Post by Iceburg on Aug 7, 2008 7:03:31 GMT -7
So hey guys- just got back from London and let me tell you- it was AMAZING!!! I went with my mom and RK and had a blast- it's SO different from the states... I wish I had a few more days over there.
The first thing I noticed when I got there is that everyone is polite. If you bump into someone, they'll apologize even though it was your fault.
The second thing I noticed is that everyone is so polite. You can ask a random person on the street a question about how to get somewhere and they'll stop what they're doing and give you directions.
The third thing I noticed was that there wasn't one fat, obese or overweight person. Ever. Perhaps it's because you have to walk everywhere, who knows.
The fourth thing I noticed is that everyone is really patient. When the train at the Underground had to stop for 10 minutes, no one was freaking out, they just sat there patiently and calmly until the train started up again. SO much different than from the states.
Adjusting to the time change only took a day or two- mostly because my foot kept me up the first night.
We got to London July 30 at 3 PM and actually got to the hotel at 4:30 PM (ish). To get from the airport to the hotel, we took this cool thing called the Underground, which is basically subways underground (duh). There's so many different stations and lines to get on and off at- at first it was confusing, but now I have the hang of it.
The first thing we did after we got to the hotel was to walk around looking for a market. Since everyone was really helpful, we quickly located a market and got some supplies. We didn't really do much after that other than sleep, which NONE of us could do since there was a 7 hour time difference.
The next day was Thursday, July 31. My mom decided that my RK and I were going to do sightseeing. LOTS of it. Even though my foot hurt. Meh. Anyways, we saw the Buckingham Palace, Queen's Gallery, the Royal Mews, the Absley House, and went to a play called Romeo and Juliet in which we got lost after because it was 11:30 PM. ^-^" Anyways- we saw the changing of the guards at the Buckingham Palace at 11:30 AM. It was a little... Different. But different's good! =D
You can't believe how many lions you can see over in London- lion statues are EVERYWHERE. That cheered me up a bit. I'll have to snag my mom's camera to get the pictures of me next to a lion statue.
We went to Green Park and St. James Park and they were... Green. You can't BELIEVE how many pigeons are there!
Romeo and Juliet was pretty good- it only rained on us once and even then it was only for about 10 minutes.
The next day (August 1) we were a little more used to the Underground and spent our time a little more wisely. We went to the Alexander Flemming Museum (it was closed), then we went to a street market on Church Street. I think it might've been Church Street Market. Meh. Then, after the market, I tasted the most amazing thing ever... A cornish pasty. They're to DIE for. I think that's the thing I'm going to miss most about London. The pasties. That and the Lion King (more on that later)
We went to Kensington Palace in which I had to swap shoes with my mom because hers were killing me (I had to wear her shoes because we added a foot insert for mine- doctor's orders- and they hurt me too much) and I got a blister on the back of both my feet.
From there we went to this amazing store called Harrod's. It has everything! You haven't seen a super-store until you've seen Harrod's. 6 floors of nothing but stores- but it's only one store! There I got LOADS of stuffed animals (don't kill me) in a place called Toyland- and boy WAS it Toyland! They had EVERY type of animal imaginable! Cheetahs, tigers, rhinos, giraffes, birds, pandas- if you can think it, Harrod's probably got it! That's where I spent most of my money (they go by the currency of pounds) I got 2 cheetahs (I can never find any), a lion and a wild cat (lioness?) I'll post pictures of them later.
Then, when RK and I were hyper, I accidentally drew a line on my leg which led to a face. She calls it Pedo-face. I'm DEFINITELY posting pictures of him later.
August 2 was the best day of my life. We saw the Lion King at 7:30 PM and it was AMAZING! Words can't describe it! I started crying during the Circle of Life, and, just wow. Now I want to see it in New York, but that's for a different day. I got a cool Lion King charm bracelet (once again, pictures later) A question I have is why EVERYONE likes the giraffes the best? I mean, yeah they were good, but if you're going with costumes, nothing can beat the cheetah!
Anyways, before the Lion King we went to a market (don't know which one, sorry) and China Town, which was a little disappointing, but oh well.
Before I go any further- the markets are way different over there than here in the states. They actually sell GOOD stuff. I saw lots of funny t-shirts, and lots of stuff I've never seen before!
On August 3 we went to the Zoo and what a zoo it was! Even though it started pouring rain and none of us brought umbrellas, I saw tons of animals- the zoo where I live is a mere speck compared to the London Zoo. They have seahorses, komodo dragons, giraffes, too many birds to count, an aquarium (yes AQUARIUM!), a reptile house, flamingos, and tons more. Plus about 3 or more different gift shops! =D I had fun- I'll have to post the pictures of the animals!
