London!

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My roomates (Alanna and Kristen) and I spent a few days in London visiting Sam.... We left very, very early in the morning on Thursday (think 4:30 from our apartment).... and arrived finally in London around 11 am. We took a bus into London, because we flew into some remote airport in the middle of nowhere, and we got off on Baker Street. This was a good place to stop because we got a few things out of the way early on, the Beatles store, It's Only Rock and Roll (classic rock store: The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, David Bowie etc....), and the house of Sherlock Holmes. Then we headed to our hostel...

I guess it was a nice break to speak in English, but it made me miss Spanish a lot... Especially the way people say hello, kisses on the cheek in Spain vs. awkward handshakes in London.

After finding the hostel, we had to run to catch a bus for a free walking tour all around the city. The tour was cool, we saw just about everything, ending with Parliament, Big Ben, and Westminister Abbey. After the tour, we met up with Sam, her flat was literally a few blocks from our hostel, which was really lucky! Then because it was St. Pattys day, we went out pretty early to an Irish Pub. Very packed/hot but a good time.

The next day we did some more touristy things, London Bridge, Platform 9 and 3/4, London Tower, and a REALLY cool food market called Borough Market. After that, we met up with a friend from camp that is from England and goes to University in London, Jenn. We toured the Cheese and Wine festival quickly, and then headed to a pub for some Cider. After getting just a few hours of sleep... we woke up to watch the changing of the guards on Saturday. We were a bit too late and got lost in the crowd... but we got the jist of it.

After that, Kristen, Sam, and I headed on a 3-4 hour Beatles and Classic Rock Tour!! We sat in a little intimate bus with about 10 other people and our tour guide, Mike from Chicago... What a personality! It was a very entertaining/fun tour in which we drove by the houses of Paul McCartney, Jimmy Page, Jimmi Hendrix.... The first place Pink Floyd played, old Beatles hangouts....And of course we got out at Abbey Road for some pictures! (many more places I can't even begin to explain!)

Then, on Sunday, Sam, Alanna, and I headed to another really cool vintage market (in Bricklane) that sold all kinds of things. I was too overwhelmed to even buy anything except a gator and a penguin pen : ) .... But I literally wanted everything in the entire place! After that, we headed for Tea at a quaint little historical tea spot, right next to Kensington Palace. It was a very cute/relaxing place, which we needed. For dinner, we met back up with Kristen, Jenn, and even another girl studying in London that we have become friends with... Yummy mexican food..... Then back to the hostel for a nap before leaving at 4:30 in the morning again : (.....

Very fun weekend, London has lots to offer.... but definitely happy to be back in Spain with the sunshine : )

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