London: Trip 1

Yesterday my friends and I went to London for the day. We spent a total of about 7 hours there, and we were exhausted at the end of it. Happy but tired. I had a totally different experience there when I went with my friends from Italy in 2006, and I'm sure that's because we went in the autumn back then, whereas now it's tourist season. It made for a very crowded city center, but we got used to it and managed to stay together, so it was a success.

The day started with an adventure when Brittyne and I tried to find an ATM before paying the bus fare, which we expected would be easy given that the bus picks up on the main road. Wrong-o. We walked and walked and kept thinking "oh, it will be right around the corner". Needless to say, almost 40 minutes later we had made a huge loop around Oxford and finally managed to find an ATM. I realized at that moment it was best to sleep with one eye open on the bus so our friends wouldn't strangle us with our heritage passes or their bare hands.

We arrived in London starving, so we ate fish and chips at the historic Kings Arms before proceeding to Buckingham Palace. It's the attraction I remember most vividly from two years ago, and it was funny seeing it with different people at a different time. I loved it just the same, but it reminded me of how long it had been standing there and how enduring the city has been and will be. I expected it to change, but there it was exactly the same.

Next, we were off towards Parliament Square. We passed Prince William's home where we posed with the security guards, which was good for some laughs. Bethany is completely in love with Prince William, so it was entertaining to see her giddy about standing outside of his home. Other stops on our London adventure included: Trafalgar Square, Charing Cross, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, Parliament, the Westminster Bridge, Piccadilly Street, Her Majesty's Theatre, the National Gallery (briefly, we decided to come back later when we had more time), and everything in between. It was a whirlwind, but we definitely spent adequate time in each place, really absorbing all that the city has to offer.

By the time we left London, it was really cold, and the sun was setting, so when we got to Oxford again we were rushing to find warmth in our beds and pass out to dream about all of the great things we did that day.

Today we woke up, walked around town and found a fabulous little Indian food restaurant called Chutney's, and had the best meal of the trip so far. We've decided it's going to be a new lunch place for us. Also, we went to the grocery store and bought some sandwich things for the lunches we want to eat in.

Tomorrow morning it's off at 8 AM for Blenheim Palace in Wales with the group. It should be quite the trip!