First update from London
Hello kids!
This update will probably be short, or rather, depending on how fast I can type. I have to pay 50 pence for everything.... uh..... 6 minutes or so I am on the internet (and just so you all know, there's 100 pence per pound, and I got 56 pounds for 100 dollars) O_o.
London is WONDERFUL. Even though it's rained practically the whole time I've been here, I absolutely adore it. We got in around 10 local time yesterday, which is 5 your time, luvs. We were all absolutely exhausted, as what little sleep we got on the plane was mostly dozing and not really sleep. *snore* The trip was uneventful, except for the part where Paul's luggage got sent to Nairobi. *can't help but giggle* Poor Paul! Our hotel is.... nice? But everything is incredibly SMALL. You have no idea. For those of you who have seen my dorm (and I think this is limited to Erin, Emily, Josh, and Sara) my hotel room is even tinier than my dorm room, even considering the fact that I have to share my dorm room with 3 other people. O_O Riiiiighto. It's absolutely fucking fantastic here in London, though. The only way this trip could possibly be better than it already is, is if you lot were all here with me, and we could giggle and trip about London as one huge group.
Here are some highlights of the trip so far. We got off the plane at Gatwick airport, and our first glimpse of English weather?....it's Ohio weather folks. Cold and wet and grey. *laughs* But it's a different sort of cold, where the wind blows right through you and you can feel the ocean in the air. It's actually... actually it's wonderful. I love it. The first thing you notice about London (aside from all the people going the wrong way on the street ^^) is how SMALL everything is. All the streets are more narrow than in the US, and the rooms are all really small, and everything is squished together amazingly close. But no one seems to mind.... ^-^ And it's actually very very cozy. Even though our hotel room feels more like a closet.
Yesterday, after a 3-hour bus tour (during which I fell asleep on the bus---I couldn't help it!! I WAS EXHAUSTED!!) we went to St. Paul's cathedral. It's huge, and very beautiful, but unfortunately we were all mostly zombies and could barely stay awake on our feet. After we came back to the hotel and went on a walking tour of the area around our hotel (Notting Hill is the area we're staying in, as in the movie, folks) we woke up a bit.... then Nicole and I went to dinner at the closet---you guessed it, kids---chinese restaraunt. *laughs* The food was overpriced for how it tasted, and they attempted to stiff us out of ten pounds (BASTARDS!) but it was a fun experience, walking about London near our hotel. Then we came back and fell asleep almost immediately.
Today, we went to the Tower of London first off. It was really freaking eerie. All the old stone passageways and the narrow, spiraling staircases... you could just feel the echoes of people who had paced those rooms, wondering if they would ever leave the tower alive. Schuba gave us the lovely mental image of people being dragged screaming up the staircases by their hair *shivers* and there were tons of armor and weapons on display as well, including the axe we believe they used to execute some high-ranking prisoners with. *takes a deep breath* The weather today has been rather dreary---typical English weather of cold, wet, and windy. YAY! I couldn't imagine seeing the tower in any other weather, seriously. I'll have shitloads of pictures when I come back to the states, I promise! After the tower, we headed to the bankside Globe theatre, right on the Thames (which I lurve, btw). THAT was really neat. Got lots of pictures of that, too.... fun fun fun!! ^_____^ Then after that we went to the Tate Modern art museum.... Monet's Water Lilies, for example, was on display there. The most interesting thing that happened to me there was that this old professor from California started freaking HITTING on me in the cafe. *laughs* Derf! I'll never see him again, so I look on it as funny rather than disturbing. *checks the time* EEK! only 4 and a half minutes left! *blarg*#
For dinner, we went to a pub called the Grouse and Claret. Lots of walking, and throughout the day we've taken the Tube, which is fantastic considering all I can think about is the London Underground from Neverwhere. I keep half-expecting the Marquise de Carabas to come waltzing in through the doors. ^-^ After that, a few of us (including me) went to a pub just up the street and around the corner from our hotel, for some drinking. None of us got drunk, but it was fun all the same. Much nicer than american bars; much more friendly, well-lit, less smoky, and more cheerful all around. ^_^ This drunken British girl came up and started trying to have a conversation with us, which was amusing....
I have postcards and lots of pictures and I promise I'll get you lot presents this week but for now I have to go because I'm out of time on this computer and I want this to be posted! LURVE!
