London calling.

To get to London we flew on RyanAir. It is a cheap charter airline where you definitely get what you pay for. Upon arriving at the airport we found out that your checked bag could only weigh 15kg. or state-side about 30lbs. Both Vivi and me had the remainders of our semester, so both of our bags were over the limit. To check an extra bag it was seventy dollars and to pay for extra weight it was twenty dollars for every kilogram over. Luckily I had some papers and a textbook that I just ended up throwing away to get me to the right weight, but Vivi had to drop her suitcase about thirty pounds! How she did it I have no idea, but in the end both suitcases were down to 15kg.

Me and Clara each wearing 2 of Vivi's sweatshirts.

After that we had a smooth flight to London. We got in a little late so we were hurrying to get to the shuttle. Vivi's bag showed up right away, but mine was taking forever! After watching the same bags go around the carousel about five times, Vivi spotted my bag sitting on the opposite conveyor belt all by itself with one side completely ripped! Thankfully it was just a duffel bag that had my backpack in it though, so nothing came out. We made it to our shuttle and got to Clara's friend Bethany's apartment by one in the morning.

Sunday we let ourselves sleep in as we were officially on vacation. We woke up around eleven and Bethany cooked us a full English breakfast with eggs, sausage, tomatoes, mushrooms, bacon, tea, juice, and TOAST!! We were far too excited that she had a toaster in her apartment, since we had been deprived of one for four months. After breakfast she took us to Camden Lock, which is a neighborhood in London. Since it was Sunday the market was in full swing. They had tons of adorable shops, and even had part of the market in the old stables that used to be there. Sadly the rain followed us to London so for lunch we just grabbed some Chinese and then headed to a different part of London.

Camden Lock.

Stable market.

Me and Vivi on the double decker bus.

The rain had stopped so we decided to walk the Queen's walk along the Thames to the Tate Modern museum as it was hosting a festival. It was a nice stroll and we got to see a few more of the sights. We got to the Tate Modern, which you might have guessed is a modern art museum, and the first things we saw/heard was a lovely rendition of ABBA's Dancing Queen on a karaoke stage. Gotta love festivals. The whole main hall was a giant exhibition from local artists displaying everything from drawings to installation art. It was cool. We then headed into the upper galleries and saw the works of Warhol, Dali, and many other artists. We got there right before closing so we didn't get through every room but we got a good taste and I really enjoyed it.

Big Ben and the London Eye.

Festival.

Art installation.

Floor covered in paper.

Warhol.

Boccioni.

Clara in a gallery.

The Millennium bridge.

That night Bethany and her boyfriend James (whose English) took us out to dinner. We were going to go to a Thai place, but it was too full so we ended up going to a Portuguese restaurant called Nando's instead. I got a lemon and herb chicken sandwich with pineapple and cheese. Delicious? I think so. After dinner we went back to the flat and just relaxed. We all enjoyed being able to watch TV and actually understand it, especially since the majority of the time it was Friends that was on.

On Monday Clara, Vivi, and I started the day by going to the Victoria and Albert Museum. They had a bunch of different exhibits from photography to jewelry to furniture of the 1800s. My favorite parts were the interactive areas that were probably meant for kids, but we took full advantage of them! :)

Me in a telephone booth in front of the V&A.

Rockin a Rococo style petticoat.

V&A.

Dressed in theatre costumes.

After the V&A we went down the street to Harods. Harods is a GIANT department store that has EVERYTHING! This includes clothes, shoes, food, several restaurants, and pets! It's crazy. And to make it even more obnoxious everything is designer and extremely overpriced. The only place that I could even consider buying anything from was the gift store. And yes, the department store has it's own gift store!

While everything at Harods was fun to look at, the main reason we went was to get high tea from one of the restaurants. I felt very classy and posh. We each got to pick a kind of tea (I got 4 berry) and got a whole pot. Also, since we did the cheaper version we only got one plate with our tea, so we each ordered a different plate and shared. This resulted in pastries, finger sandwiches, and probably the best scones I've ever eaten in my life.

