London Part I

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London Part I

Monday, June 18-

We were up at the crack of dawn to go to London. We had to be packed and ready to go at 7. So that meant that we had to wake up extra early to stuff all of our belongings into our bags. Our driver arrived promptly at seven and we were off to our next plane ride.

We arrived at the airport and checked in with British Airways. Next thing I knew there was a team of very attractive college guys walking by. They were by far the best Paris had to offer. After getting a good helping of eye candy we had to wait in line to go through customs. After that we went through the security check and let me tell you, I didn’t feel very secure. After a forty-five minute plane ride we were in London!

At customs Coral and I were drilled about our intentions in the U.K. We were asked more questions then anyone else and Coral left all the talking up to me. I told the lady all about our trip and how were planned to hit every tourist spot in the city. She finally slapped the stamp on our passports and allowed us to proceed to the baggage claim.

We met our driver and he took us on our hour and a half adventure to Pax Lodge. It was a nice change to get to have a full conversation with someone in English. He was full of useful information that enhanced our trip.

Our first friend at the Girl Scout Center was an overly perky young woman named Sally. Although it seemed as if we had been up for a full day it was only noon and we had to wait until two to check in. In the mean time we had lunch, talked to girls volunteering at the house, and went down the main drag of the city.

The suburb we are in is magnificent. It is a cute town where you can walk anywhere within fifteen minutes. I love the atmosphere. The old brick buildings and greenery is beautiful.

We were all excited to finally get settled into a permanent place. Once we unpacked we had orientation where we went over the basics of the house and then went on a tour.

I was assigned to help with dinner set up so I had to do that while the other girls had time to rest before our meal. For dinner we had chicken vegetable stir-fry and rice. We then had cheesecake for dessert. I had no complains.

After dinner we played some icebreaker games and with a group of 60 it is hard to break the ice. We then had a ceremony where we received the special Pax Lodge pin that one can only receive if they stay here. It was a typical ceremony but I enjoyed it.

When we went outside to take a few snapshots of all of us dressed up in our uniforms we met some very friendly police men. Two of them were strolling the streets—monitoring the neighborhoods. Together they made a great team. They were so funny and it almost seemed like the put on a comedy act for us. We talked to them about our plans for the city and they offered us a few suggestions. They also gave us tips on how to stay safe. They went over ways to protect ourselves from pickpockets and what to do it we ran into one. I was glad to get to know some of the locals.

Afterward we were all very tired so I took a shower, went onto the Internet for a bit, and then got some shut-eye.


Tuesday, June 19-

Today was great day! We were true tourist and I loved every minute of it.

We woke up at seven to prepare for all of our adventures. We then had breakfast and a flag ceremony before the day actually began. We all met in the conference room where we went over the plans for the day and were given our all access tube and bus passes. Once we gathered outside we were off.

We walked down to the tube station to take a train to Buckingham Palace. We only passed a few stops before we made it to the station. Before going to the Palace we stopped at the London Girl Scout Store. Then we went to see the changing of the guard. Because we are Girl Scouts and sporting our uniforms we were allowed the special privilege of going into the gates to see the sacred ceremony.

The ceremony lasted a full hour. It was incredible what went on during it. Guards first came out of the palace, then a group of guards came from St. James’s Palace, and finally the band followed. It was a classic attraction to see and I was very grateful for the fact that we had front row seats to a presentation that hundreds come to see everyday.

We then walked on to a park for lunch. The park was very pretty. It was so green. Not a dark green, but a cheery green. There were many folks there, some were on a break from work, some were eating, some were with friends, and some were alone. Many people could be seen there. We ate the lunches we packed earlier in the day. When I was making my sandwich I only had the option of butter as a condiment, so like the British that is what I used and I ended up really liking it.

After the park we passed by a military building so we got the classic picture with the guards who don’t speak, smile, or hardly move. They all looked very nice in their bright red uniforms. It was a sight!

