Just touched down in Londontown...really though..!

Hiya!

Two very important things happened in London: 1) I ate steak. 2) I ate cake. Really though, it had been far too long and I think as a result that steak was the best I’ve had in my LIFEEEEE.

Before I talk about cute London, I want to share a game I have contrived, called “Let’s see how many people can trip on my suitcase.” Now before you start making judgments, let it be known that this game was not of malicious intent and I did not ever put anyone’s safety in danger. But, on my way to London I noticed that people rushing onto the metro tended to not see my bright blue suitcase, or maybe thought they could walk through it. So in their attempt to do so, they would realize that thing cannot be walked through, and consequently stumbled. It really was impressive, the confidence these people had in their ability to walk through a clearly solid object. Anyway. By the end of my trip to London, the grand total was 8 stumbles, with one of them being an almost full-out fall. I recommend the game to all travelers. Lol.

Onto LONDON! So Spain has clearly spoiled me with its awesome weather. When we got off the plane at London Luton I was whining like a baby: “What the heckkkkkk this is colder than Chicago!!!!” when it was probably like 45F! Luckily it did eventually warm up a bit as the week went on, but it was literally the coldest I’ve ever been in Europe. HOWEVERRR the cooler weather gave me an excuse to wear my favorite winter coat :)

I was super excited for Alexa to show me round her new hometown!! The first night we all went to a pub for a pint, apparently part of the “Spoons” franchise that I had heard Alex talk about so frequently. It was such a cute pub, and I will say right now the pubs in London MUST be the cutest in existence. They all look classy, clean, and put together—the way I imagined everything in London to be, really! After a hilarious night of reminiscing about Paris at the pub, Alex, Kelsey and I returned to her cozy (LOL) dorm for a fairly tame night in.

 

Big Ben!

The next morning I opted to sleep in while Alex took Kelsey to the train for the airport. Good ol' Alexa knows a girl that enjoys her sleep, and consequently let me sleep in to whenever the heck I wanted! When I finally woke up it was time for SHOPPINGGGG. And I already knew where I wanted to go: PRIMARK! People have raved to Primark about me, how it is like Forever 21 on steroids. Though the thought of something more extreme than Forever 21 is daunting, I was in the perfect mood and absolutely up for the challenge. Alex? Not so much ahahha. She dropped me off, asked me how long I realistically needed in the store, and then she went about her business. (Dang she’d make a good boyfriend!!!!! c:) I made Primark my ….slave. I did not let the crowds of ruthless English deter me from my path! I even put to use some of my newly acquired Spanish crowd-pushing tricks. (I will say I tried my best to get re-accustomed to saying ‘excuse me’, though it was harder that I would have imagined.) It really is quite the sweaty, overwhelming, 2-story spectacle. After about 3 hours and probably only 30 euros I left the store with a smile on my face and 2 dresses to add to my wardrobe, amongst other things! LOVED Primark.

London Eye

That afternoon/night Alex and I did a tonnnnn of sightseeing and lotsa walkin as well! I got to see most everything I wanted to that night, including Big Ben and the London Eye. HA I also realized how horrible my camera is for night time pictures, as evidenced by these horridly blurry pictures. But I think it was only when I saw Big Ben and the London Eye that I realized I was in London. Yes, you see the red telephone booths and double-decker buses everywhere, but it was not the foggy, dreadful-weather-city with nothing but British gibberish being uttered everywhere that I had always imagined it to be! (Mary Poppins, you done me WRONG, girl.) It's got so many cultures within its city limits, and, as Alex pointed out to me, on any given day you hear various different languages, and that British accent doesn't seem to be as prominent. After this epiphany, Alex and I returned back to her dorm (BUT NOT BEFORE STOPPING BY SOME OF THE SITES OF THE GREATEST MOVIE, SNATCH!!!!!) to do what we do best: BAKE. I think our true artistry was demonstrated that night, as we had no ingredients or baking supplies. So what's the easiest snack to make? Puppy chow, of course! Heavy on the peanut butter :) We started watching Notting Hill then passed out, perhaps from the high sugar content of our snack, or more likely because we had traversed the whole city of London that day.

Gardens in Regent's Park

The next day was time for some more wandering! This time we headed towards Camden market to look/purchase/ EAT! They don't have markets like that in Granada at all, and all the punk stores reminded me of my sister Sofia HA!!!!! So that was definitely cool to see. After a delicious sandwich we took a stroll through one of London's MANY charming parks,  Regent's park. We saw some people playing football/futbol and decided to watch them play while eating a healthy snack of cake...turns out the players were females and not fun to watch at all, BUT we still got to enjoy the gorgeous park and gardens while chowin down! After walking through Alex's nightmare of a bird-filled path we slowly made the hike to Buckingham palace. Neither Prince William nor Henry were awaiting my arrival, unfortunately, so I just settled for a picture with the palace. :) 

Buckingham Palace

That  night it was time to go out! Alex and I decided to sip modestly on some delicious Magner's cider before hitting up Leister square! That was quite the experience, the British know how to do their night life up, that's for sure. We met some guys at the club (I kept calling it a discoteca. Alex told me to stop because it's not called that outside Spanish-speaking places. Ahahahah) which is always an interesting experience in and of itself. I was pleased with the lack of molestation and handsy-ness of the British men, quite the change up from Spain, ha!!! After the club I ate possibly the most delicious chicken sandwich and we headed home. London did me well c:

...And Bob's your uncle! Paris and London were my first international vacation! I’m a big girl now! (…And I’m not referring to my physical state after doing nothing but consuming pastries, crepes, alcohol, and sandwiches during this vacation :) )