Spring Break Part three: London

London. The big smoke ay? Double decker busses?Red telephone boxes?guards that dont move?London has it all, and much much more..

Arrived in Stansted about 10pm Wednesday night. The plane from Amsterdam was really short, only like a hour in total. I caught the stansted express into Liverpool station, and then spent some time aquainting myself with the London Underground System. Its really amazing ay, Alot easier than i thought. I took the tube to Shepherds Bush where i was met by Louisa and Rod, who took me back to their 'mansion'. It was great seeing Louisa again, i havent seen her since our fun summer motel cleaning..i worked for her parents. (Photo - bank station)

On Thursday morning i slept in and spent some time looking at maps, an touristy books about what i should do. I ended up buying myself an Oyster card with a weekly pass, that would allow me to jump on any tube or bus for the week. I took the central line and got off at Bank station. I tried to find the Bank of England, because i heard there was a museum where you could learn about how Banks work, and actually see real gold bars. But i got lost and couldnt find it. So i wandered towards the London Bridge (london bridge is falling down..falling down...) and passed a memorial about the great London fire that had occured. I passed over the bridge to Bankside and ended up at the Globe Theatre. Here i did a tour which was really great. Informative, but most of the information i already knew from 5th form drama classes. But it was great to actually be able to go into the theatre and watch some rehearsals of Coriolanus, which was about to have its opening the following night. After that i had some lunch in the Southwark Cathedral garden. On thursday there was a freak heatwave..25 degrees and humid, so there were lots of people outside picnicking!It was so hot that the tubes were having delays because the tracks were expanding! After lunch i passed over the millenium bridge over to St Pauls cathedral and walked through the Gardens to the tube station. I took a tube back to Shephards bush and had a nap because it was so hot and my feet were hot and swollen. At about 5pm i went for a walk down to notting hill, and down a street in Kensington that is really really expensive.
I met Louisa and Rod back at the mansion and then we took a bus down to the River Thames to have a drink. Absolutely crowded with people though, and we ended up leaving cos the line for the bar was too long. Rod went out for dinner with his family, and Louisa and i went for a drink another Garden bar, but we also had to wait ages for a table here as well. We ended up having dinner at an Italian Restaraunt, which was lovely, but the food i ordered was quite strange. It was Gnocchi, but it tasted like thai chicken noodle soup. Wierd. (photos - globe theatre, walking over the millenium bridge)

Friday morning i walked down to meet Rosy at the tube station. She had arrived in London the previous night and had stayed in a hostel. It was great seeing her again, she filled me in on her adventures in Milan and Barcelona. We took a tube to the St Pauls Cathedral and had a glimpse inside, but it was far too expensive to actually get a ticket to go inside. So we crossed over the millenium bridge and looked for somewhere to eat lunch. We ended up at a place called Gabriels wharf, which had nice cafes and shops. We then continued along the river Thames towards the London eye. We contemplated going on it, but again the line was very long, and tickets were very expensive. Typical. The thing i noticed walking around southbank, was that there are alot of runners, its like the whole of London goes running in their lunchbreak. We then walked over the Westminster Bridge, passing Big Ben and the parliament buildings, past the Westminster abbey and towards St James Park. Then we took a nice walk through St James Park towards Buckingham Palace. Which was not as exciting as i thought it would be. Feet hot and Swollen again, we took a tube from Greek Park to Notting hill and went to an internet cafe to check our email and have a chai latte.mmmm. We then went back to Shepherds Bush and went on a mission to find a supermarket. We spent about an hour in the supermarket, Both excited to see food we hadnt seen for a while, including cadburys chocolate. In the evening we went with Louisa and Rod back down to a bar on the river for a drink. (photos - london eye, buckingham palace)

On saturday morning we got up nice and early and went with Louisa down to the Portobello Markets in Notting hill. These markets were amazing, lots of antiques and cool clothing. Then we all parted. I made my way into Oxford Circus because i had planned to meet Marcia Butterfield, a family friend at a place called Top Shop. Well, i had a little browse in this shop and its amazing, even cooler than H&M which i didnt think was possible. I met Marcia and her friend Renee and we spent the afternoon walking around town looking in shops, and had a coffee in a cute cafe called the Breakfast Bar. It clouded over and finally i experienced some true dowdy London weather. Later on we took a tube to Wimbledon, and did some supermarket Shopping because Marcia was cooking dinner that evening. We made it back to their house in Wimbledon and i caught up with Dianna and Neil, and stayed for dinner and dessert. It was lovely, i havent seen them for nearly two years i think.

Sunday morning, we got up early again and went to some lovely flower markets. Oh i just love markets. Then we went to this crazy thing called speakers corner in Hyde Park. It was pretty lame but Rosy really wanted to go. Most people were just arguing about the Trinity and weather Jesus was God or not. We carried on town Oxford Street and looked in Top Shop again, before meeting some of Rosys friends for lunch. They took us out to this yummy Japenese fushion style restaraunt. Then we went to the Campden Road Markets which were fantastic. This area is really grungey and punkish, alot of mohawks around the place. We browsed through the markets and then returned to Shephards Bush for dinner. In the evening we went into China town where i met up briefly with Peter, one of my brothers best friends from highschool whom i havent seen for about 6 years! It was cool, he still looked the same and it was like there hadnt been a gap. Im thinking of heading back to london once ive finished my time here in London. I saw a flyer that Fat Freddys drop are playing the 2nd of June so talked to Peter about going to that which he was keen for. Rosy and i went for a walk through China town and Piccadily Circus and Convent garden. London is great at night! Everyone is out and about!

Monday morning it was raining once again. I had woken up early about 5.30 because there was a massive downpour. Rosy stayed at home in the morning, while i went for a mission back to Top Shop to buy some clothes that i had seen. We then had some lunch and packed up and read some magazines before taking the tube to Liverpool st around 1pm to catch the stansted express back to the Airport. Alot of waiting around at the airport. I looked in all the Duty free stores, smelling perfume, and bodyshop products and was almost tempted to buy some books from the bookstore, but didnt want to have to lug them around. The flight to eindhoven went quickly, but getting back to Utrecht from Eindhoven took forever. I didnt have my bike either, so i had to walk all the way home with my bags. Its great to be back here again. The garden outside has been totally transformed which was a nice suprise. It is no longer a dumpyard but an actual garden! I have so much to do now though, Im psyching myself up for the remaining three weeks of study that i have here in Holland. Im quite scared about it, but i trust that it will all work out ok. Im looking forward to finishing up here, so i can go travelling with my parents and of course head back to New Zealand! So not long to go! Wooohooooo!