I went to London!

Ok so London was AMAZING... I still prefer Paris and definitely want to live here when I graduate, but London was still gorgeous and fun... And it was so nice to get a breath of fresh, English-speaking air :-D I could finally understand what everybody was saying! And the accents were lovely... :)




Just arrived - the red "O" with the blue across denotes "Underground." They call it the "tube" here... It's so much more polite than the French metro - anytime you came to a stop an automated voice would tell you what connections could be made at that particular stop and to "mind the gap please" (telling you to watch your step when leaving the tube).



Inside... Laura described the tube as being more like a "pod" while the metro is more like a "box"



A tube map



The bus station outside



They had warnings at every crossing...



I still wasn't used to the backwards driving by the end of the weekend



Apparently at Laura's school you have to check your own books in and out



Fish and chips! (fancy style) Chips = french fries, crisps = potato chips. The green stuff is "mushy peas" - it looks like baby food but it's so good...



A British grocery store and shopping cart! I was amazed by the shopping carts...



Salad bar



See how cool?



A clipboard for your shopping list! Ingenious!



Out to a bar - B@1



Mmmm, I can't remember the name of what I got but it had mango and pineapple...



Apparently when Laura gets intoxicated she can't feel her forehead... Simon decided to do the forehead test on me (I passed)



Surprise!



PASTY - BEST THING EVER.... You know how sometimes you smell a food and then you eat it and it doesn't taste as good as it smells? Well a pasty (pronounced past-ee not paste-y) tastes just as good as it smells. It was delicious.



I walked out of the tube station and saw Big Ben! It was actually a lot smaller than I expected...



Parliament



The English counterpart of my beloved metro station



I love this picture - tube sign, double decker bus, and the Eye of London all in one shot



Crossing the street - traffic shot



Cool lampost



Ha I'm carrying the Eye of London on my back :)



It's me and Ben! ;-)



Oh my goodness... Another amazing British invention. Piccadilly Whip! Mom you would love it...



It's like a cold, whipped form of a lard cake from Ingles...



Only way better. I can't even describe it. It's so good.



Shot of Parliament and Big Ben



With me!



Cool angle shot - kinda looks like Big Ben is about to topple over



Crowns on the gates lol



Looking through the gate...



Street sign



Westminster Abbey



Yup, I'm here!



It kind of reminds me of Notre Dame on a diet (it's so tall and skinny!)



From accross the street



This place accepts Euros, Pounds, and US Dollars - brilliant!



Look what I found...



Had to check it out :)



Oh look at me!



Yup, it works! They're not just for show - I heard a dialtone!



Me and my awesome tourguide :)



Ha this sign just made me giggle... I think "humps" means "speedbumps"



A dropbox for mail



Policemen hard at work (they were sleeping, reading, and eating)



In the palace gardens



Laura was obsessed with these birds. Note the feet.



Another sign



Buckingham Palace in the background



This doesn't look like London does it? I feel like it's Italy or something...



Cool lampost!



Look Mom - they're everywhere!



I love flowers



Sooooooooooo gorgeous



Couldn't resist :) But careful - no picking the Queen's flowers!



What are these things called Madeline?



Buckingham Palace... I must admit I found it a little bit of a letdown... I expected more... more... jewels? gold? Something...



Fountain outside the Palace




Ok so at least the gates had gold



The guards weren't wearing their funny suits! :( It's too warm now...



Hard at work eh?



The flag means that the Queen was in! I was just a few hunderd feet from royalty!



Haha with the hard-working guards :)



Now this is more like it... GOLD



Parting shot



So chic... Hahaha



Just a street shot



I just found some things a little silly... "wait" and "cross with care" (as if you'd cross with wreckless abandon)



Old school double decker! Made me think of Mrs. 'Arris Goes to Paris :)



THE RITZ



Oh yes, I'm a guest...



The Ritz fine jewelry collection



I'll get one of these someday ;-)



And some of these too lol



Haha, I can't escape France even a country away



On top of a double decker



It's a new one, so it looks different



Guess where we are...



Chinatown! I think every country has a Chinatown (I know the US, France, and England do)



You would not believe the crazy things they had in the grocery store...



They still have the heads on them... Yuck...



Wellies! Hahaha



I thought about buying a pair... But how on earth would I get them home?



Lovely Indian food - lamb curry and a simosa (you can't go to London without trying the Indian food)



It was so good...



Camden Market - AMAZING



Look at this fun area!



Yes, there's a huge cat on the side of the building



Another street shot



And another



Laura goes to Roehampton



Haha Cockfosters... Ha... ha... (ok, I can be immature sometimes... so sue me)



At Shunt, a club/art venue that's located in the old, unused part of the tube tunnels. Each week a new artist comes in and designs the place how they want. When I went there were movie projecters everywhere with this really really weird film playing (I can't even describe how strange it was) and really dim lighting and a roller skating rink in one area... There were a few bands playing that night (including The Nuns). In this picture, Paul, Akil, and Laura



A sign on the wall (duh...)


And here we are!



Karena and Laura



MHHS represent!



Haha, Akil was silly....



Next day - yet another street shot



A pub



Just a pretty picture



The homebase of the Templar Knights (aka the Templar Church)



Cool ceilings



And again



You can barely see it but there's an inscription in Latin above the door



Tomb of a knight



On the floor



It wasn't very big, but it was pretty



Picture of a picture



They have gas-powered lamps still!



Somebody must have been tipsy on the job.... ;-)



St. Paul cathedral - it was GORGEOUS inside. I wish I could have taken pictures. We got to hear the choir practice and they were amazing... :)



Outside St. Paul



On the Millenium Bridge



Can you see it? Tower Bridge in the background!



The Globe (the theater where Shakespear produced his plays)



Just a cool name



London Bridge that way <-



Haha I love European advertising...



London Bridge (most people think Tower Bridge is London Bridge but London Bridge kept falling down so they had to build something practical and non-decorative)



Across the Thames



And there you have it folks :)



Tower of London - beheadings took place here



Some funny-looking building



And yet another shot of Tower Bridge



This woman was so tall!



This is a picture of a random girl but Laura and I got our palms read here... I was told to not stress out too much and to take it easy, eat my greens (veggies), I would have 2 careers, write technical books, and know famous people.



The lady that owned this booth was so cool - her clothes were gorgeous too... I just thought her sizing was fun :)

And there you have it folks! London in 3 days... Up next is Amsterdam! :)