It's been a week since I was in London, and I think I'm finally ready to write about it. Just kidding, it wasn't awful, Lindsey and I had a wonderful time, there were just a few bumps along the way. And I'm still getting over the cold that I seemed to have gotten as a punishment for all the school I skipped.
Lindsey and I arrived in London in the late afternoon on Thursday, November 11th, Armistice Day. Our last trip together had been in Rome, which was a total success, and we were anticipating a similar experience. As we got off the bus, to begin the search for our hostel, it was already dark, even though it was only 4:30! We then realized that daylight savings time would really rob us of several valuable touring hours.
Anyways, we found our hostel, and hit the streets! London was decked out for Christmas and SO beautiful with all the lights. We walked through the shopping district and through Piccadilly Circus (the Times Square of London) on our way to find the World Premier of HP 7! We got a little turned around because we obviously don't know how to read a map, so we finally asked for directions. A Londoner pointed us up the street we had just come from...ok...so we walked down that street and asked another person, who preceded to point us in the direction where we had been...Another person pointed us back the opposite way. At this point, we thought we would never get there, but FINALLY we got directions from someone who actually knew what they were talking about. As we walked we began to hear a sound that can only come from fans who have been waiting a decade for a very special film...it was loud and it was packed! We couldn't actually see any of the stars, but we listened to the interviews through the speakers and watched the actors and actresses enter on the red carpet on a giant screen. It was pretty sweet, it was just a bummer we couldn't actually see the movie :( After that we decided to complete our movie night with a visit to King's Cross, which actually isn't nearly as cool as it looks in the movie. But we took our pictures at Platform 9 3/4 and I ate a Pasty for the first time in my life, and it was delicious.
Day 2, sight seeing! We headed up to the London Eye, the biggest Ferris Wheel in the world! It didn't open until 10 though, we had 1 hour to spare...so we decided to walk over to the Covent Gardens, which didn't look far on the map. We never actually found them, we looked all over the place, I'm convinced that there aren't actually any gardens there, they are fake, it is all a ruse. So, after spinning around the London Eye we jumped into a free tour group led by a man who intends to become the next King of England! He says he is going to marry Princess Beatrice, who is 4th in line for the throne...It was really a wonderful tour and we learned all about the way London, and England too, works, with its history, and its monarchy, and its part in Europe. Afterwards I had a traditional English lunch/dinner of sausages and potatoes in a bread dish, SO GOOD, and perfect for filling up your stomach and keeping you warm outside in the cold London winter.
We ran over to the British Museum, but didn't walk around for long. I know it is awful, but I've seen so many museums...you can really only see so many statues of naked greek men before they all start to look the same. So we left and stopped at starbucks (I know, so American, but it's been months and I had a serious craving) and then we were almost late (because every time we tried to go anywhere we got lost) to see THE LION KING on London Broadway! It was pure art, that is the only way to describe it. They flawlessly weave traditional african culture into a moving story line, with old songs and new songs. The costumes aren't realistic, but they are so beautiful and they fit the story wonderfully. The sets were magnificent and I loved the show.
After that fantastic show, that's when it all went downhill.
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