At the zoo, I bought 2 tigers, a lion and a panda for my mom's birthday. RK then got me a cute lion thingy (pics later) because I wanted it, but didn't buy it. I also got a postcard or two.
After the zoo I smashed RK's head into the door... Well, it was an accident but funny nonetheless. It went something like this:
My mom and I were coming back from the market after getting some milk, Kinder eggs (second best food) and other random junk which we probably could've lived without. We were knocking on our hotel door because we didn't want to dig out the key, and RK cracked the door and said, "How badly do you want in?" I pushed the door open and apparently her head was there and it hit the corner of the door. ^-^" Oh well.
August 4 we went to see the Phantom of the Opera. It was good, but I personally liked the Lion King much better. Perhaps it's because I'm just like that. The Phantom of the Opera had a lot of vibrato which I didn't really like and it seemed like it dragged on forever. But maybe that's just me being mean. Meh.
Apparently, according to my mom, I have a one track mind... At least when referring to pasties. ^-^"
We saw so many attractions that day it wasn't funny. Seriously. We went to see the Tower Bridge, the Jewel Tower, the Tower of London (which had the Crown Jewels), Big Ben, the Old Operating Theatre, Shakesphere Glope Theatre, and the National History Museum. Meh. We also saw the London Bridge. They really weren't all that exciting, just stuff you had to see. Except for the National History Museum- that was one awesome place, I wish we had more time there. Basically it has everything! Different minerals, every animal, dinosaur- stuff you can look at.
If you want me to go into more detail just ask.
There was one bad thing that happened that day... My OTHER foot started hurting... In the same spot... It's gone away now, but I think it'll come back (hopefully not though).
August 5 we saw one of mom's old friends, went to the Covet Garden market, back to Harrod's where I then got another cheetah, snow leopard and leopard. Other than that, it was a boring day.
Oh yeah, somewhere among there I started talking about They and how No one was RK and of course- the ever so awesome Captain Obvious. RK also made me remember about someone I had forgotten but had made 4 years ago (or so)- Chickenwing! More on that later.
Then, came home yesterday. Whee. So... Yeah... After spending an hour writing this it's dwindled down to this. If you have any questions or want me to go into detail about something just ask.
The first thing I noticed when I got there is that everyone is polite. If you bump into someone, they'll apologize even though it was your fault.
The second thing I noticed is that everyone is so polite. You can ask a random person on the street a question about how to get somewhere and they'll stop what they're doing and give you directions.
The third thing I noticed was that there wasn't one fat, obese or overweight person. Ever. Perhaps it's because you have to walk everywhere, who knows.
The fourth thing I noticed is that everyone is really patient. When the train at the Underground had to stop for 10 minutes, no one was freaking out, they just sat there patiently and calmly until the train started up again. SO much different than from the states.
Adjusting to the time change only took a day or two- mostly because my foot kept me up the first night.
We got to London July 30 at 3 PM and actually got to the hotel at 4:30 PM (ish). To get from the airport to the hotel, we took this cool thing called the Underground, which is basically subways underground (duh). There's so many different stations and lines to get on and off at- at first it was confusing, but now I have the hang of it.
The first thing we did after we got to the hotel was to walk around looking for a market. Since everyone was really helpful, we quickly located a market and got some supplies. We didn't really do much after that other than sleep, which NONE of us could do since there was a 7 hour time difference.
The next day was Thursday, July 31. My mom decided that my RK and I were going to do sightseeing. LOTS of it. Even though my foot hurt. Meh. Anyways, we saw the Buckingham Palace, Queen's Gallery, the Royal Mews, the Absley House, and went to a play called Romeo and Juliet in which we got lost after because it was 11:30 PM. ^-^" Anyways- we saw the changing of the guards at the Buckingham Palace at 11:30 AM. It was a little... Different. But different's good! =D
You can't believe how many lions you can see over in London- lion statues are EVERYWHERE. That cheered me up a bit. I'll have to snag my mom's camera to get the pictures of me next to a lion statue.
We went to Green Park and St. James Park and they were... Green. You can't BELIEVE how many pigeons are there!
Romeo and Juliet was pretty good- it only rained on us once and even then it was only for about 10 minutes.
