We are in London! Today was basically just a travel day. We got up early showered, finished packing, ate breakfast and headed to the train station. We switched trains a couple times, had lunch at the Brussels, Belgium train station (sandwiches from our beach trip) and then boarded the high speed train (runs up to 186 mph!) that would take us under the English channel and into London. All together the trip was pretty uneventful; we read or napped most of the way. Clayton was happy to be in England again or as he calls it, "the land of free bathrooms and English [speakers]".
One we got to London, we bought tickets to ride the underground tube (subway) to get to our hostel. We found the hostel easily and checked in. We are staying in a really nice hostel with really friendly staff right across the bridge from Big Ben and Westminster Abbey. Interestingly enough the bottom of the hostel is a bar which also serves as their reception desk.
We went to our room (we are in a 4-bed room) and circled things we wanted to do on our map. We ended up laying down and napping for a couple hours. About 6:30pm we headed out to look around (most of the sights close at 6) and find some food. We walked by Westminster Abbey, London Eye, the parliament building, Big Ben, and some kind of mass demonstration about improving Brazil. In our short walk we saw some very iconic British items such as red double-decker buses and red telephone booths. After making a circle, we came back near our hostel and ate at Ned's Noodle Shop which looked promising, but was only mediocre at best.
 |
| From the Westminster Bridge...another part of London? It was pretty. |
 |
| The Parliament building and Big Ben from the Westminster Bridge |
 |
| The London Eye is a big Ferris Wheel on the Thames River |
 |
| Big Ben |
 |
| What I call my iconic London photo of the day: London Eye, Big Ben and a red double-decker bus |
 |
| Red telephone booth sitting along the Thames |
After supper we came back to the room to make a plan for tomorrow and post some pictures for you guys. In London, they drive on the opposite side of the road which wouldn't seem like it matters to us since we are not driving, but it means that as a pedestrian you look the opposite way you think you should. Apparently the city takes that into consideration so it posts on the side of the road which way you should look.
We both agree that it feels strange that we are already in London. It feels very surreal and kind of like a blur looking back on it. Switzerland feels like a long time ago even though it was only a couple weeks. We have been seeing everything possible, but still making sure that we don't wear ourselves out to the point that we don't enjoy it. We have really enjoyed it so far even though sometimes it feels like we are in an alternate dimension and that it isn't really reality.
Tomorrow we plan to hit some of the big sights and then maybe make a trip up to Harlaxton on Thursday. Goodnight from London!
No comments:
Post a Comment