Well this trip was interesting to say the least! I absolutely LOVED London and could totally see myself going back there to live for a short period of time. It is such a large city to conquer that one could stay weeks there, but I like to think that our group did a pretty good job at covering the typical tourist attractions while we were there.
Night 1
We took a late flight out on Thursday night so we did not arrive into London until about 3 am! When we arrived at our hostel we were NOT happy. I don’t know if we were spoiled at our hostel in Interlaken or if this hostel was just that bad. When we walked into the hostel room it was smaller than my room I have now in Barcelona with four bunk beds, a metal sink and lockers. There were no sheets on the bed, two blankets and one pillow about an inch thick (eww) We decided to stick it out until the morning and then make moves to a new hotel for the rest of the trip.
Day 2
After taking a look at the bathrooms and noticing that the toilets did not flush and there was more toilet paper on the floor than on the rolls we decided a shower could wait until we got to our new hotel. We randomly chose a part of town to stay and headed out on a quest to find new accommodations. After walking in and out of hotels and getting pricing we found ourselves in a nice Holiday Inn! Being the broke study abroad students that we are, we tried to fit as many people as possible into the cheapest room that we could find [usually acceptable in the United States], but soon got asked by the management to buy a second room because there was a 3 person capacity on the rooms we were staying in (long story behind this). We decided we would sneak all 5 of us in just for that night and then find another accommodating hotel the next night so we lied to the management and set out to site see.
If anyone knows me, they know I have an unhealthy obsession with Chipotle and have been deprived of my weekly visits while I have been in Barcelona. Therefore, it was necessary for us to start out trip out right in London by visiting one of their two Chiptoles! After getting my fix (sidenote: you could buy beer with your Chiptole and let me tell you….a beer and Chipotle are DEFINITELY a good mix), we set out to explore the city. We checked out the nearest parts of city, which included…
Trafalgar's Square
Parliament
Big Ben
Westminister Abbey
London Eye
After conquering the part of the city, we settled down for a Bailey’s and coffee and pub. London literally has these on EVERY corner! We then made our way to Camden Market to experience the London nightlife. Coming out of the tube and walking out into this part of town was INSANE! There were ALL types of people in this area. A lot of punk/alternative looking people, tourists, locals ect definitely a melting pot in this area (almost like Ann Arbor) We were so shocked to see that this part of the city was absolutely TRASHED! The streets were filthy and there were absolutely no trash cans around. We were in awe because we are used to being in Barcelona where the streets and sidewalks are power-washed everyday! This was definitely a culture shock for us.
We hit up another pub for a beer and then headed into Camden Locks. This place was a huge building filled with various types of bars and nightclubs that drew in a wide range of people. We paid a small cover and found ourselves in a private S&M party filled with transvestites, cross-dressers, prostitutes ect.! (Definitely not where we wanted to be!!) It did not take us very long to move to a different section of the club! After enjoying our cultural experience in this nightclub we got some amazing food at little whole-in-the-wall food stands we made our way back to the hotel.
As we entered into the hotel we were asked for our room keys and numbers where all five of us continued to tell the manager different numbers and head up different staircases. The girls went up one staircase and the boys up the other, but at the top we found the manager chasing and screaming at the boys going up the stairs. Needless to say, we were kicked out of this hotel and the boys were forced to get a room across the street.
Day 3
A theme to our mornings in London started to develop as we packed up and set out to look for another hotel to stay in. We decided to go across the street to an Arabic hotel where the boys had become buds with the owner. (Sidenote: we did not make official reservations, just word of mouth commitment and stored our luggage at his place for the day)
Once settled, we headed back to the Camden Market to do a little shopping! It didn’t take long for the typical London rain to start. Of course we did not bring umbrellas so we found ourselves getting drenched in the cold rain (we all came back with runny noses and a cough)! The shopping was AWESOME there! It was set up similar to a flea market where you could bargain with the vendors and what-not. Kiersten and I bought a very cute dress from one of the vendors and then continued to fall in love with the small boutiques that we could easily blow all of our money at! It seriously took so much willpower to say no, I eventually just removed myself from the situation and ended my shopping spree to take advantage of Camden Market’s amazing food selection!
There were food vendors that lined the locks representing literally EVERY culture, Mexican, Japanese, Greek, Chinese, Spanish, American ect. We filled up on good eats and then decided it was time to explore some indoor activities. So we headed to the British Museum (home to the Rosetta Stone)! It did not take long for Kiersten and myself to become anxious and want to leave the museum to explore more (we are really not cut out for museums) so we continued to King’s Cross where we were able to get the true Harry Potter experience at Platform 9 ¾!
We got the infamous Chinese food that everyone told us about in London for dinner and then decided to explore other hotel options! We found a cheaper hotel accommodation than where we had planned to stay and continued to put a “down payment” down on this new, cheaper room! After discussing it as a group we found it necessary to apologize to the owner of the hotel we had promised to stay at and then was told that we had to stay at his place instead because he had our word. We really were stuck at this point because one hotel had our down payment and the other had our credit card information! So we then returned to the other hotel where we were threatened, screamed at and thrown things at! We were then stuck with two hotel rooms across the street from each other that we had to pay for!
Conclusion: Never stay in Generator hostel. Explore hotel options BEFORE the trip because they truly are less expensive than hostels and you are guaranteed sheets, a decent pillow and your own shower!
After this huge ordeal, we headed out to experience The Ministry of Sound where previously purchased tickets are required, the line was almost a quarter mile long and we were forced to walk through metal detectors before entering! Deemed the "world's best nightclub" I would highly recommend people checking this place out it is seriously like nothing I have ever seen before even in Barca!
Day 4
My favorite day in London by far! It was absolutely gorgeous and the sun was shining so we were able to take great photos and enjoy the city! We grabbed coffee and headed out to see…
Covent Garden
This was a cute square of shopping, restaurants and entertainment! There were live bands playing in every corner and it was all outdoors, which made it very different from anything in the United States! We did not buy much other than our typical cupcake purchase!
We continued to the London Bridge
Of course we made our way back to Chipotle for a second time! (told you I was addicted!) Then hit up Buckingham Palace
We attempted to go to Harrod's for tea, but it was closed! Such a bummer! Definitely going to have to stop back there!
We finished our London adventure by revisiting Covent Garden and discovering the most incredible musician, Luca London! This guy was AMAZING! He played his acoustic guitar and did mash-ups of all types of songs, which drew in a crowd of about 100 people! We stood there for the ENTIRE show in the freezing cold because he was THAT GOOD! We found out later on his Facebook and website that he does that on a weekly basis and has played before in front of a crowd of 3,500 people! Guess he was pretty legit! Check it out for yourself!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHOsNSwzEG0&feature=player_detailpage
We then found ourselves a nice pub to have a traditional English meal at! I had a nice and hearty beef stew and mashed potatoes that seemed to hit the spot! Made me miss my mom’s home cooking so much!!
We made our way to the hotel for our 6 am flight where we all cuddled up with our luggage and slept on the floor of the airport! (Total study abroad experience) Overall this trip was an emotional rollercoaster where we had UNBELIEVEABLE days and crazy/stressful nights, but I would go back and do it 100 times over! I recommend doing everything that we did especially experiencing Luca London and grabbing a true English dinner!
If anyone is looking for a traveling partner to visit London make sure to get a hold of me I would LOVE to return and explore more of the city! There is such much left for me to do there still! But be prepared this country is VERY expensive…not quite Interlaken status, but definitely up there in price!
Cheers!