The next day (August 1) we were a little more used to the Underground and spent our time a little more wisely. We went to the Alexander Flemming Museum (it was closed), then we went to a street market on Church Street. I think it might've been Church Street Market. Meh. Then, after the market, I tasted the most amazing thing ever... A cornish pasty. They're to DIE for. I think that's the thing I'm going to miss most about London. The pasties. That and the Lion King (more on that later)
We went to Kensington Palace in which I had to swap shoes with my mom because hers were killing me (I had to wear her shoes because we added a foot insert for mine- doctor's orders- and they hurt me too much) and I got a blister on the back of both my feet.
From there we went to this amazing store called Harrod's. It has everything! You haven't seen a super-store until you've seen Harrod's. 6 floors of nothing but stores- but it's only one store! There I got LOADS of stuffed animals (don't kill me) in a place called Toyland- and boy WAS it Toyland! They had EVERY type of animal imaginable! Cheetahs, tigers, rhinos, giraffes, birds, pandas- if you can think it, Harrod's probably got it! That's where I spent most of my money (they go by the currency of pounds) I got 2 cheetahs (I can never find any), a lion and a wild cat (lioness?) I'll post pictures of them later.
Then, when RK and I were hyper, I accidentally drew a line on my leg which led to a face. She calls it Pedo-face. I'm DEFINITELY posting pictures of him later.
August 2 was the best day of my life. We saw the Lion King at 7:30 PM and it was AMAZING! Words can't describe it! I started crying during the Circle of Life, and, just wow. Now I want to see it in New York, but that's for a different day. I got a cool Lion King charm bracelet (once again, pictures later) A question I have is why EVERYONE likes the giraffes the best? I mean, yeah they were good, but if you're going with costumes, nothing can beat the cheetah!
Anyways, before the Lion King we went to a market (don't know which one, sorry) and China Town, which was a little disappointing, but oh well.
Before I go any further- the markets are way different over there than here in the states. They actually sell GOOD stuff. I saw lots of funny t-shirts, and lots of stuff I've never seen before!
On August 3 we went to the Zoo and what a zoo it was! Even though it started pouring rain and none of us brought umbrellas, I saw tons of animals- the zoo where I live is a mere speck compared to the London Zoo. They have seahorses, komodo dragons, giraffes, too many birds to count, an aquarium (yes AQUARIUM!), a reptile house, flamingos, and tons more. Plus about 3 or more different gift shops! =D I had fun- I'll have to post the pictures of the animals!
At the zoo, I bought 2 tigers, a lion and a panda for my mom's birthday. RK then got me a cute lion thingy (pics later) because I wanted it, but didn't buy it. I also got a postcard or two.
After the zoo I smashed RK's head into the door... Well, it was an accident but funny nonetheless. It went something like this:
My mom and I were coming back from the market after getting some milk, Kinder eggs (second best food) and other random junk which we probably could've lived without. We were knocking on our hotel door because we didn't want to dig out the key, and RK cracked the door and said, "How badly do you want in?" I pushed the door open and apparently her head was there and it hit the corner of the door. ^-^" Oh well.
August 4 we went to see the Phantom of the Opera. It was good, but I personally liked the Lion King much better. Perhaps it's because I'm just like that. The Phantom of the Opera had a lot of vibrato which I didn't really like and it seemed like it dragged on forever. But maybe that's just me being mean. Meh.
Apparently, according to my mom, I have a one track mind... At least when referring to pasties. ^-^"
We saw so many attractions that day it wasn't funny. Seriously. We went to see the Tower Bridge, the Jewel Tower, the Tower of London (which had the Crown Jewels), Big Ben, the Old Operating Theatre, Shakesphere Glope Theatre, and the National History Museum. Meh. We also saw the London Bridge. They really weren't all that exciting, just stuff you had to see. Except for the National History Museum- that was one awesome place, I wish we had more time there. Basically it has everything! Different minerals, every animal, dinosaur- stuff you can look at.
If you want me to go into more detail just ask.
There was one bad thing that happened that day... My OTHER foot started hurting... In the same spot... It's gone away now, but I think it'll come back (hopefully not though).
August 5 we saw one of mom's old friends, went to the Covet Garden market, back to Harrod's where I then got another cheetah, snow leopard and leopard. Other than that, it was a boring day.
Oh yeah, somewhere among there I started talking about They and how No one was RK and of course- the ever so awesome Captain Obvious. RK also made me remember about someone I had forgotten but had made 4 years ago (or so)- Chickenwing! More on that later.
Then, came home yesterday. Whee. So... Yeah... After spending an hour writing this it's dwindled down to this. If you have any questions or want me to go into detail about something just ask.