London

London was quite the adventure for Kelsey and I. Upon arrival Kelsey met this nice man that told her the area of town our hostel was in was known for drug trafficking and was not the safest part at night. He was incredibly kind and used his mileage on us to buy us a hotel in one of the wealthiest, nicer parts of town. We were very grateful to have met Joel.

From there we set off on many adventures throughout London! Although we did get lost from time to time, we always seemed to find our way. Here are some lists of what we noticed while in London:

English Pharses-
Way Out= Exit
Give Way= Yield
Water Closet= Bathroom
Frosty= bitter people
Boiling= hot
Chat show= comedy show
Going to the toilet= bathroom

Trends-
Tights with anything and everything
Boys wear suits
Girls wear blazers
Ankle boots
Bowling style shoes
Kids riding scooters

Places we went-
High Street Kensington (where we stayed and shopped)
Holland Park
South Kensington
Harrods
Wellington Arch (stood on top! Only about 3 stories)
Buckingham Palace
The Queen's Gallery (just glanced at)
Westminster Abbey (even talked to a security guard that worked the Royal Wedding)
Big Ben and The Houses of Houses
The London Eye (this was a massive ferris wheel that you were able to see the whole city from the top of. What a view!)
Gabriel's Wharf (one of our favorite little places we stumbled upon)
Kensington Gardens
Kensington Palace (just walked thru the gardens)
Hyde Park
Tate Modern
London Bridge
London Tower (more like a massive castle! We unfortunately did not have time to go inside)
Tower Bridge
Borough Market (amazing sandwiches we got!)
Charing Cross
Piccadilly Square (a mini Times Square)
China town
Leicester Square (still can't pronounce this word! This area is know for its theaters and entertainment)
Covent Garden (great for meals, we went to this authentic noodle place with one of our friends we met up with there)
Ve Olde Cheshire Cheese (the oldest pub in London. Our friend from home, jophie, took us there)
The Chunnel (brought us to Paris)

Lessons we learned-
Look right! Then left.
Always ask for your check
How to ride The Tube (the train)
Look up at the street names, they helped
Still don't know if you are supposed to walk on the left or the right side of the side walk. They just walked all over.
Lots more....




London was the perfect place to start for us. It was more familiar to American culture and everyone speaks English...definitely a plus. It reminded us of New York Cit at parts. Very city like and a happening place. I could've spent more time there but was excited to start new adventures.....off to Paris