London!!!

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Well, so far, the UK has been a blast, with so much action (and drinking) its hard to know where to start, though the beginning would probably be a good place.

Upon arrival at Vasteras airport on thursday, we met up with an irishman named Paddy (his actual name) and proceeded to have a few pre-flight beers at his insistence. We then found seats on the plane together, along with a german girl named Andrea who we had also met in the terminal. The first order of business after getting into the air was moving closer to the centre of the plane where the drinks were to be served from first. Our first order consisted of 2 beers each, and two shots of whiskey, which i shit you not, came in plastic bags. So after downing these, we got two more beers each, and proceeded to continue drinking. It was after these beers however, while somewhat drunk, we were cut-off by the cabin crew. All of 2 hours into a 2 1/2 hour flight. arranging with some passengers around us, we managed to procure some wine, and finish it off. Then we got off the plane. That's right, we don't even remember the plane touching the tarmac.

So we headed out of the terminal, and got on the bus from luton to london (a 30 mile ride that seemed to take forever), and got off at marble arch and headed for our hostel. Upon arrival we were let into the hostel by some fellow guests and managed to find a room since the reception had been closed for a few hours. Waking up with a bit of a hangover the next morning, we found our actual booked room, and headed off into the city after taking a shower in what may be the smallest shower in the world. walking along the Thames from embankment to the Tower of London, Kane was almost in tears as he saw a sign advertising a sausage roll and realised that while in the UK he would be able to eat some good quality crappy English food.

The rest of the afternoon was filled with wandering towards the Tower, which upon arrival was charging £15 for entry. Screw that. So we got a couple of sim cards and a bite to eat, and headed back to the hostel and get in touch with Adam Bennis. Finding a small english pub around the corner from the hostel, The Queen's Arms we proceeded to down a couple of pints (at £4 a pint mind you, english beer prices are alright if you live here) and get ready to head out for the night. We had a meal at a pub in Fulham, and then headed off to the Elk, another bar frequented by Australians, and frequented even more by crap music. Seems Bon Jovi is just as popular with australians over here as at the Maitland Brewery. So after getting ready to head off, we were informed about another club that had just opened. Nice place, but more crap music and expensive drinks, so we parted ways for the night and headed for home.

Next morning, hangover.

Next afternoon. Into the city again, after visiting Buckingham Palace and Speaker's Corner in Hyde Park, where for once there was nobody speaking, but a bunch of students doing street theater, which like all street theater, was shit. Heading to Piccadilly Circus, we then headed towards Leicester Square and got what may be the worst tasting Subway in history. On our way back, some more beers at the Queen's Arms round the corner.

We had got a tip on where to head out for the night from a couple of our roommates, and headed on down to Liverpool St from where we could walk to Brick Lane. Stopped off at a pub across from Liverpool St station (yes, there were a lot of pubs and a lot of beer (all at £3 - 4 per pint mind you) for a quick beer before heading onwards. Once at brick lane we found a club called The Big Chill which was playing pretty funky music with drinks at relatively reasonable prices. Upon leaving The Big Chill, we managed to catch the very last tube train back to the hostel, only after getting some beers from an off-licence, some of which we drunk in the tube (which is legal here!) and more back at the hostel. Off to bed, aaand....

Next morning, hangover!

So today we met up with Bennis again and went for lunch at a pub near Oxford Circus, and parted ways at Oxford Circus Tube Station, deciding to head to Trafalgar Square. Upon arrival, it appeared that the set-up was occuring for a parade. Deciding to stick around proved brilliant as the parade turned out to be for the upcoming British Motor Show, consisting of cars from the past 100 years of motoring. Now i've been to motor shows before, but this was something else. No Commodores and Falcons here. I've got plenty of photos of plenty of classic cars, including a number of Mustangs, i'll get some of them up later.

After the parade was finished, we slipped into a pub on Whitehall for some beers, before heading down to The Houses of Parliament. After this we headed to The Docklands and Greenwich, with a pint at The Gipsy Moth, next to the Cutty Sark and a quick visit to the Royal Observatory at Greenwich. While heading onto the Cutty Sark pub, we stopped off at a fish-and-chip shop and had some good greasy English fish-and-chips. The Cutty Sark is by the Thames in Greenwich and we had a few beers out next to the river as the sun set over the docklands. Quite a sight really. After that it was back to the hostel, and we're up to date.

Its been a blast so far in the UK, and tomorrow its on to Leeds and Harrowgate.

Matt

What's In:
The Tube and DLR. Really good examples of how good public transport can be.
Escalators. Even the escalators on the tube are brilliant.
Spending money. Way to easy to do in this country.
English. Its strange being in a country where the people speak english.

What's Out:
Keyboards that don't work, its been a real battle writing this.
Spending this much money. Its really, really easy to do in this country.

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