Well I'm home and alive. I'm exhausted and I barely remember anything about my trip. There was too much going on and too little sleep. But I will do my best to fill you in on it all (probably not all at once).
We started in London where our flight didn't get in until around 11 at night. By the time we took the bus into the city, we had already missed the metro closing, which got us stuck in the train/bus station without a very good idea of where we were going. The locals we asked all said it was best to take a taxi to our hostel. It was sleeting that night and for some reason there was a line to get a taxi. We were about 10 deep in the line which ended up being over a half hour wait with barely a jacket on and not wearing the warmest clothes. Other taxi drivers kept driving by to look at the line but not to pick people up, so it must not be normal to have to wait in line. Anyway, it was 2 am before we got to our hostel.
The hostel had a bar on the main level and of course the party was still going strong when we checked in. The guy at the front desk wanted us to go have a beer before we checked in, but we were too cranky and he was annoying. Our first night was in a 22 person room which was a huge mistake. People came in at all hours of the night and had "whispering" conversations. We didn't sleep that night.
When we woke up, we were going to go on the free walking tour of the city because none of us were very confident about navigating the city on our own. We waited forever for the tour guide to get to the hostel before someone at the front desk called to see where he was. Apparently the tour guide had gotten in a car accident and wouldn't make it. We were given 15 minutes to run to the next site where another free tour would start. We were in a group with other girls from our hostel who had all the information on where we were going..... or so we thought. When we were buying our metro passes, they all left without us and we had no idea where we were. We decided to make our own walking tour and found the London Bridge, Tower Bridge, and Tower of London all on our own.
We did the Tour of London tour and got to see all the sites where royals were killed over the centuries. My favorite part was seeing all the crown jewels. I was meant to be a princess I believe. After the tour, we ate at the best fish and chips restaurant that exists. I had a fish the size of a large plate and absolutely loved it. It was probably one of the top 5 moments of my trip.
The entire time in London was absolutely freezing. There was sleet or snow the entire time and no matter what you did to stay warm, it wasn't enough. The second day, we went to a street market in a lesser known neighborhood where they sold brand new clothes for dirt cheap. I bought a military jacket for 5 pounds! And of course they also had London souvenirs where I bought my Will and Kate mug :)))
We saw pretty much everything of any importance in London. Of course both my camera and phone were dead for Westminster Abby, the only reason I was in London. One of the highlights of the trip was visiting Kings Cross Station where I got to see Platform 9 3/4 from Harry Potter. We waited in line nearly half an hour to get our picture taken pushing our cart of belongings through the brick wall into the Hogwarts train. It was worth the wait for sure! After you take your own picture, there is a professional photographer there to take pictures of his own for you to buy. I absolutely hate buying pictures from tourist traps, but guess who spent 8 pounds on a picture of herself. This girl!! Worth every penny :)
We had to leave our hostel at 3 in the morning to get to Prague once our time in London was over. It was the first time I'd ever flown alone. More in the next blog.
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