Back from London
Well, I am home now. It's hard to believe it's over, it went so fast! I absolutely had the time of my life. It was everything I hoped it would be. Our flight left on time on Saturday, and let me just say, that I would never ever want to fly any other airline other than British Airways. Hands down, a million times better than US Airways. The crew is much nicer, they give you great food, and the tv's are built into the seats, and everything is on demand, so you can choose what you want to watch. They showed stuff from John Simm and James McAvoy, so I was a happy girl, lol. Anyway, I could no sleep at all on the way there, I was way too excited! Finally when we got there, we flew right over London to get to Heathrow airport, and it was really amazing to see the city for the first time. Here's what we did each day-
Day 1- We got to the hotel around noon, so we had about 2 hours before our room was ready. We met our tour director, Megan, and she told us all the stuff that we could walk around and see before getting our room. The hotel was GORGEOUS! And it was in the perfect location. We were directly across from the London Eye, and right by the River Thames, and like a block or 2 away from Trafalgar Square. We decided to walk over the Eye and check out all the stuff around it. It's really amazing, because you have to cross the Jubilee Bridge to get there, and literally right down the street from us was Big Ben and Parliament, so you just had this incredible view. We were going to do the Eye right away, but the line was extremely long, so we decided to just walk around and see Trafalgar and check out the shops around us. We were also right near 10 Downing Street, which is where the Prime Minister lives, so that was pretty cool. ( Would have been even better if Tony Blair was still living there, lol). That night we had a welcome dinner in the restuarant in the hotel, which was amazing. It was a complete 5 course meal, and we got to meet the other people on tour with us. After dinner we walked back out onto Jubliee Bridge to see the city all lit up. Big Ben and Parliament looks absolutely incredible at night. Then my sister pretty much crashed right away, but I was still too excited to sleep, so I ended up watching BBC for a while, lol. I just love British television. Or Telly, I should say, lol.
Day 2- In the morning, we had a guided tour of the city, which was great. We got up close to Big Ben and Paliament, saw Westminser Abbey, and Hyde Park. We also got to go inside St. Paul's Cathedral, which is where Princess Diana and Prince Charles were married. It was so gorgeous inside, and just gave you chills to see where Diana and Charles stood to be married. After that, we drove around the Kensington and Chelsea area, and went to Buckingham Palace. We got to see the changing of the guards there. It was so cool to see the guards up close. We stood right on the street, which is called the Mall, and they walked right by us. They had the Scots band and the Welsh band leading the guards on duty. And it's true what they say, no matter what people do, they won't smile or look at you or anything. After the guided tour, we went over and purchased a fast pass to get right on the London Eye, instead of waiting in line. Let me tell you, the view from the Eye is breathtaking. You can see across the whole city, and we had such perfect weather for it. Perfect blue, sunny skies the whole day : ) It takes about a half hour to go all the way around, so we got really great pictures. After that, we decided to walk to Piccadilly Circus to go shopping. It's not a long walk from Trafalgar Square, so it didn't take too long to get there. It's a really cool part of the city. Very crowded, but I didn't really care, lol. There are shops, restuarants, and theaters everywhere. It's a bit like TImes Square in New York. After walking around, and me doing lots of shopping, we decided to continue walking to Oxford Circus, which is a bit like Piccadilly, but the stores are a bit more affordable, lol. And I did more shopping of course, lol. Let's just say I spent well over a 1,000 on this trip, lol. After that, we walked back to our hotel, and then went to this pub right around the corner, called Sherlock Holmes. It was the cutest place, and I of course had to have fish and chips! The food over there is amazing. Some people have told me differently, but I loved everything I had. After that, we walked over to the Tube station that was right down the street to check it out, because the next day we had to catch the Tube to the train station at Euston to go to Liverpool. Then we pretty much crashed and watched the Telly.
Day 3- We had to wake up at like 4:30 in the morning to catch the Nothern Line on the Tube to Euston Station. I love riding the Tube! It's so much fun, and it only took about 10 minutes to get to Euston Station. When we got there, the person we were meeting from Premium Tours was late, so we actually missed the train we were supposed to take to Liverpool, but there was one about an hour later, and our tickets were good for any time, so we just sat on the floor in the station and waited. I have to say, I actually really enjoyed this, because it was so cool just to people watch and listen to the accents of course. Anyway, the train ride was about 3 hours, which was longer than it should have been, because there was a power outage and Nuneaton station, so it backed things up a bit. Still, it was cool to just sit and look out at the countryside, and all the different little towns. It was pretty much raining all day, but I didn't mind at all. When we got to Liverpool, we took a cab to the Albert Docks, and we had the sweetest cabbie ever! He was telling us all about Liverpool. and actually took us and let us out to check out Mathew Street, which is where the Cavern Club is, and the Beatles got their start. Then he took us to Albert Docks, and we went into the Beatles Museum. It was incredible. They had stuff like George's first guitar, Ringo's drums, letter's actually written by Brian Epstein, and John's circular glasses, which were basically in a room by themselves. Then after that, we went to the shop and I bought some stuff for my dad ( and myself, lol)/. Then we had lunch on the docks, and then we went on the Magical Mystery Tour. They took us to each of their childhood homes, the church were John and Paul met, Strawberry Fields, Penny Lane, the schools they attended, and basically just around the city of Liverpool, which was incredible. I really wish that my dad had been able to go. I really think he would have cried. I know I got chills being at Strawberry Fields, and George's home ( since he's my fav Beatle). After that was over, we went back to the station to catch the train back to London. We actually didn't get back till around 10:00.
