London: A Love Story

Last weekend I was lucky enough to go another amazing adventure to London where I was reunited with some of my best friends in the world. Needless to say, a good time was had by all. But before I actually go into detail about the trip, I feel like I need to describe my first flight on Ryanair because getting somewhere is always half the fun, right? Ryanair, for those of you who are unsure, is an inexpensive airline that offers great deals all around Europe.

My friend Kim and I left last Friday afternoon for the Dublin airport after our class (which by the way, the professor never showed up, I was not in the best of moods). We hurried to get our passports checked and hastily rushed through security only to find out our flight had been delayed. And so we waited. Anyway, when I first arrived at our gate I immediately began to notice that most everyone was drinking. Which I know what you're thinking right now, how is that out of the ordinary for Ireland, right? But I mean, come on. It's an airport, really? A group of young people actually pulled a whole handle of vodka and passed it around at one point. When we finally began to board, people just left their pints and empty bottles on the chairs and windowsills. I kept thinking how incredibly odd.

And then I got on the plane.

Pre-gaming for a Ryanair flight is not only a ritual but also a necessity to just make it through still sane. The plane is cramped with the bare minimum, meaning a chair...and that's it. Although a tray is included on the seat in front of you it's most likely jammed or glued in it's place by hardened gum that has been left there by a fellow-traveler. After a rough take-off (which will later be followed by an equally rough landing), the flight attendants present the passengers with a menu outlining everything the airline sells. Which is where they get you because even if the flight is cheap all the amenities cost an arm and a leg. A bottle of water can run up to 3 euro and a snack up to 10 euro.

The man sitting next to me didn't let the fact that we were already on the plane ruin his drinking craze and so he ordered vodka and coke which comes in a plastic bag. A plastic bag! Now if that's not classy I don't know what is. To make the plane ride even more memorable, the entire flight advertisements are streaming over the intercom, selling everything from rental cars to food options. In between these advertisements, the flight attendants will walk up and down the rows also selling you things, "Eletronic cigarettes, perfect for the nervous traveler who can't take a smoke break while on the plane. Only 10 euros!"

The picture above is my fellow passenger showing me his plastic bagged Vodka. How sophisticated.

The people who had been drinking (almost everyone on the flight by this point), took the opportunity to throw a little part while on the flight to try and lighten the mood a little. Singing was attempted. Every time the plane turned, everyone would shout "It's turning! It's turning!" and when it finally began to descend they pointed out the painfully obvious, "It's gonna land! It's gonna land!" At least they enjoyed themselves.

I will, of course, be taking Ryanair on my other travels as well because even though it's painful and frustrating, it's dirt cheap most of the time and I'm poor.

The flight was followed by a 45 minute train ride into central London where we met our friends who we had not seen in over a month. Seriously, it was like something out of a movie script. "The crowd parts in busy train station only to frame two young girls anxiously looking around for their best friends. They spot each other. They run. They embrace." It was awesome. After a lot of hugs and excited chitter chatter we made our way towards the underground. Good thing my friend Sabina, who has been living in London for the past few weeks, was there to show us the ropes. Without her we might have been stuck at the station forever. The ride to West Kensington (where she lives) took us three transfers and a short walk, but it was entirely worth it. Her flat is adorable and really comfortable. We sat up and talked for quite awhile before we realized it was getting close to 2:30 in the morning and we had to get up early.

The next morning, we stumbled out of bed and rushed through getting ready to make a mad dash to South Kensington where we were supposed to meet our tour bus who would be taking us to Stonehenge and Bath. Thank God they waited (which is pretty much the slogan for this entire trip). The bus ride was probably lovely, with rolling hills and quaint villages but I don't remember much of it because I fell asleep about five minutes after we sat down.

An hour later we reached Stonehenge, which is massive. Even from a distance the size of the stones are incredible. Especially when you think they were put into place by an extremely old culture that had to do it without any modern tools. They have the monument taped off however and they only allow people to go up close to the stones twice a year and for a huge amount of money. I think that's what was the most disappointing part of the tour. That and the fact that we actually didn't have a tour guide but instead a lame audio track that played re-usable sound effects of people hammering stone in the background. Don't get me wrong, the site was very interesting and mysterious but the paths and fence around it took away from the atmosphere. The audio tour could only hold your interest for a short period of time and it seemed as if they had no one working there that was the least bit knowledgeable if you had questions. All the same, my friends and I had a great time checking it out and taking goofy pictures. Our favorite part of the audio tour was when they mentioned the possibility of aliens. We took a picture of what we thought that might look like. It is as follows:

Also, here are some goofy and epic pictures of Stonehenge:
Once we were back on the bus it was another sleepy ride straight to the healing city of Bath which I not only found fascinating but also beautiful. It honestly doesn't feel like you're in England at all but instead Italy. The Roman Baths themselves are amazing, but I'm pretty sure that's the nerd in me talking. I geeked out the majority of the time we were there. I literally took pictures of everything. Only about 1/4 of the entire site has been unearthed and documented which means there's still so much to discover. I was really sad because we only had around 3 and half hours there and we spent close to 2 of them checking out the baths. I could have spent an entire day walking the city and checking out its sights. We managed to grab some lunch before getting on the bus to head back to London. It was a delicious lunch too. I had a coriander hamburger (the first piece of beef I've had in close to two weeks--it was magical).



We got back to London around 6 and we took the underground to the London eye where we bought tickets to get a nighttime view of the city. First, we rode the underground like we had been living in London our whole lives, so that was a pretty big ego boost. And second, mostly couples ride the London eye, so that got a little awkward. All the same, it was an amazing ride.

Later that night, we checked out Piccadilly Circus and met up with Sabina who took us to Chinatown and the major entertainment district. There we managed to get a table at a place called Apogee which was a restaurant that served Italian, French, Persian, and Greek cuisine. Strange much? Besides an extremely rude waitress the eats were good and the company even better. Afterward, we split up from Sabina and took a quick ride over to King's Cross Train Station to see if there really was a platform 9 3/4. There is. Except it isn't between platform 9 and 10. It's between 8 and 9. All the same, there is a trolley there, halfway to being on it's way to Hogwarts--I couldn't be more jealous of it.

Early the next morning Laura and Natalie went on their way back to Rome. It was a sad day but Kim and I rallied and got up to see the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. Even in the off season, it's busy. The place was packed and there were tons of police officers (or should I say bobbies?) patrolling the place to try and keep order and control traffic. Despite the crowd, the epic architecture and structure of the palace can't be missed. It seems like almost everything around it has gold involved somehow. The changing of the guard was interesting but it probably would have been ten times better if we got there early and got a seat closer to the gates of the palace. From where we were all you could see was the band marching back and forth.

We looked for a place to eat for awhile but couldn't find a single restaurant that sat you down. Honestly, I need someone to show me where to sit because otherwise I'll worry that I'm taking someone else's seat or that the waitress won't come over to take my order. I know it's irrational, but I worry all the same. Finally, we found a place called "Shakespeare's" that had pretty decent food but more importantly, they seated you. It was also warm which was a complete relief considering it could not have been a colder morning.

From there we made our way to the Tower of London which I highly recommend. We spend the majority of the rest of the day there and I found it absolutely fascinating. Not only do you have a perfect view of the Tower Bridge but you're also surrounded by a medieval fortress. It's amazing. They were remodeling one of the towers while we were there so I didn't get to see everything they had in their collection but we did get to go in several other towers, including the one where Anne Boleyn was held for her coronation as well as her execution. Perhaps the coolest part of the whole site is the towers where the prisoners carved messages and names into the walls while they were being held. It's so strange to think that nearly 500 years ago a person was sitting in that very same room, spending his or her last few days carving something that we still look at today.

And because my favorite book of all time is "Peter Pan," Kim and I made a fast trip over to Kensington Gardens so we could get a picture with the famous statue. I once read that J.M. Barrie was rather disappointed with it and quite honestly I could see why. Even though it was pretty cool, he didn't look as mischievous as I imagined Peter to be. All the same, getting a picture with him had always been on my list of things to do and now I'm lucky enough to check it off.

By this time, London had shown us it's true face and it had turned into a pretty soggy night. We managed to make it over to see Big Ben and the Parliament building but sadly, Westminster Abbey had closed it's doors to visitors. Exhaustion had long since taken hold and all we wanted to do was eat and sleep so we made our way down to the London Eye to find a restaurant. We picked one called "Canteen." Afterwards we trudged back to West Kensington to enjoy a short night of rest.

3:46 the next morning and we woke up in panic. Our taxi was scheduled to pick us up at 3:45 and we were already running late. Thank God he waited. A quick train ride back to the airport, a dash through security and an hour and half flight later, we were back on Irish soil. I have never jammed so much into one weekend. I have also never been so exhausted. It was worth it though.

London is a truly beautiful city. Its history taunts you as you walk down the streets in the form of museums, buildings, and landmarks. The people are friendly and helpful and a joy to listen to (for the accents I mean). There is so much to see and do there that it would take a lifetime to fully take in all it has to offer, but that doesn't mean you can't get a taste of it over a weekend.