Day 1 of London
Woke up. Got up this morning at 6am had time to brush my teeth and make a sandwich before the group of us nine went to the train station to hop onto the train and head to London. In total the ride is 3 hours, one to Brussels and two more, under the sea, to London. I watched through episode 12 of Sons of Anarchy, jaw droppers in that show are sick. Finally arriving in London we got off the train and into a taxi, my first ride in a taxi and this driver had some guts, driving between cars with literally inches to spare and weaving in and out of traffic like it wasn't even there but I guess this is normal for London. We got to our hotel but we only booked it for eight people because nine and they make us get another room. This of course meant I was left to walk a few blocks on my own and basically hide from the workers as we checked in, later realizing it's a lot harder to sneak a guy into a group of 8 girls than it wouldve been to sneak a girl in with a group of 7 girls and a guy. All worked out in the end though. We dropped our luggage off at the hotel and walked the streets to the free tour we signed up for. On the way we stopped at an all organic food place, naturally I had the cheapest thing I could find an egg salad sandwich but it was the best thing I had eating in Europe besides the mushroom ham and cheese crepe in Paris. The group then headed to the free tour, we ended up having a really funny tour guide and we saw plenty of the notorious places in London, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abbey to name a few. Short summary of each, Buckingham Palace was tiny compared to Versailles. Big Ben looks a lot sweeter in movies and television it's not nearly as big as I imagined. Parliament looks amazing and the flag the size of a tennis court is sweet looking. Westminster Abbey looks like a church from the outside. Once the tour was over we went with the guide to a little bar named The Old Monk that had 2 meals for 11 pounds so I had some sandwich filled with veggies, nothing spectacular but Sharron Boots got Fish n Chips so I jacked some of that, mmm yummy. After the bar and after literally dodging traffic we made our way to the original Hard Rock Cafe. Downstairs was what's called The Vault and down there was autographed guitars, pictures, and clothing worn by everyone famous like Jimmy Hendrix, The Beatles, Metallica it was pretty awesome. After the Hard Rock we walked back to our hotel looking like tourists with our maps and stopping at every street corner to make sure we were going the right way. The hotel had the nicest showers and bathrooms but the rooms were kind of gross. Plus we only had eight beds for nine people so the lovely ladies pushed two beds together and slept three across. Did I mention there was no internet, I was crabby. Anyways, it was getting later in the night and we took off to a pub crawl that included five bars, a free shot at each bar and half price drinks. The first one we met up with a girl we met on the free tour earlier in the day and sat and talked. The second one we went to I ended up talking to this couple that was from Australia and they had been traveling for four months. The third one had hats that hung from the ceiling with lights in them and was really sweet, we gave it the nickname the Michael Jackson bar because there were free sparkly hats and gloves on the tables. The fourth bar was a dance club and was super packed and the tour guide ended up leaving without us so we took a taxi back to the hotel and made sandwiches before heading to sleep.
Day 2 London
Woke up. I slept in of course, Sara Jensen and I slept in as long as we could and finally ended up leaving the room around noon. We took off to Westminster Abbey, luckily we were procrastinators thought because when we got there there was a road block because the new courts year was taking place so 800+ judges in their black robes and fake hair pieces were crossing from Westminster Abbey to Parliament and Westminster wasnt open yet. So we detoured and found our way to the line to pay and get in, we waited maybe 15 minutes to get in and once we were we found out there was no pictures allowed, I took one then got scared. The place was pretty amazing though and it came with a free audio guide so we walked around the place holding the voice recorder to our ears. Saw where kings and queens were buried, the coronation chair where kings are crowned and the tombs of William Shakespeare, Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin. Can someone please tell me why Darwin is buried in a church though, last time I checked hes the one that challenged the bible. After Westminster Sara and I walked passed Big Ben and made our way to Ripley's Believe It Or Not, not really a London attraction but we really wanted to go. We saw some weird things like a guy who can swallow oranges whole, touched water that was as cold as the water when the Titanic sank, maybe 10 seconds in it and I had to pull my hand out, the largest rocking chair in the world and the rice that has whole stories written on them. Then there was the mirror maze, it was sweet! I stood in a place so Sara saw three or more of me and I wouldn't move and when she got close