YOU SOUND LIKE YOU'RE FROM LONDON!

First stop: LONDON!

The start of our trip was a little shaky. Our apartment is about a half hour from the train station and we thought we gave ourselves enough time to get there; well we didn’t exactly factor in lugging our luggage (haha get it?) so we JUST made the train. JUST made it. 

AND we got on the wrong train cause the man reading our tickets was not helpful, he told us one train and then the other! It was super stressful! I was so nervy!

When you get tickets here you have to validate them…I am really not sure why but you do. And if you don't welllll SURPRISE IT COSTS 40 EURO AS A PUNISHMENT! 

Marlene and the most expensive piece of paper ever

My ticket was validated but in the time that everyone else bought theirs and we were running through all the confusion the rest of the group did not validate.

Soooooo that was really sucky...WOMP WOMP!

It was a pretty rough start to the trip, but the flight went fine which was the important part, and none of our luggage was lost! My biggest fear was that I would be sans luggage and all my clothes for the entire trip so i was quite please each time that that didn't happen!

DAY 1

Woke up and headed to Buckingham Palace! 

Follow the horses!

Sadly the changing of the guards was not taking place (but I’ve already seen it so I was okay)!
 I wanted to see the Queen but I didn't see her either, womp womp! 

I did cursty to her though, hope she got the message!

Then we walked to see Big Ben. 

(Whichhhh by the way is not THAT big)

- objects in photo are actually smaller than they appear! 

It was still really pretty/really cool! 

We also saw Westminster Abbey and St. Margaret’s Church. BEAUTIFUL! 

The Prince is getting MARRIED here! Oh la la! 

We then went to the British Tate, which was verrrrry cool. 

Arts, anyone want to race me around, shotty the pink wheelie!

There was modern art section and one of the works was someone literally writing the entire script of Topgun, like Tom Cruise Topgun.

 Hmmmm okayyyyy!?

After that our mission was to get lunch and ideally a starbucks, lunch was GREAT! 

We didn’t find a starbucks but WHO CARES WE ARE GOING TO THE LONDON EYE!

I am not a ferris wheel person due to the fact that I am NOT a height person.

 As my family knows “one time I fell off the top of stachey of libertie” and I do not like heights. 

But seeing as this whole ride takes about a half hour, it clearly is moving at a much slower place! 

And it was sooooo pretty out and totally worth the fright! 

(it really wasn’t that scary I am just being a baby)

When we got off the eye we went in to a nearby museum to ask about where we could aquire some starbucks and where king cross station was. 

We asked a WONDERFUL museum guy who told us that king’s cross was really far BUT if we wanted to see where they filmed the beginning of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix to sneak into a room in a building right by us. I immediately fell in love with him and took off RUNNING!

DO I WANT TO SEE THIS?! UHM YES! You could have showed me a piece of dirt someone on the cast or crew touched and I would have been happy!

Anddddddd I was in the same place that the cast of Harry Potter was, SIGH! I am giddy all over again just thinking about it! There was a man in there when I burst on in and I just pretended I was lost! (TECHNICALLY we weren't supposed to be there 1. it is part of the film museum and we didnt pay 2. there was a debate or something important and official about to be going on) OOPS!

AND CONVIENTLY LOCATED RIGHT OUTSIDE….STARBUCKS!

Jumping for joy

Home to my caffeine addiction and money!

 The last time Devon had starbucks was in January in the good ole USA sooooo she may or may not have had two coffees in like 5 minutes!  (a decision I whole-heartedly supported)

After that we were making our way to the Soho area and Oxford Street to check things out there. 

We went through Trafalgar’s Square where they were having a Book Night later.

 Apparently they want people to get back into reading again and so they were having some authors come and read, COOL! 

We made our way to Oxford Street and checked out shops, in one of the shops we were in I saw these girls signing and…  SPOKE SIGN LANGUAGE WITH THESE TWO GIRLS! I was so happy- They were from London and have never been to America but want to go!

After that we went to dinner at this really cool place (and met a very cute French waiter!)

It was nice to not have pizza or pasta for the first time in a while. (not that I am complaining because I LOVEEEEEEEE pizza) but still, my taste buds were excited about the change!

Then we went back to the hostel and got ready and went out!

 The first night out in London is not what I would call successful, the club place we went to was kind of the worst, but it was still fun to be out with the girls in London!

DAY 2

We woke up and the three german girls  from our hostel room were gone, but we had a new friend!

 He told us he was an assassin (lol liz, ass-ass-in ) and that he came in through the window

….QUITE THE SENSE OF HUMOR YOU GOT THERE BUD! 

