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Published: December 18th 2006
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London
Tower Bridge (June 6, 2006-June 9, 2006)
June 6
After five weeks of being lazy at home, and taking it easy from work and my travels in South Korea, my brother and I were once again ready to hit Europe for the World Cup. We left Atlanta and headed to London for a few days prior to the festivities to see some cousins that we had never met before. We had met their parents four years earlier, and I had stayed with their aunt when I was in Amsterdam--see the blog. My brother and I were both excited to see family we had never met and be able to catch up on so many years without knowing each other. Just like us, they migrated to England from Colombia for a better opportunity (we had migrated to the States). After a long, but surprisingly restful flight, we arrived into London early Tuesday morning. The first thing that hit us was how much the dollar sucks, half the value of the pound, and everything in England was twice as much. This year my brother traveled smarter, and none of the complications from the year prior reoccurred. The train into London was nice, except it was
London
From the south bank too much for the length--good thing we didn't take the express, three times as much. First thing we did was get on the 'tube' and head to Camden Town where our family lives. We got out the station, and walked around trying to get in touch with our cousin. We didn't know how to use and American cell phone in England, until finally an internet cafe owner showed us. We met up with Alex, our cousin, and headed to their 'flat'. We took a shower, a nap, and ate a snack. Got on the bus to take down to Waterloo Bridge. On a very sunny afternoon, and not very hot, we strolled on the banks of the Thames and walked south towards Westminster Bridge. Walked past the London Eye, too expensive, and the Dali Universe in the beautiful building where the Aquarium is. We walked across the Westminster Bridge and headed to Parliament. The buildings are nice, but nothing special in my opinion. Headed south on Old Palace Yard and took a rest on the park south of Parliament, and watched the activity on the Thames for twenty minutes. Headed back north to Parliament Square, and followed Victoria Street west.
London
From the south bank Saw a bar on a side street, and we decided that we were thirsty. Again, expensive, so we had fries, and a couple of beers. The world cup frenzy was starting, and I could feel it. Even this whole in the wall was already buzzing with excitement as it was filled posters, preview shows, and everyone's talking opinion could be heard, and this made us even more thirsty, so this made us get a couple of more beers, go figure. We keep following the street we were on, and decide to take a side street north towards Buckingham Palace. We see the famous guards, but, way behind the gates, nothing special, and we take a rest on the monument in front of the palace to enjoy the afternoon. A few minutes later we keep heading west and walk along a park full of people playing the world's game and finally get to Knight's Bridge. We were about to go into Hyde Park when our other cousin called and said she was getting out of work and would like to have dinner with. We obliged, not only were they hosting us, but we wanted to spend time with them. From outside
London
From the south bank the park we grabbed the bus, which took us through the heart of London. The night was quiet, and dinner with the family was great.
June 7
The next day we woke up before noon, and took a shower and ate breakfast. One of our cousins works in the Camden Town area, so we took a stroll to visit her. Unfortunately we didn't find her place of work, but we did have a great walk north of the subway station, where wonderful shops are located. We took the bus to Euston and walked the rest of the way to the British Museum. The walk was great, and London came alive as we headed south. The British Museum was buzzing with tourists, and we made our way in. Good thing that it is free to get in. Very beautiful, and we try to see as much as we can. As an anthropology major it was great to learn some things, but at the same time kind of sad, as these cultural wonders are stored in another country's museum, but you get over it as best you can. We get out, have a sandwich our cousin made for us--don't have to
London
From Westminster Bridge pay for lunch--and grab the bus to head to Knightsbridge again. We decide to skip Hyde Park and head to Harrods, and check it out. We spend at least 2 hours walking all the floors. Everything is beautiful, but the most surprising thing was how cheap football jerseys were. We couldn't believe it, but we still didn't buy any, we had our knock offs ready to go. We finally got out and walked towards the museums southwest of Harrods. There was a special exhibit at the Victoria & Albert Museum of Che, but we skipped that, and instead chose the Science Museum. It was nice, great information, but nothing grand. Towards the end, there are some games and puzzles you can do, and we spent most of our time there. We get out and headed towards the Royal Albert Hall. However, we only saw it from a distance, as we noticed it was time to head back towards the center of town as we promised our cousins we would meet up with them to walk around Piccadilly Circus. London is beautiful, and the walk they took us on was amazing. We met up at Oxford Circus and walked south to
London
From Westminster Bridge Piccadilly. Walked around and headed to Nelson's Column, which was in renovation. Sat on a patch of grass, enjoyed people watching, and my brother dozed off. After an hour we walked east and finally met up with our other cousin for dinner. Had some Indian beer, the cheapest in the supermarket, and munched on some pizza. Went to bed.
June 8
We headed out of the 'flat' around 10, grabbed the bus, switched at Aldwych, and headed east to London Bridge and Tower of London. Very beautiful area, and got off at Tower of London. We walked around, crossed Tower Bridge, stunning and walked on the other side in a marina surrounded by condos. We crossed Tower Bridge again, and headed west on the north bank of the Thames towards London Bridge. Walk past the memorial to the London fire, and search for the famous bridge. We almost missed it, we walked on to it to see if we could see, and it wasn't until we were getting off, that we saw the name. We walked to St. Paul's Cathedral but again it was in renovation. We grab the bus and head to Nelson's Column again and walk north.
Veer of a side street and find a small restaurant to try out the fish'n'chips while still in London. We get lost walking around and head to various pubs our travel guide suggests. A bit drunk, we sight see a bit more, and head to the last pub suggested, "Coach and Horses". Perfect location in SoHo. The bar is cool, with various age groups represented, and the staff was surprisingly nice. We try some local brews, and enjoy our time. We spend a good time there, until we felt good, and head back to the 'flat' for our last night with the family. We had a huge dinner, and the younger boys want us to play football with them. We head north east on the bus, 10 minutes away from Camden Town to a huge park they know. On the way there a scuffle breaks out, as someone was trying to steal another person's wallet, luckily a cop was on the bus, and stops the shoving. We go to sleep when we get back, and get ready for the last day in London.
June 9
We wake up at 9, say goodbye to everyone as they head to work
and school. We pack up, have breakfast and grab the bus towards Liverpool Station. The traffic sucks, construction is everywhere, and the bus is packed. The A/C seems to be non-existent, we have to wait until we get there. We are two hours early before our next train, so we walk around and stumble into a nice and quiet restaurant/bar. We get hammered, have some food, and take a restful nap on the train, before the conductor wakes us up. We wait for our plane, and head to Dusseldorf, Germany on Ryan air.
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