enough I would pop out and scare her. There were little kids running into mirrors as I laughed at them with their parents. After 15 minutes we finally got out, I knew the way out and kept steering Sara away from the exit. There was also the room where you stand on the bridge as the tube room spins around you, yeah that messed me up pretty bad then I tried running and ended up basically running sideways. After Ripley's we parted ways and I was on my own on my way to the Grim Reapers Tour. On my hour and a half walk to the tour I found the most amazing thing in London, Doctor Who Store. I walked through a couple of times in pure amazement before heading out. Once I got to the tours starting location I had a 15 minute wait. When the tour began it was me and 9 others ranging and we introduced ourselves and where we were from. Only one other American on the tour and she was from Ohio and wasn’t even a Browns fan, I was disappointed, others were from Germany, Australia, Russia and Iceland. The tour included the Tower of London and Tower Bridge and the spots where the women were killed and found by Jack the Ripper. It was my favorite thing I did in London. After the tour I asked the guide how to get back and he said he'd tell me at the pub that everyone in the group was going to so I follow. When we get there I ask again how to get back he says I should have a beer and chat before I head out, so I turn around and walk out of the bar in frustration. I am now lost in the middle of London. I asked an old man and his wife how to get back to the Tower of London and the man was very helpful and basically walked me back to the Tower. Again I was on my own, at night and was walking back to the hotel which was a few miles away, the city looked beautiful at night though, Big Ben actually looked cool and the London Eye was lit up blue. An hour and a half later I finally got back to the hotel laid in bed and passed out.
Day 3 in London.
Woke up. Sara and I stayed in the room as long as we could because we didnt want to spend anymore money and had nowhere we really wanted to go so we were trying to kill time until we headed back to Antwerp. We made our way to some free museum and sat outside and talked for an hour and a half before finally going in. We basically walked in one door and out the other, the place was boring so we were in it for maybe 10 minutes. Then we stopped at a sandwich shop and grabbed it to go and walked to a park across the street from Buckingham Palace and ate and did some sudoku puzzles. Then we walked to some souvenir shops before heading back to the hotel. We met up with Katie and Ali and sat in the lobby talking for a while before grabbing our bags and heading to the Tubes (subway station) where Sara and I got to ride for free because it was so packed. We made it to the train station and were looking for Platform 9 ¾ and when we got to its location there was a sign that said “Platform 9 ¾ has been moved” My heart sunk. There was no way I was going to come to London and not see it so I ran a few blocks to its temporary spot and had a stranger take my picture. Then I ran back and met up with the whole group. There was internet in the station so Sara went on her iPod and looked up the broncos score, I honestly wanted to cry. I had accepted the fact that the broncos were ganna lose but a blowout hurts. Luckily Tebow got to play! Von Miller showing why he's the #2 overall draft pick with two more sacks, 4 sacks in 4 games, love it. After I recovered, we got on the train from London to Brussels. I finished Sons of Anarchy season finale, so good. When we got to Brussels we were praying there was a train back to Antwerp, luckily there was so we took it and finally made it to our home away from home.
Day Between London and Ireland.
Woke up. I went to the laundry mat with Jenacious and then came back to the residence to change and then we made our way to the train station. This time we were headed to a brewery in a town an hour away. Slept on my way there. Took a tour in AB InBev brewery but the cruddy thing was that none of the machines were running so we didn't get to see the bottles being filled but after the tour was when the fun started. We got a free drink, then I had one of the girls who couldn't finish it. Then we got to take a class on how to pour the perfect beer from tap. We got to be our own bartender and learn the ways to clean, pour and serve perfectly and drink what we pour. Then I took the challenge of pouring 3 at once, I struggled on the first glass but poured the other two fine. Then got to drink one of the ones I poured. Waiting for the others to try I had another guys beer that he'd poured. Yeah I was a bit tipsy when we left, 5 free beers thanks to NDSU :) After we left we got back on the train and I leaned against the window and fell right asleep. Walked back to the residence and packed my clothing for tomorrows week long trip. Then went on Facebook to find out a roommate moved out of the house without giving anyone else notice, not happy about this. However I finally did get to Skype with Maddie. Woot! It is bedtime though, have to get up in under 6 hours for our voyage to Ireland.
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