My tea and pastries.

Me in front of Harods.

After tea we met up with Bethany to go to Abbey Road. This was one of my absolute favorite things we did, mostly because I'm a giant nerd and it's the location of the iconic Beatles picture! The first thing we did was try and take pictures on the crosswalk. This is more difficult than it sounds as you have to deal with traffic and other pedestrians. We only had one go at it, but I think it was successful! Plus there was four of us, so it worked out perfectly. After we took our picture, we went in front of Abbey Road Studios, where almost all the Beatles works were recorded (as well as many others). We all signed the wall and then said goodbye to Abbey Road.

Abbey Road street sign.

Our attempt at the iconic picture.

Abbey Road Studio.

Signing the wall in front of the studio.

The rest of the evening we spent at the pub. We went to the Volunteer, which was right next to Bethany's apartment. It was a lot of fun. For dinner I got cider and fish and chips, and they definitely didn't disappoint! :) The rest of the night Vivi, Clara, Bethany, James and I drank Pimms (which is delicious) and just hung out. I can definitely see why pubs are so popular there!

Tuesday we got up a little bit earlier to go to Primark. It's a store like Forever 21, but cheaper and cuter! I got 2 pairs of shoes, a shirt, a towel, and a headband for about 25 dollars. It was a dangerous place! After Primark we went to a few other stores and then went to lunch at Wasabi. It was a sushi chain, where you take a tray and then grab individually wrapped sushi. I was actually really surprised at how good it was. After lunch our group split up. Me and Vivi headed off to do some touristy things, while Clara continued shopping with Bethany as she had been to London before and is going back at the end of summer.

Our first stop on the tourist loop was Parliament, Big Ben, and Westminster Abbey. After that we went to London Bridge and then walked along the Thames to the Tower of London and Tower Bridge. Next was Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, and then we ended with Buckingham Palace. We were too poor to actually go into any of the places, since most of them were around 30 dollars a piece to get into. I'll just have to return when I actually have some money!

Westminster Abbey.

Parliament and Big Ben.

London Bridge.

Tower Bridge.

The Globe Theatre.

Guard at Buckingham Palace.

When we got back Clara, Vivi and I went to dinner at a Thai restaurant. The fun thing about it though, was that it was in the back of the Winston Churchill Pub. It was a really bizarre mix, but it definitely worked! And the food was delightful!

Wednesday was the last day in London, at least for me, so we got up early to squeeze a few more things in. The first on our list was the British museum where we got to see the Rosetta Stone, an Easter Island statue, and the rest of the Egyptian artifacts that are not in the Cairo Egyptian museum. You could easily spend days in the museum, so we picked the things that we really wanted to see and then headed out.

Hieroglyphics.

Next on our list was Covent Garden. It's an old market place that today houses lots of shops. We quickly walked through and then got lunch. We got Pasties, which were AMAZING!! I got chicken and vegetable and it really was divine! If I could, I would probably eat one everyday! While we ate lunch we just sat in the square and watched the street entertainers. They were actually quite good, and reminded me a lot of the Renaissance fair.

Street performer.

Last but definitely not least on our list was King's Cross. It is the main train station in London and is home to platform nine and three quarters from Harry Potter. Again, I'm a nerd, so I insisted on going and taking pictures.

On my way to Hogwarts! I wish!

We left King's Cross and gave ourselves just enough time to get to the apartment, gather our bags, and head back to the airport. But when we got to Bethany's apartment nobody answered so we had to wait about twenty minutes for Bethany to get home and let us in. Then upon getting inside, Bethany discovered that one of her roommates was at home. For some reason she was unable to buzz us in, even though she clearly heard it. Needless to say, nobody was very happy. Clara and I said goodbye to Vivi, as she was heading home the next day out of London, and then took the tube to Heathrow to catch our flight to Turkey!