May 30th
Well getting to London was interesting. The ferry ride was relaxing and easy, the first train was overfull but luckily we got seats, and the second train was much nicer. I was a little worried about navigating the Underground but there were signs everywhere so it was easy. Paying for tickets, on the other hand, was terrible because the line was huge and they were expensive! We're staying in a nine bed bed dorm which is unique because it has 3 sets of triple bunk beds. I'm glad I'm not on the top one. After arriving we walked down the river to see Big Ben, the London Eye, and Parliament Square. It was already evening so we just took some pictures and went back to the hostel for a good nights sleep. |
May 31st
We walked back down the river to Big Ben and the Eye. We bought tickets for the Eye and to the London Aquarium. The line for the eye was about an hour but it was amazing to see the city from so high up! There were tons of skyscrapers and cranes everywhere.
It looked tiny from the outside but had tons of massive tanks full of fish. There weren't any large animals like dolphins or orcas but it was amazing what they did have. I got to touch a starfish too!
June 1st
First we went to the London Tower, which wasn't actually much of a tower and more like a small brick castle. There were some cute demos going on outside the castle such as catapaults and fake jousting. Karlee went inside to see the crown jewels but Emily and I went to Tower Bridge instead because it was so expensive to go inside. There was an exhibition at the bridge that let you go up into the top parts of the towers and down into the engine room while also learning about the history.
June 2nd
June 3rd
We took the Victoria line from Pimlico to Kings Cross/St. Pancras. Of course since we are all Harry Potter fans we visited Platform 9 and 3/4 and got out pictures taken. It's actually just a prop stuck to a brick wall but that's okay because it was still totally cool. I decided to send a package with some of the souvenirs I had bought thus far and the book I had finished in order to get some more room in my backpack. It was quite a fiasco to buy the box and tape and get it all together but it was definitely worth it in the end. I made it back to the train station just in time to use the restroom, grab an amazing sandwich, and for us to make last call on the train to Paris!