Adventures in London!!!

London Town! After class this past week Erin and I left for London!!! It was so exciting, we got to plan our vacation three weeks ago (so not a lot of time, but still good), and it was definitely worth it. We started by visiting Sam (one of Erin’s friends) at the University of Westminster down in the Paddington area of London, and then we went with lots of her friends to Piccadilly Circus to enjoy a night of fun and dancing at Tiger Tiger. It was an excellent club with three rooms for different music tastes. We had taken the tube down to the club, but it surprisingly closes at midnight, so Erin and I got to discover the wonders of the very slow London Bus system while going back to our hotel. One thing I can definitely say about London is I am rather glad I chose to study in Glasgow, in London you practically live in a jail, everything must be closed off, and you have to pass through security to get into the buildings. That and the rooms there are much smaller than my room in Glasgow. Sure I have to walk a ways, but at least it’s spacious, and not everything is enclosed.

Erin, Me, and Sam at Tiger Tiger

As our weekend really started on Saturday (and we were only there for Saturday pretty much) we again hopped on the Tube to do some exciting English things. However our adventures started in the Tube with many closures for refurbishment going on, practically every line (or it seemed that way) had closures at some point. But we finally made it down to Kensington Gardens to take some pictures. We walked through the Gardens and into Hyde Park where there were really big geese (and lots of other birds). We passed all the way through the Park and on to Buckingham Palace. There we got to stand on our tiptoes with our cameras above our heads to take pictures of the bands, the guards, and people on horses. We also nearly got trampled by one of the guards horses, nothing like a near death experience to get your heart pumping eh?



At this point we had to continue on our quick trip through London, so we walked down to the London Eye for our flight (yay). It was a very long walk but we passed by Westminster Abbey where many people celebrating Veterans Day, with all of the poppy’s everywhere. We also passed by parliament and Big Ben on our trip down to the Thames. I had a bit of a Celtic Civilisation moment at about this point because we passed by the Boudicea Statue, which of course, as everyone knows is very important to Celtic culture, and Britain as a whole. We made it down to the Eye and didn’t have to stand in line for very long before our flight. The views were great and we had a blast seeing everywhere (especially Erin since it was her first time in the city). When our flight was done we went to the London Eye 4D experience. It came free with our ticket, but it isn’t highly suggested. You stand in a room with “4D” glasses, and they throw things at you, and there is smoke, and a video about being on the Eye. Afterwards we went to Wagamama down by the river and had some contemporary Asian food. If you haven’t gone, I would highly suggest you do, as the food is good, and the prices are also fairly good.

Erin, Me, and Sam on the London Eye

We ended our river experience at the London Fright where we got to walk/run/struggle through this dark set of rooms with people jumping out at you, making weird noises, and grabbing your feet. It was fun, and if you haven’t done it before its right next to the London Eye and the Aquarium, but I wouldn’t go again, mostly because now I know what is going to happen. Before we went in we enjoyed some street vender waffles, which were pretty good (it was a waffle covered in chocolate). We ate our waffles while watching the London Fright people scaring passer-by. One woman got so scared she went stiff and fell on the ground, I laughed very hard, and it was absolutely hilarious.

The London Eye tickets we purchased also had a London Dungeon attachment so we went to that as well on Saturday night. It was pretty fun, however the whole time I felt that someone was going to jump out at me from the dark corners, since that is what they did at London Fright. Some of the stuff there was scary, like the Sweeney Todd room, however other things were just absolutely hilarious, such as when we were put on trial, and went on the drop ride. We ended our night by walking across Tower Bridge, which was beautiful in the dark, and also going back to Piccadilly Circus to B@1, a bar that serves the Irish Disco Biscuit. This drink comes highly suggested, it tastes like there is absolutely no alcohol in it (good or bad, I can’t decide), it is made of vanilla ice cream, Oreo cookies (biscuits), Baileys, Peppermint Schnapps, and some Ice, it was all blended together into deliciousness and was worth the 7 pounds I paid for it.

Sam, Me, and Erin enjoying our Irish Disco Biscuits

Our final day in London found us travelling to Kings Cross Station, which was a complete catastrophe, because turns out you can’t get to Platform 9 and ¾ without a ticket (how do those wizards do it?) and it was all under construction. I was feeling slightly Harry Potter-y but it was definitely sad. We walked around Piccadilly Circus and Old Bond Street for the rest of the morning before catching the Piccadilly line back to London Heathrow airport to be back in Glasgow.  It was all quite fun, and I spent most of my money on food, not stupid things (although there were some stupid purchases). I would love to go again soon, especially to enjoy another Irish Disco Biscuit!

An excellent view of London