Spring Break (Part III): London

Posted in Labels: , | on 5/17/2010 08:27:00 AM

On Thursday evening, we took the RER to Charles de Gaulle Airport, but we thought our flight was an hour later than it was, so we missed it.  We were able to get tickets for the first flight the next morning, but that meant that we had to stay at the airport overnight. 
We flew to London the next morning, then took the EasyBus from Luton Airport to Victoria Station, then took the Underground to our hostel.  Our hostel, Hyde Park Inn, was right by a tube stop and in an area with lots of restaurants and souvenir shops.  We dropped off our luggage, then went to lunch an Asian fusion restaurant called the Banana Tree Canteen.  We were so hungry!!  For dessert, we got delicious frozen yogurt from a place called Frog right near our hostel.  That afternoon, we visited the Tower of London, Tower Bridge, stopped by the Borough Market for a bit to get some free samples, walked past the Tate Modern and the Globe Theatre, and saw the London Bridge and the Millennium Bridge.  


Next we went to St. Paul’s Cathedral and Picadilly Circus, which has a lot of theatres.  For dinner we had fish and chips with Stella Artois, a very British meal. J After dinner, we went back to the hostel, and then I met up with my cousin, Pawel, who lives in London.  We went to a pub and caught up over some Guinness.  Pubs in London are only open until 11pm, which seems so early since now I’m used to the super late lifestyle of the Greeks. 

Saturday, we walked around the Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park, then took a free walking tour of Royal London.  We saw Wellington Arch, Buckingham Palace and a little bit of the changing of the guards (since there were so many people there, it was hard to see), Green Park, St. James’ Palace, the Athena Club, which is where rich old men go to drink whiskey and smoke cigars while sharing stories), Trafalgar Square, the back of 10 Downing Street, St. Steven’s Tower (Big Ben is the clock on the tower), Westminster Abbey, and the Houses of Parliament.  


After the tour, we walked by the London Eye on our way to Borough Market, where we had delicious food and desserts!  I love any kind of market!!  After we were full, we went to another market, Camden Market, in Camden Town, where we shopped for clothes and jewelry.  For dinner, we went to Brick Lane, the street in London with lots of Indian restaurants, and ate some delicious Indian food.  That night, I met up with my cousin and his wife, Anna, and we went to another pub and then to see Tower Bridge by night. 

On Sunday morning, we took a bus to Gatwick Airport (London has so many airports!) and had no problems with our flight to Athens.  We were a bit worried because the volcanic ash from the Icelandic volcano was disrupting some flights to Ireland, but our flight was not affected.  I was so tired when we got back.  I had a great time this week, but it was also nice to be back in Athens and not have to worry about being on time for any more flights or trains or checking into any more hostels.  Now there are only three weeks of class remaining!  

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