"Day 2 in London started earlier than the dawn, with me waking just in time to see the transition from night to day. Sunrise in London was 4:54am today. It's most likely the jet lag that roused me from sleep, but I'm thankful to have started my day this way way."
View from my room, London at Dawn
I had written the above three days ago and have not since found the time (and energy) to update! Today I am in Paris, having just finished a day trip to Versailles! What a wonderful time! I will do my best to catch up. As it stands, today is Travel Day 5, and Day 2 in Paris.
London Day 1
I arrived in London at Noon on Wednesday the 25th, full of excitement and with two of my new friends. We were taken straight to the hostel from the airport, a nifty building in the White Chapel area of London named Hult Tower--up and coming area. We waited only a few minutes to check-in, due to our arrival at the hostel at 2:45pm. We were tired, hungry, but excited and eager to see our rooms. With luck, all of the solo travelers were given studios, aka SOLO rooms. This is unheard of in the world of Hostels. We were admittedly a bit spoiled, but it helped aid our transition of the travel. That first night, after checking in, my two new friends Erin, Aleah, and I went to grab a coffee and a quick sandwich or snack since we had several hours to kill before our Welcome Mixer. At the mixer, we were introduced to all of our fellow travelers, at first we were all polite with introducing ourselves. After we shared some wine and beer, the conversations became friendlier and soon, everyone was ready to hit the town ... aka the pubs. Half of the group went to a club in Picadilly Circus--a late night party and somewhat Times Square-like area-- some went to another roof top pub four minutes away from the hostel named the Culpeper (I was among them), and others went about London, finding their own thing to do. From the roof of the Culpepper, I could see the London Skyline, and the "Gherkin"-- the cylindrical bullet-looking building. It was so much fun bonding with my fellow travelers. I promptly went back to my room to unpack and go to sleep-- after stopping off in the lounge to play a few rounds of cards!
Had to get in my Phone Booth photo; White Chapel
Ready for a Night out
That gorgeous view, though! At The Culpepper
My new friends!!
Tried a crisp, tart cider! An animated hand-talker. ;o)
London Day 2:
As mentioned above, I awoke ungodly early due to the sun beginning to start its ascent into the sky, not having blinds on my large window, and having an imbalanced circadian rhythm due to the jet lag and what not. After a breakfast of croissants, cheese, yogurt, and coffee--plentiful coffee--we embarked on a bus and walking tour of London with a local guide! We saw all of the sights to be seen: St. Paul's Cathedral, the skyline from a rooftop, Shakespeare's the Globe Theater (a mere meter away from its original location), Big Ben, Parliament Building, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, and so on!
After the tour it was a free afternoon and night! This meant that we embarked around London as per our own desires. My little group and I chose to snag a Chinese lunch in China Town, attend the British Museum, shop for a quick 20 minutes a Primark (an amazing feat that we only allowed ourselves that long!), and purchased theater tickets before meeting up with more of the group for a delicious pizza dinner before the Pub Crawl. I do NOT need to describe the shenanigans of the Pub Crawl, as it is fairly obvious that alcohol was consumed, loud music was played, and dancing was done.
Big Ben ... inside the tower ;o)
"Selfie-ing" with Buckingham Palace
Super close to the end of the changing of the guards, neat to see!
At the British Museum
Picadilly Circus at Night ... during the Bar Crawl.
Note: the T-Shirts with writing ... we all had them.
More later!
Cheers!!
