Cheers!
So, it’s Tuesday morning around 1am and I decide to start walking to the bus stop so I’m not late for my bus which is supposed to arrive at 2:20am. As I walk outside the sky looks pretty clear even though I hear thunder in the distance, but I mean no biggie there’s no way it’s going to rain so I walk on having been awake since 5am on Monday (I took a 2 hour nap so I guess I got SOME sleep). I’m carrying my backpack stuffed full of stuff for London, I’m wearing my new pair of skinny jeans (only 9.99 Euros! score!) my sneakers a rain coat and I have an umbrella, because it’s supposed to rain in London (not in Heidelberg) and then it starts… and it’s not just a drizzle… ohhhhh no
IT’S POURING RAIN!
I’m drenched to the bone and my stupid umbrella does absolutely nothing except keep flipping inside out. So what do I do? I’ve only walked 10 minutes and the street car is done for the night and I can’t miss my bus! I just stand there and start laughing hysterically. Seriously, what a way to start my adventure!
By the time I got to the train station the rain stopped, but I remained wet. I wait 45 minutes at the station for the bus, took a 2 hour bus ride to the plane and waited 1.5 hours for my flight to take off still soaking wet. It was the kind of wet that seeps into your bones, because even though I was probably drying I couldn’t tell if I was wet or drying and I was FREEZING. By the time I got to London I was dry (but still felt pretty wet) but I was freezing and tired.
In London I missed the train I was supposed to take to get to Kara because customs took sooo long and asked me for Kara’s address, which I didn’t have and then like 30 other questions. Anywho I didn’t get to her stop till 10am, well she left at 10am for a fieldtrip. She called and apologized, but I didn’t really mind I told her I would walk around Surbiton (the small town just outside of London that she was staying in) and I would find some food and explore for the next 2 or so hours. I was STARVING so I went to the first place I found. It was a pub I guess but they had a sign for “large British breakfast” and I was sold. I walked in and within about 5 minutes a fight broke out between 2 men in their late 50s, they were drunk at 10 am. Then Roger joined me for breakfast, but he wasn’t eating – he brought his glass of beer and his glass of wine over to my table and began telling me his life story. When his friend called he told him he was “chatting up and American lady”, his friend wished him luck…
Roger is 65 years old…
He offered to buy me a drink, but I politely declined and after an hour of “chatting me up” he said he was sorry but he had to leave, I told him it was not a problem. And this, my friends, begins my adventure in London
When Kara got back we went to her dorm and I had to unpack everything and hang it around her room so it could dry, because it all got soaked! My dress and my skirt got stained from something in my bag, that was a major bummer, but over all it worked out okay. I got to shower and I finally felt better getting that stale rain off of me. We walked into Kingston (the town right next to Surbiton) and Kara showed me around and we went grocery shopping for dinner, it was her turn to cook. Well, being the amazing friend that I am, I convinced Kara to go into the one store that she had forbade herself from entering because for Kara Rose it’s a danger zone…. Borders. I couldn’t help it though! I needed a new book, I finished the English Patient! We each got a book for the buy one get one half off deal, I got A Thousand Splendid Suns (the author of the Kite Runner, soooo good!) and she got Guernsey Literary Society and Potato Peel Pie (my suggestion). Then we headed back to start dinner. OH WOW I forgot the most exciting part! At the grocery store I saw the most beautiful thing in the entire world. It was just sitting there on a shelf calling my name… DIET COKE, REAL DIET COKE! Oh man, Jesus must really love me! I bought one (a 1L obvi).
We made these Taco things for Kara and 3 of her roommates. Her roommates were super sweet and I’m really glad Kara has them. They also go to GVSU and she met them there on the trip and the 2 of them are Christian so they get to pray together before they eat and they all go to church together on Sundays (I told Kara to take them to a Catholic church because they are SWEET in London). Anywho it was nice to have people to share a meal with again, I think that is probably my favorite thing in the world these days. Sharing a meal with others. It’s just so refreshing. Then we got ready and Kara took me to the pub they spend most of their nights at. It was cute and everyone had sweet British accents.
Wednesday morning Kara woke up for class and I got ready to explore London! I got off at the Waterloo station and headed toward the main part of town. Some places I saw include the London Eye (so cool, like a 3 hour line and 20 pounds to go one… that is 40 US $, thus I didn’t go), House of Parliament, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Parliament Square, St. James Park, Buckingham Palace, Green Park, Piccadilly Circus, Kings Cross Station (Platform 9 ¾), St. Paul’s Cathedral, and much more. So I didn’t go inside anything because it’s all 10 pounds or more and the exchange rate is practically double US $ and well I was happy just walking around and exploring from the outside. The buildings were all so beautiful and there were parks everywhere, and people in London tots know how to dress! Everyone looked so put together, I loved it. I think boys should always wear shirts and ties, it just looks so clean. So Buckingham Palace was cool and I got to see the changing of the guards… it was long, but the tradition in it is really cool. The culture there is just so different than in German and it was cool to see the differences. Getting people to take pictures of me was rough because oddly enough it was nearly impossible to find people who spoke English! WEIRD! I mostly walked everywhere, but to get to Kings Cross Station I had to take the Tube and I got there and found the platform, which is not actually at Platform 9 it’s in another area in the middle of no where and it’s actually kind of lame, but I mean it was worth it and I got a picture! Then I took the tube again to get to St. Paul’s. The Cathedral was HUGE and I really wanted to go inside, but it was 14 pounds… ugh. I sat in the free chapel for a while and said a rosary so that was really nice. Then I met up with Kara and we went to Kingston to watch HP. AMAZING! We bought the last 2 seats in the theatre and I was probably the happiest person in the world. The movie was great, and I’m glad I didn’t ruin it like I did last time by re-reading the book right before I went to see it… but when I get home I’m tots re-reading it so my love for the movie will be short lived. Then we had to rush home and get ready for karaoke night. Kara and her friends go every Wed. night. It’s basically a bunch of Americans and 5 or 6 others but it was a blast. I got Kara to sing sweet Caroline with me, she was mortified but in the end she loved it.
Then Thursday morning came and Kara had class again so I got all packed and walked her to her bus and said goodbye, then I went to do some more exploring. On Thursday I saw (from the outside once again) Millennium Bridge, Tate Modern Museum, London Bridge (sooo boring), Tower of London, Tower Bridge, the Bullet building, and the monument commemorating the great fire of London. It was cool and I got some fish and chips for lunch (apparently that’s traditional British, or so the sign claims). It was wonderful and cool seeing all these places that I hear about or see in movies!
My trip home went much more smoothly and less eventful than my trip to London. When I got back to Germany, however, I was so relieved that everyone was speaking German again and I felt at home… it was really cool. Now it’s back to work everyday until I fly to Rome, oh man what adventures!
Love,
Your Favorite Spartan