The look on our faces was priceless I am sure! (he was kidding thank the dear sweet lord)

Actually I know he came in through the door (we were the fourth floor there is NO WAY he got in through the window) BUT I cannot actually confirm or deny that he isn't an assassin- he was gone by the time we got back later that day sooooooooo who knows!

Needless to say we weren’t hanging around the room after that! So it was off to The Tower of London!

 This was by far my favorite thing we did  in London! I have read enough historical fiction that I know a thing or two about King Henry the Eighth and all the drama that ensued!

 So I was super pumped. 

Also as part of the ticket you get a tour and they tell you the history and stories and it was awesome!

Tour guide <3

I got to see where Queen Anne was executed and where she was buried!

 I know this really isn’t something to be excited about but I couldn’t help it. 

He told us that when Queen Anne was executed she was praying, and they chopped her head off so fast that her lips were still moving once it was off her body! CREEEEEEEPY! I mean they already thought she was doing some witchcraft and I am SURE they were convinced after that!

The houses there were built by Henry for Anne as a wedding present,

 “but they never got to use them because by the time they were finished so was she!”

After spending quite some time galavanting around the Tower of London it was off to Notting Hill and Portobello Road! It was beautiful here so many pretty pastel colors!

 We even saw where George Orwell lived! (The house with the blue circle on it)

 The whole street had things for sale, everything from books to shoes to food to sewing machines! 

And clothes of course! 

None of us got anything but it was a really cool area and fun to look around! 

We headed back to the hostel after that to get ready to have dinner and go out, 

this night was MUCH better than the first one!

DAY 3

The Victoria and Albert Museum was conviently located quite close to the hostel! 

So we decided to check it out, I am so glad we did because it was awesomeeeee!

 I like museums that are more interactive instead of just throwing a million pictures into a room that overwhelm you. 

This museum was cool cause there was dress up and there were things that were more relatable to my time period of life (hello Lion King!) It was a lot of fun :)

Dun dun dun dunnnn.....

SECOND FAVORITE PART OF LONDON HERE WE COME! KING’S CROSS STATION! Hello Platform 9 ¾! SEE YOU SOON HOGWARTS!!!

I was close to peeing my pants with excitement!

Photographic evidence of my immense excitement

AND HERE I AM OFF TO MY FIRST YEAR AT HOGWARTS! HOPE I AM IN GRYFFINDOR! (no doubt I'm gonna be a gryffindor!) SEE YA MOM AND DAD I'LL SEND AN OWL!!

SO HAPPY!

ALSO...

Marlene does not watch movies really, as in she has never seen a single harry potter movie. Why am I still even friends with her you ask? Because I cant wait to enlighten her and show her alllll the movies!  Mom- you now have another muggle friend!

Grrrrrr ( sound of my stomach rumbling) After King’s Cross we went to Chipotle and got BURRITOS!

Sar and Liz I missed you both so much!

 Oh how I have missed burritos, my love for them as only grown! 

Then we went to the Tate Modern, which is like the British Tate, but MODERN! 

It twas soooo cool! 

Saw some Jackson Pollock, Monet and we were on a hunt for Andy Warhol but APPARENTLY he was moved somewhere else for an exhibit! GOSH!

Jackson! What marvelous work you have there!

There was an installation of all sunflower seeds to show the amount of people in china and all their internet use, it was weird but cool cause I like sunflower seeds! The seeds are made out of porcelain and they are all different, like snowflakes!

What’s that Harry Potter fans? DID I HAVE TO CROSS THE MILLENIUM BRIDGE  TO GET THERE! Why yes I did! They must have fixed it since the death eaters destroyed it! Good for them!

There was a magnet that said Abbey Road in one of the shops and we all had it in the back of our minds as something to do, and even though sunlight was fading fast we decided “when in London!” so it was off to find the famous Abbey Road!

Its real! It exists! There was these  two boys that had been there for apparently 20 minutes trying to get a picture ( cars actually drive on this road!) and we got there and got our picture done within five minutes, and then helped them out with theirs!

The first picture I was a little too enthusiastic about the whole “walk like the beatles” thing haha I am REALLY EMPHASIZING THE FACT THAT I AM WALKING!

 but I managed to correct myself for the second one!

Then we went to dinner and went back to the hostel to re-pack our stuff because we had a flight REALLLLLY EARLY that morning

 and had to be out of the hostel and on the way to the airport by 4 am! 

We packed in the hallway because there was someone asleep in our room, even though we had a fit of giggles and probably woke them up! 

I really enjoyed London! It was REALLY nice to be in a place where they understood what I was saying right off the bat! And their cute accents were nice too! It was a lot of fun and so pretty!

We safely and on-timely (that is not a word) made it to Dublin! But that post is for tomorrow because this sickling is off to bed!