Thank Goodness the English Speak English

After spending 4 weeks in countries where I can't read the signs and understand what people around me are saying, it was such a relief to be somewhere I could understand what's going on around me.

I took a night bus from Paris to London.  I thought I’d take a sleeping pill to sleep through the night.  Bad idea.  I didn’t take into account customs and the ferry.  So around 3:00 AM, they made us file off the bus for customs.  When I got to the desk, they told me I needed to fill out a card.  That was difficult due to my grogginess.  We got back on the bus and a half hour later, they made us get off again for the ferry.  Funny thing…on the bus from London to Brussels, they didn’t make us get off the bus at all.  A customs officer got on the bus, collected our passports, did his thing, and handed them back.  Then, instead of a ferry, we took the Euro Tunnel, which goes under the English Channel.  Lame.

I arrived in London early Tuesday morning.  I went to my hostel and hung out there for a while.  Just getting to the hostel on the Tube cost me over $5, so I decided to only walk in London the first two days.  Bad idea.  I totally overdid myself.  I took off to catch a walking tour.  I didn’t catch it.  So I grabbed some lunch and headed to the park and watched the changing of the guard.  Spending the night on a bus is exhausting so I spent the day reading in the park.  It was a very sunny, unLondon-like day.  I did go on the later walking tour, and we saw Buckingham palace, Big Ben, Henry VIII’s residence, parliament, and Westminster Abbey. 

Sunset on my walk home

I woke up really tired on Wednesday, but decided to go check out Portobello Road.  It was so cool…lots of antique sewing machines, telephones, sports equipment, cameras, and so much steampunk jewelry!  Steampunk jewelry has been so hard to find in Utah, and when I do, it’s pretty expensive.  But here, it was pretty cheap!  I’ve been in want/need of a compass on this trip.  I get lost easily and look like an idiot when I try to figure out which way I need to walk when looking at a map (no mountains in the east to give me a reference point).  So I asked around for a compass, and I found one on a necklace.  It’s really helpful!  I wear it almost every day now.  I was physically exhausted so I decided to go back to my hostel and spend the day in my bed, which really helped.  I slept and watched TV, and fell asleep around 8:00 PM.  I woke up to a phone call from my cousin around 9:30 PM.  He had no idea I was in Europe, and it was really great to talk to him!  Surprisingly, I was still able to sleep great that night.

I felt much better on Thursday, so I spent the day exploring the city.  I gave in and bought a day pass for the Tube.  I saw Piccadilly Circus, Tate Modern, St. Peter’s, and I ate fish ‘n’ chips!  They were delicious!  I really enjoyed Tate Modern.  I met up with Cameron and we went to Chinatown and saw the London Eye.  We were on our way to see the London Bridge, but got sidetracked by a church, which turned out to be the church Shakespeare is buried.  We went to Institute that night, where Paul Cardall gave a fireside.  I should have been socializing, but wasn’t really in the mood.  I did talk to my friend Tom, who I know from a single’s ward in SLC, but he now lives in London. I got to go on a double-decker bus!

Piccadilly Circus

London Eye

Platform 9 3/4 at King's Cross :D

I was planning on taking a train to Brussels, but the only one was the EuroStar, which was almost $200.  No thanks.  Luckily I found a bus for about $50.