This morning was quite hectic as well because we had to check out and make it to the airport... Again, I wore 17 shirts through check-in and security! As soon as we found our gate, I B-lined it for the bathroom and started stripping off clothes. I still had to wear 5 shirts because I couldn't get those in my bag!
I don't remember any of the flight because I was out as soon as I sat down! We landed and then found the train station to take to get to the hostel. We found the hostel after walking past it and having to ask someone if he knew where it was. It was the upstairs of a bar in the ghetto part of London! So we weren't completely insane when we couldn't find it!
By the time we had all checked in it was about 6pm so we just decided to stay in our area by the hostel and found a grocery store. We got some food for supper and just went back to the hostel to relax and watch a movie!
It was lights out by 11pm because we wanted to get a fresh start the next day. We had to get up earlier the next day to meet a friend at the train station.
THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2009
Well, I woke up a bit earlier than planned today – about 2 am early. Not by choice though. Annie, Sarah, and I were talking in our room until about 1:45am. We laid down to go to bed, and just about the time I fell asleep, I heard someone fumbling with our door lock. I sat up and looked at Sarah and was like, “What Is GOING ON???” The maintenance man walked in and just froze when he saw that we were up. He just stood there and said “Ugghhh… Ohhhh… Uhhh… ” and then walked back out of the door. We all were a bit freaked out because it is not every day that someone walks into your room and then just stands there, makes a few noises and leaves again at 2 IN THE MORNING. We all went back to bed and woke up early in the morning to ask the manager/owner of the place what was going on. He said he didn’t know but would check with him. We went back upstairs and got ready for the day. By the time we went back downstairs to leave, he had talked to him. Apparently, the guy working at night had sold him the other bed in the room (there were 5 beds and 4 people), but because he is a worker, he stays in empty rooms or something. I guess he got the wrong key or something. Anyway, it was a bit freaky….
Today, we went to pick up Ellen, a friend from UWEC, at the train station. She was studying in Harlaxton, about an hour north of London, and was done for the semester so she was going to show us around London and then travel back to Thessaloniki for a bit before she went home to the States. We took her stuff back to the hostel and then went back into the center!
First, we went to Big Ben and the Parliament Houses, saw the London Eye, Westminster Abby, a celebration for St. George (there were a bunch of drunks with the English flag wrapped around them like a cap dancing and singing in the streets), a protest for the genocide in Sri Lanka ( a hunger strike – they hadn’t eaten in 17 days), many metro stops, Buckingham Palace, Picadilly Circus (basically the same thing as Times Square in New York), and a SUBWAY!!! I had my usual sub and it tasted amazing!
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Big Ben, Parliament Houses, and a Double Decker Bus... Can't get more 'London' than this!.jpg)
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See I really was there!.jpg)
Westminster Abby Church.jpg)
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FRIDAY, APRIL 24, 2009We had a picnic in Hyde Park this morning – well late morning! The sun was shining and it was beautiful! So of course we laid in the grass for a while and soaked up some rays!!!
After the National Gallery, we went to Abby Road and walked across the sidewalk (5 times – because there were so many cars and it took that many times to get a good picture) that is on the cover of a Beatles Album!
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SATURDAY, APRIL 25, 2009
This morning was a bit hectic as well because we had to be checked out of the hostel at 10. We had the ‘included breakfast’ after we checked out… It consisted of toast and jam…
We finally left the hostel and made it to the train/metro station to go to the center! Our first stop (after a few detours using different lines because the main one was under construction for the day) was the Portabella Market. It was in Notting Hill area – YES the place where Notting Hill, the movie, was filmed! There were so many antiques and the best part – 10 pence postcards!
We made our way to the Camden Market, the biggest open market in the world. We had the most amazing chicken fajitas!
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We went to Harrods, a major department store that sells just your basic handbags… Gucci, Prada, Chanel, Versace, and a few others. Obviously we were not here to buy anything but just to look around. Oh and to use the bathroom… free squirts of perfume, amazingly clean stalls and a decently nice bathroom manager.
From here we headed back to the National Gallery to meet up with another girl from UWEC that was studying in another area in London. She was on a long break and was just traveling around England for a while!
We went out to dinner and I just about destroyed an entire table because when I got up (well tried to get up), the chair didn’t scoot back like I thought it did. It fell backwards and knocked over the condiments on the table behind me. A little embarrassing but hilarious all at the same time!
From there we went to Tower Bridge, which looked amazing lit up at night.
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We had to be back to the hostel by 10:00/10:15 in order to make it to the train station to catch the last train to the airport. Lets just say, we spent a bit too long at Tower Bridge and didn’t get back on the underground until 10:15. We reached our hostel at 10:45 (after running from the train stop for 8 blocks). We got our stuff and headed straight back to the train station. The train for the airport left at 11:41pm and we made it there at 11:40pm. The best luck we have had on this entire trip.
SUNDAY, APRIL 26, 2009
The airport was basically empty so we repacked everything to go under the plane. We could only have 20kg and we had 17kg. The first time we have ever been under weight with luggage.
We headed upstairs where I tried to catch up a bit on my blog, but I kept falling asleep – every time I dozed off I woke up and this was on my screen alskfoaiyuaopiWEurp9uruuuuuuu. I finally drifted off to sleep on one of the benches, but after what felt like 15 minutes, Dewey woke me up and it was time to check in and get our boarding pass. We boarded the plane and again, I was out instantly and didn’t wake up until the flight attendant tapped me on the shoulder to open my window and see if my seat belt was buckled! I dozed off again and before I knew it we were back in Thessaloniki!
I was so glad to be back in Thessaloniki! I took all of my stuff out of my bag and just threw it on my bed just because I knew I didn’t have to live out of a duffle bag anymore. I swept if off of my bed and took a nap for about 5 hours.
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Overall, Spring Break ’09 was AMAZING! It was the trip of a lifetime, unforgettable memories, and the best time of my life! I cannot wait to travel more around Europe more in the future!
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