London Calling..

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I'd always wondered what London would be like. Every person I've ever spoken to always raved about it and when I was kid I always wanted to live in the UK. Not sure what the appeal was, it just seemed an Ashley kind of place. After three years of thinking about it I finally screwed up the courage and decided to move there for two years on a working holiday. Once the plan was put in motion my brother, (who had never professed any interest in travelling before), decided he wanted to come too.

Arriving in London was easily the most invigorating feeling I've ever experienced. After so long planning it, it still doesn't seem real that I'm finally here. And the weather has been perfect so far, which is definitely something I wasn't expecting. I'n not gonna lie though, my first impressions of London are so far from the mental images I had, that having now been here four days, I'm still shaking my head. Although not necessarily in a bad way.

The most liberating thing for me so far is knowing I'm in Europe. And hitting the streets of one of the world's most famous cities has so far been the highlight of my life. Visiting Big Ben, Piccadilly Circus, Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square an walking along the Thames has been incredible. The history of everywhere I've been so far has had me completely fascinated. Even my brother Matthew is loving it, although he appears to be enjoying touring London's pubs a little more than what's probably healthy. I'm probably extremely ignorant still, (being a virgin traveller), but I've noticed a ridiculous amount of Australians here so far. I wonder how many live here.

Buckingham Palace is probably my highlight so far. Still, it's only been four days. I would have loved to stand next to one of the guards but contrary to popular belief, they're well and truly barricaded behind the gates. I really enjoyed watching them with their formal marches and their constant standing to attention. Didn't get to see any of the Royal Family though. Too bad because I reckon Prince Harry would be a lot of fun to have a beer with.

It's been great so far though. I'm not sure about living here so far though. I haven't contemplated living anywhere else yet but I'll see what happens after our trip. Our Contiki starts on Thursday and I'm packing death so far. It's going to be interesting to see how I handle it because even though my brother will be with me, I'm absolutely terrified right now. But if the rest of Europe has been like the first four days here, I'm sure it's going to be the trip of a lifetime.

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