England!

I only have 13 minutes left on this comp, so tis is going to be a shortened version. (I have to pay a pound for 30 minutes)

Day 1: plane was delayed 3 hrs and 10 minutes due to a medical emergency. had to divert to Iceland (on my list of places to go!) So I hung out w/ Dean and friends at Mcabes Pub in aurora instead of sitting at the airport for 4 hours. left denver at 11 something?

British airways planes are crazy awesome!!!! 1st class is unlike anything I've ever seen! I cant even describe it. It was much fancier than US flights.
slept for about 6 hours!!!! so time change isnt bothering me. missed dinner (not vegan friendly) and missed breakfast (was sleeping)
arrived in london 330 ish pm. stayed in airport for a long while due to getting lost, standing in customs line etc. also had to buy a pay as you go phone...it costed 100 freaking pounds! but i guess its worth it. and I put 20 pounds in to start, I have probably talked on the phone for 2 hours or so ish by this time, and I still have 17 pounds left! I get a hell of a lot of minutes with 20 pounds,

took picadilly line to s. kensington station. when I got out I had a HOLY SHIT THIS IS CRAZY WHAT AM I DOING! moment. but from there I eventually figured out how to get to Acacia hostel (after getting lost and having to ask a nice british hotel worker where the hell I was.)

worker at hostel is indian
my room is a small dorm room w/ 8 neds in it. 2 swedish guys are staying in the same room. they were 17...they were really nice!! i talked to them a lot that night after going to an indian restraunt for dinner (they are open late!!) me and swedes talked about drinking laws and driving laws in different countries. another guy in room from south london, wasnt very talkative. was only staying there until he got a job. one guy from ? didnt talk at all. and one girl from ? spoke very little english, france maybe?

swede drinking age: 18 in pubs, but 20 to buy alcohol in stores.
driving age: 18
english drinking age 18 (which I knew)
driving age-17

swedes get american tv shows!! and these kids knew who peter foresberg was!! crazy!

talked to them until 1 am, then went to bed.

Day 2: woke up at 8:40 am.

went to continental breakfast which is free-however, it only consisted of white bread for toast, tea and cornflakes...oh well! its free!

checked out of the hostel at 10 AM to go to Birmingham. Luckily, the hostel agreed to let me keep my big luggage there in their locked bag storage, even though I'm not coming back tonight. That is so helpful!!! So im just walking around with my backpack, and I look like everyone else.

After I checked out, I went back to the S. Kensington station, where I figured out that I was RIGHT in the area of Royal Albert Hall, Hyde Park (2 places that Queen has played) and Imperial college (where Brian May went to school) I walked around the Imperial College campus for a bit, which was a super sweet, but did not find Hyde or ROH. I didnt really look well and I went back to the station because I was afraid I would miss the concert if I tooled around London for much longer, since I had no idea how to get to Birmingham at the time. (it turned out to be rather easy)

From S. Kensington, I took the tube to Kings Cross line (harry potter!) and then from there to the Euston station via the Victoria line.

Euston is HUGE TRAIN STATION!!! i was not expecting the craziness of it. Its like Union Station, but more chaotic. And I had to stare at a a departure board for a bit until they told me what platform to take the train from. Platform 3 was mine! THERE WERE SO MANY PLATFORMS! it was neat, I may try to get a picture of it, but there swere so many people everywhere, I didn't want to look like a total tourist.

Anyway, took a 1 hour ish journey on the above ground train to Birmingham. It went through Coventry.

I wrote in my journal during the trip, stopping every once in a while to gaze out the window at the GORGEOUS english countryside rolling by. Saw some residences too...all the houses are brown. There were lots of sheep everywhere too! and pretty yellow flowers. AND ITS SO GREEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! its also a bit humid here. i took pics and video of the countryside from the train

anyway, got to New Street station in Birmingham. Its another bustling city center. New street is just like 16th street mall, with shops and places to eat and street musicians everywhere. It took me 10 minutes to walk to the hostel, which is right by St. Pauls church, which is a really pretty building. also, the station is just like Euston. huge and slightly confusing.

this hostel is amazing. its hatters hostel on livery street. it has an internet cafe, a huge tv room, a room with play station! (i hear people playing mario kart...i may have to go join them.) and a huge eating area and a kitchen, again with free tea and bread....at least this bread here is whole wheat...

i am alone in an 8 bed dorm room. there are 2 showers in the bathroom, and the bed is comfy. in short, its 3097403 x better than the Acacia hostel...I wish I could stay another night here.

i looked up vegan restraunts...the closest one is 5 miles away. I coooooooooooould walk it, but I know I would get lost, and I dont want to miss the concert, so I just ate a little cafe down the street. They didnt have much in the way of vegan food...I had a potatoe with beans on it ( i didnt know english put beans on their potatoes....) and a fruit cup.

Then i went to a gas station to buy batteries...because i foolishly left mine in my other luggage at Acacia. I didnt want to run out for the concert!!!

and then I cam back and now I'm here and soon I will leave to go to the concert.

More later

sorry this writing is terrible...I only get internet for 30 minutes.


12:30 AM
I just saw got back from seeing Brian May play. it was the most amazing concert I have ever seen. I can't even put into words how surreal it was to be in the same room with one of the men that I admire more than any other musician. He played my 2 favorite songs in the whole world in succession: Last Horizon and Somebody to Love. Kerry's voice was SO POWERFUL on somebody to love. and Brian's solos were just mint and amazing and beautiful. I mean, I just can't even describe it right now. he also played love of my life, save me, no one but you, and the whole Anthems album. he even had the disco ball going! the train however costed more than the damn train ticket!
so so surreal. i cant even write anymore because I can't think.

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Trip Length: 5 days
Blog Entries: 1
Photos: 0
Words: 368

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Blog Entries

Date	Blog Title	Location
May 9th 2011	england	Europe » United Kingdom » England » West Midlands » Birmingham