We then had some time to waste before our boat site seeing trip. We went to a tourist stand and took the classic red telephone booth picture. At three the group met up to load onto the boat together. As I was walking down the ramp to the boat I saw the hottest guy I have ever met! My goal is to take a picture with one hot Londoner everyday and he was the one I wanted. So without thinking I blurted out, “You’re cute! Can we take a picture?” He smiled and then replied with “If you must.” I told him I must and we posed for a shot. He was darling and one of the prettiest boys I have ever met. After I walked away the girls behind me also took a picture with him. I figured that they thought I had already made a fool of myself so they might as well take a picture with him too.

The tour was great. It was very informative. Within an hour I learned a lot without having to get out of my seat. It also gave me the opportunity to get some great shots. I believe I took about 300 pictures for that day—I know a little overboard but what can I say?

After the tour we went back to the Lodge by the tube. We had a scavenger hunt taking us to various places within the town. This was a different way to see the city but I liked it. We went around in groups exploring the town—although we may have gotten ourselves lost a time or two the scenery made up for the confusion and delay. It started to pour as we had one last building to find; after we spotted it we made a dash for the house. Overall it was a fun game.


Wednesday, June 20-

Today was our shopping day! (A day that we all looked forward to.)

We got a late start on the day; we didn’t leave the house until half past ten. The night before we asked the Resident Volunteers at the center for suggestions regarding the hippest and cheapest places to go shopping so they pointed us to all the hot spots.

For the first time on the trip we hopped on a double-decker bus to go to Camden Market. The place was a tad bit shady but the prices were right up our ally. Many venders were selling summer dresses, skirts, and blouses. Most of the same articles of clothing could be seen at more than one vender.

I found a yellow sundress I wanted to purchase so my next step to getting the outfit was to barter with an Indian man. Coral came over at the perfect time to help me slash the original price of 15 pounds. At first the man tried to pull one over on me saying that only for me he would slash the price from 18 to 15 pounds. I then replied that he already offered it to me at 15 pounds when I walked by a little while ago. Coral then chimed in with a “15 pounds—oh that’s so not worth it!” I tried it on again and acted like I wasn’t interested it in too much anymore and I might just go pick out another dress from some other dealer. He then told me how I looked fabulous and then started to come down on the price. I then spotted a tad bit of makeup on the collar (which I think was mine) and after some more arguing we settled on 11 pounds, but I had been pushing 10. I took out a bill and then asked him, “We settled on ten, right?” He said that was fine and then told Coral and I to leave his place before he lost any more money.

After that we got onto another bus to go eat our lunches in a park. Somehow we ended up in “The Gay Park.” The people surrounding us were a bit different but as nice as could be nonetheless. Outside the park there was a bathroom that shocked me. It was an open urinal for everyone to peek in. Although they shielded themselves with their own bodies I still couldn’t believe how open it was.
Next we moseyed down the oh-so-famous Oxford Street. They had some fun stores offering a wide arrange of items.

Our favorite store was a place called Primark. They had everything there and the place was so busy we could hardly find each other. It was an absolute mad house. People were trying on clothes right in the middle of the store. Wherever there was a mirror there were at lest four people looking at themselves in it. It was quite an experience to be there, it was especially weird to know that even though I had tried on all the items I was purchasing I had not been in the dressing room once. I ended up buying a few shirts and a bag and I was pleased with everything I got. After waiting in the line to reach the counter for a good half hour I asked the cashier about the place and she told me that it was actually calm in there at the time. She said when it gets busy you can’t see the clothes only heading bopping around.

We then went back to the house to have dinner and to prepare for “International night”. It was fun to learn new games and dances from the staff members and the other troops. We did things such as the Boot-Scoot-Boogie and traditional native dances. We concluded the night with swaps. Afterwards our troop stopped in the kitchen to get a cup of tea.

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Comments

[coral's mom]

fun fun fun
sounds like you are having the time you hoped you would! can't wait to see more pictures.

[Shoofly in DIXIE!]

Incredibly interesting!
Peanut - Really enjoyed your Paris and London blog - your writing style made me feel as if I was right there with you. What an exciting and interesting "International" experience Troop 709 has had! We are anxious to hear more about your travels and see the photographs you've taken. We love and miss y'all! By the way, what's this about "eye candy?"