London Calling!

Hey everyone!


So I'm am finally back and rested from London! Sorry I didn't post yet, but I was a walking zombie yesterday and after I went straight off my plane/train to Florence to my class and the grocery store (with no sleep at all Sunday night, might I add), I crashed into a 13 hour slumber. It was glorious!


So now, about London..
I went with my new roomie from Muhlenberg, Steph- who I loveeee! Her ex-babysitter/family friend has been living and working in London for five years now and just recently moved into a new, spacious apt and invited Steph and a friend to come for the weekend. We obviously jumped at the opportunity and bought extremely cheap plane tickets on Ryanair. Since they were so cheap, our flight on Thursday morning was delayed for TWO hours, which was an unfortunate start to the weekend but it didn't deter us! When we got their we met Hiliary at her work and she took us out for a drink to meet her friends. We were starving so she brought us to a pub to have Thai food! I was sooo excited because I miss Thai food a lot (there's none in Italy) so it was delicious. We then retreated back to her apt and fell asleep immediately (Steph said she went to brush her teeth and when she came home I was already sound asleep). 


On Friday, Hiliary went to work so Steph and I wandered around Angel Station area. We went into a lot of shops and found a vintage market- which was AWESOME. I bought two new (well, old I guess) shirt and a dress. After that we went grocery shopping and went back to Hiliary's apt to make dinner. She was working late so we went across the street and sat outside drinking Strongbows. We really lucked out with the weather, it was pretty sunny and warm all weekend. Although, Florence was in the 70s all weekend- I think London was around mid-60s.


Saturday, we woke up with Hiliary and went out to breakfast. Steph was pumped because the cafe had bagels (they're impossible to find in Florence). Then we wandered around the shops in her neighbor, mostly vintage but there was a designer store and a hand-made bazaar. It was really fun and I, of course, bought myself a new dress there too. We then met up with a few of Hiliary's English friends and walked along the South Bank of the river. We stopped for Strongbows at a bar overlooking the water and went to a HUGE farmers' market for lunch. We saw the Globe Theatre, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey and all the touristy sights, and the weather wasn't too bad so it was a really enjoyable walk. That night we went to a "trendy" party which all I can say about it was it was freaking weird. The theme was Coney Island and it was all people my age but they were all dressed in really peculiar outfits and were just... weird. I felt like I stepped into a real live Lady Gaga video. I guess it was cool to see how real Londoners party, but I was happy to be out of there. 

Steph & I with a funny statue!

Steph & I posing with Big Ben :)

On Sunday, Steph and I woke up early and took the famous double-decker buses and the Tube to Harrod's department store. Fun fact about Harrod's- apparently you can ask for anything, anything and they will have it at Harrod's, even a saddle for an elephant. The store was massive and once I walked in, I was completely consumed. We walked around for a while just marveling at everything but had to meander our way out to find Hiliary and go to Buckingham Palace! We took another bus and walked along the grounds, enjoying the warm weather. I realllly wanted to take a picture with the infamous guards who apparently will NOT move no matter what while on duty, but you can't get near them :( It was a bit disappointing.  After we saw the Palace, we went out for a traditional "Sunday Roast" with Hiliary and her English friends-  I guess it's the thing to do on Sundays. It was yummy, kinda like a pot roast with potatoes and veggies, but the DESSERT! OMG, SO GOOD. Steph and I split a "sticky toffee pudding with custard drizzled on top" and it was AH-MAY-ZING.

So that night we didn't sleep, just relaxed and watched American TV! We took the bus at 2:30 AM to get to the airport for our flight and didn't get back into our apt until 12:30 PM Monday. It was a longgg travel, but well worth it!