*smooch* till later luvs!
This update will probably be short, or rather, depending on how fast I can type. I have to pay 50 pence for everything.... uh..... 6 minutes or so I am on the internet (and just so you all know, there's 100 pence per pound, and I got 56 pounds for 100 dollars) O_o.
London is WONDERFUL. Even though it's rained practically the whole time I've been here, I absolutely adore it. We got in around 10 local time yesterday, which is 5 your time, luvs. We were all absolutely exhausted, as what little sleep we got on the plane was mostly dozing and not really sleep. *snore* The trip was uneventful, except for the part where Paul's luggage got sent to Nairobi. *can't help but giggle* Poor Paul! Our hotel is.... nice? But everything is incredibly SMALL. You have no idea. For those of you who have seen my dorm (and I think this is limited to Erin, Emily, Josh, and Sara) my hotel room is even tinier than my dorm room, even considering the fact that I have to share my dorm room with 3 other people. O_O Riiiiighto. It's absolutely fucking fantastic here in London, though. The only way this trip could possibly be better than it already is, is if you lot were all here with me, and we could giggle and trip about London as one huge group.
Here are some highlights of the trip so far. We got off the plane at Gatwick airport, and our first glimpse of English weather?....it's Ohio weather folks. Cold and wet and grey. *laughs* But it's a different sort of cold, where the wind blows right through you and you can feel the ocean in the air. It's actually... actually it's wonderful. I love it. The first thing you notice about London (aside from all the people going the wrong way on the street ^^) is how SMALL everything is. All the streets are more narrow than in the US, and the rooms are all really small, and everything is squished together amazingly close. But no one seems to mind.... ^-^ And it's actually very very cozy. Even though our hotel room feels more like a closet.
Yesterday, after a 3-hour bus tour (during which I fell asleep on the bus---I couldn't help it!! I WAS EXHAUSTED!!) we went to St. Paul's cathedral. It's huge, and very beautiful, but unfortunately we were all mostly zombies and could barely stay awake on our feet. After we came back to the hotel and went on a walking tour of the area around our hotel (Notting Hill is the area we're staying in, as in the movie, folks) we woke up a bit.... then Nicole and I went to dinner at the closet---you guessed it, kids---chinese restaraunt. *laughs* The food was overpriced for how it tasted, and they attempted to stiff us out of ten pounds (BASTARDS!) but it was a fun experience, walking about London near our hotel. Then we came back and fell asleep almost immediately.
Today, we went to the Tower of London first off. It was really freaking eerie. All the old stone passageways and the narrow, spiraling staircases... you could just feel the echoes of people who had paced those rooms, wondering if they would ever leave the tower alive. Schuba gave us the lovely mental image of people being dragged screaming up the staircases by their hair *shivers* and there were tons of armor and weapons on display as well, including the axe we believe they used to execute some high-ranking prisoners with. *takes a deep breath* The weather today has been rather dreary---typical English weather of cold, wet, and windy. YAY! I couldn't imagine seeing the tower in any other weather, seriously. I'll have shitloads of pictures when I come back to the states, I promise! After the tower, we headed to the bankside Globe theatre, right on the Thames (which I lurve, btw). THAT was really neat. Got lots of pictures of that, too.... fun fun fun!! ^_____^ Then after that we went to the Tate Modern art museum.... Monet's Water Lilies, for example, was on display there. The most interesting thing that happened to me there was that this old professor from California started freaking HITTING on me in the cafe. *laughs* Derf! I'll never see him again, so I look on it as funny rather than disturbing. *checks the time* EEK! only 4 and a half minutes left! *blarg*#
For dinner, we went to a pub called the Grouse and Claret. Lots of walking, and throughout the day we've taken the Tube, which is fantastic considering all I can think about is the London Underground from Neverwhere. I keep half-expecting the Marquise de Carabas to come waltzing in through the doors. ^-^ After that, a few of us (including me) went to a pub just up the street and around the corner from our hotel, for some drinking. None of us got drunk, but it was fun all the same. Much nicer than american bars; much more friendly, well-lit, less smoky, and more cheerful all around. ^_^ This drunken British girl came up and started trying to have a conversation with us, which was amusing....
I have postcards and lots of pictures and I promise I'll get you lot presents this week but for now I have to go because I'm out of time on this computer and I want this to be posted! LURVE!
*smooch* till later luvs!