London Calling!

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Greetings from the UK, more specifically London - home of the Queen!!

Today I got an early start after arriving in Heathrow yesterday afternoon feeling somewhat ill. The flight from KL was incredibly stuffy and I felt very light headed. To make matters worse, when I arrived at Heathrow the airport was even stuffier and the customs line was about an hour long 😞 Needless to say I was relieved to get on the tube (underground train) and head to my hotel in the West London suburb of Hammersmith.

After a semi-warm shower (it's summer and the water STILL takes forever to warm up) I got changed to go out and have dinner...well because of a certain Euro-soccer final every pub was full to the brim with rowdy Londoners. Needless to say I opted for a pasty from a small shop instead. As it was a Sunday night and about 8pm, I couldn't find any supermarkets open to buy some snacks - the main supermarkets here are called Tescos, and Sainsburys. Hopefully tonight I'll stop into one so I can pick up supplies for my tour (which leaves tomorrow morning at 6am!).

After a great night's sleep and lots of water and Berocca, today I started at 7:30am with brekky at the hotel (only marmalade available for my toast yuk) and headed to Picadilly Circus on the tube to hopefully jump on a bus tour. After wandering around for a while I found 'The Big Bus Company' and got on board their first bus of the day at about 9am.

I've been to Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, St Pauls Cathedral, The London Eye, Buckingham Palace (where I jumped off the bus to watch the Changing of the Guards - awesome!), London Bridge, Trafalgar Square and The British Museum. But I must say my favourite stop of the day was Harrods. Luckily this week was Sale week and I managed to get my souvenirs at about half the price. It was torture walking through the shoe department where ladies were throwing endless shoes into wire carry baskets and trying on 10 or so pairs at a time. They were all 'on sale' from about £500 to about £200 ($AUD400). Luxury items in Harrods to posh Londoners are like normal-priced items in K-Mart to most Aussies -- it's ridiculous. I tried on £3000 Burberry jackets and £800 Dior shoes without clerks even blinking an eyelid at me. Dare I say I was in heaven 😊

There are so many flowers here, and chimneys, and BMWs & Audis -- it's a different world! A very cultured and packed-full world!! I have loved every minute of it -- and I will be back on July 23rd after my tour ends. Speaking of which, my next entry will from France - tomorrow I am in the beautiful Paris for 2 days. Think of me as I'm eating endless pastries 😊

xx Much love, Alyse-Grace

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Photos

The Eye & Big Ben
Big Ben through the iconic London Eye - taken on my first day in London!

Buckingham Palace
Outside Buckingham Palace waiting for the Changing of the Guards.

Comments

[Alycia]

haha
Hey chick! So glad to see you are having a great time! NO SHIT by the way....London - home of the Queen! lol you crack me up! Burberry jacket....oh so Jealous!!! :-) love you ~ Alycia xoxoxo ps. i saw sex and the city...FANTASTIC!

[rainee]

Hi Lycey, I envy you seeing all the places that you have mentioned especially buckingham palace and changing of the guard, which I have never seen. Have a great time and keep healthy. Love Nana xxxx. Hey Alyce, Mitch says hi and we are keeping up with your blog. Harrods sounded great. What did you buy? Don't forgot to find your frenchman.....cherie..... Love the Porters xxxxx

[Olivia]

Big Ben - Impressive
Make sure you get enough sleep and eat well. Looking forward to hearing all the stories. Take photos of celebs! xxx liv