have always thought that the west end was high quality and the actors were ten times more fabulous then Broadway. But that was not the case. The design aspects of the show were Broadway quality, but the acting and singing were at a Community Theatre level. I actually joked that I should move to London and try to make a name for myself there first before moving to Broadway.
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| The Globe |
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| Abbey Road. |
Tuesday was one of the best days. We got to go to Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in the morning (and the theatre major in me died a bit). We then had a free afternoon. And we took advantage of that. First we went to Kings Cross Station to Platform 9 3/4, because lets face, we're a bunch of Harry Potter nerds. Then we went to Abbey Road and did the famous crosswalk picture. We then made our way back to Buckingham Palace, because seeing it across the street was not enough. We then walked from Buckingham to Covent Garden. (Which was a long walk). From there we met up with the tour group and had a Curry dinner. Then we went and saw Les Miserables (which was way better than Wicked, but I still hated some of the actors).
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| Buckingham Palace |
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| Platform 9 3/4. |
Wednesday we got on a coach early in the morning and went on the two and a half hour drive to Bath (where Jane Austin lived). We went to the Roman Baths, and walked to the Jane Austin Center. Unfortunately we did not have enough time to tour it. After Bath we went to Stonehenge, which was pretty cool. I have always expected that the rocks were in some secluded area in a valley somewhere and you had to hike it. Let me tell you, that was not the case. The rocks literally were on the side of the highway, and there were sheep hanging out in the surrounding farmland. No valley, or hike. We just got off of the coach and walked under a tunnel (that was under the highway) and there they were! We had fun taking picture in front of the rocks. Then we got back on the coach and went back to London and we saw The 39 Steps. The show was really funny. There were four actors playing 120 characters, it was quite entertaining.
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| Stonehenge |
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| The Eye |
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| Tea Time! |
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| On the Eye. |
Thursday we went to the Tower of London in the morning. We saw the crown jewels there, and the place where Anne Boleyn was executed. It was pretty cool. We then went on a Themes River Cruise, and then went on the London Eye. The cruise was neat because we got to see the major sights from the water. And the Eye was really cool because you could basically see the entire city (although it was raining, so you had to squint). We then went to Piccadilly Circus and had High Tea at a little shop (Which I loved). It was wonderful being in a Country that appreciates a good cup of tea. We then had dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe. After dinner the rest of the group went to the Philharmonia. Allie and I went to Harrods instead. Harrods is a beautiful place, and I don't even like shopping!
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| Harrods |
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| Anne Hathaway's Cottage |
Friday was our last full day in London. We got back on the Coach and went to Stratford Upon Avon and saw Anne Hathaway's Cottage. Just to be clear not the actress Anne Hathaway, Shakespeare's wife Anne Hathaway. We then went to Shakespeare's Birth Place. After lunch, we got back on the coach and went to Oxford and got a brief tour of the university. Then we all hopped back on the coach and went back into London. We had Bangers and Mash for dinner, and then we went on a Harry Potter/Beatles walking tour. It was really cool seeing major sights of filming/Beatles history. It was also cool to see the city at night because previously to that we did not have the opportunity to do that.
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| Having fun at the Tower of London |
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| JohnJohn and me! |
Overall the trip was fantastic. It went by really fast, and we pack a lot into the short amount of time we had. I have a feeling that I will be back there very soon. Until then, I will listen to London calling my name, and wish I could be back there.
XOXO,
Kate