Day 1- We got to the hotel around noon, so we had about 2 hours before our room was ready. We met our tour director, Megan, and she told us all the stuff that we could walk around and see before getting our room. The hotel was GORGEOUS! And it was in the perfect location. We were directly across from the London Eye, and right by the River Thames, and like a block or 2 away from Trafalgar Square. We decided to walk over the Eye and check out all the stuff around it. It's really amazing, because you have to cross the Jubilee Bridge to get there, and literally right down the street from us was Big Ben and Parliament, so you just had this incredible view. We were going to do the Eye right away, but the line was extremely long, so we decided to just walk around and see Trafalgar and check out the shops around us. We were also right near 10 Downing Street, which is where the Prime Minister lives, so that was pretty cool. ( Would have been even better if Tony Blair was still living there, lol). That night we had a welcome dinner in the restuarant in the hotel, which was amazing. It was a complete 5 course meal, and we got to meet the other people on tour with us. After dinner we walked back out onto Jubliee Bridge to see the city all lit up. Big Ben and Parliament looks absolutely incredible at night. Then my sister pretty much crashed right away, but I was still too excited to sleep, so I ended up watching BBC for a while, lol. I just love British television. Or Telly, I should say, lol.
Day 2- In the morning, we had a guided tour of the city, which was great. We got up close to Big Ben and Paliament, saw Westminser Abbey, and Hyde Park. We also got to go inside St. Paul's Cathedral, which is where Princess Diana and Prince Charles were married. It was so gorgeous inside, and just gave you chills to see where Diana and Charles stood to be married. After that, we drove around the Kensington and Chelsea area, and went to Buckingham Palace. We got to see the changing of the guards there. It was so cool to see the guards up close. We stood right on the street, which is called the Mall, and they walked right by us. They had the Scots band and the Welsh band leading the guards on duty. And it's true what they say, no matter what people do, they won't smile or look at you or anything. After the guided tour, we went over and purchased a fast pass to get right on the London Eye, instead of waiting in line. Let me tell you, the view from the Eye is breathtaking. You can see across the whole city, and we had such perfect weather for it. Perfect blue, sunny skies the whole day : ) It takes about a half hour to go all the way around, so we got really great pictures. After that, we decided to walk to Piccadilly Circus to go shopping. It's not a long walk from Trafalgar Square, so it didn't take too long to get there. It's a really cool part of the city. Very crowded, but I didn't really care, lol. There are shops, restuarants, and theaters everywhere. It's a bit like TImes Square in New York. After walking around, and me doing lots of shopping, we decided to continue walking to Oxford Circus, which is a bit like Piccadilly, but the stores are a bit more affordable, lol. And I did more shopping of course, lol. Let's just say I spent well over a 1,000 on this trip, lol. After that, we walked back to our hotel, and then went to this pub right around the corner, called Sherlock Holmes. It was the cutest place, and I of course had to have fish and chips! The food over there is amazing. Some people have told me differently, but I loved everything I had. After that, we walked over to the Tube station that was right down the street to check it out, because the next day we had to catch the Tube to the train station at Euston to go to Liverpool. Then we pretty much crashed and watched the Telly.
Day 3- We had to wake up at like 4:30 in the morning to catch the Nothern Line on the Tube to Euston Station. I love riding the Tube! It's so much fun, and it only took about 10 minutes to get to Euston Station. When we got there, the person we were meeting from Premium Tours was late, so we actually missed the train we were supposed to take to Liverpool, but there was one about an hour later, and our tickets were good for any time, so we just sat on the floor in the station and waited. I have to say, I actually really enjoyed this, because it was so cool just to people watch and listen to the accents of course. Anyway, the train ride was about 3 hours, which was longer than it should have been, because there was a power outage and Nuneaton station, so it backed things up a bit. Still, it was cool to just sit and look out at the countryside, and all the different little towns. It was pretty much raining all day, but I didn't mind at all. When we got to Liverpool, we took a cab to the Albert Docks, and we had the sweetest cabbie ever! He was telling us all about Liverpool. and actually took us and let us out to check out Mathew Street, which is where the Cavern Club is, and the Beatles got their start. Then he took us to Albert Docks, and we went into the Beatles Museum. It was incredible. They had stuff like George's first guitar, Ringo's drums, letter's actually written by Brian Epstein, and John's circular glasses, which were basically in a room by themselves. Then after that, we went to the shop and I bought some stuff for my dad ( and myself, lol)/. Then we had lunch on the docks, and then we went on the Magical Mystery Tour. They took us to each of their childhood homes, the church were John and Paul met, Strawberry Fields, Penny Lane, the schools they attended, and basically just around the city of Liverpool, which was incredible. I really wish that my dad had been able to go. I really think he would have cried. I know I got chills being at Strawberry Fields, and George's home ( since he's my fav Beatle). After that was over, we went back to the station to catch the train back to London. We actually didn't get back till around 10:00.