London is a really fun city and I loved the few days I got to spend there.
It is very different from
Barcelona, so it was cool to see how other cultures work.
And of course the accent was so much fun, I wish I talked like them!
The beginning of the trip was interesting.
We booked our flight to leave at 6:15 from the girona airport.
To get there you have to ride a bus from barcelona, and it is an hour long trip.
Well, it just worked out that the bus service tells you what time you
need to catch the bus and our bus left at 3:45 am.
How fun.
In order to get the bus stop we
had to walk because the metro stops running at 12, and it was a forty minute walk.
So we set out from our dorm room around 2:45 am Friday morning, carrying all our stuff with us, including heavy laptops because of our stupid studio professor.
Needless to say, the whole bus ride we all slept.
Now here’s where the real fun began…for me at least.
Sarcasm? Yes.
We get to the airport and wait in this super long line to check in, all with less than an hour of sleep.
I went first and when I tried to check in the lady was like, hm, you’re not on my list.
They didn’t even have computers to check people in, they were using a printed list of names.
So, the lady left and went to look up what was going on.
Turns out, according to the airline although I still think they’re wrong, I had booked my flight for Thursday morning instead of Friday morning.
The thing is, we all booked them together, and the way the website works is you have to change pages for a different day, so I don’t see how that could have happened.
So, basically what I had to do is buy another ticket.
I was so pissed.
It was such a waste, and it wasn’t cheap either.
I’m still mad about it, but what can you do? We got on the plane and it was the most ghetto airline I’ve ever seen.
Again, we all slept.
When we got to London, the passport people were absolute jerks.
We had to fill out this paper and it had a place for an address you had in London.
We put n/a because we
didn’t know any better and then when we went up there, the guy was like, where are you going to stay, what’s your address.
We were like we don’t know, we are staying in a hostel for two days.
They were like, well, we can’t let you through un
less we have an address, how are we supposed to know where you are going otherwise.
So, one of the girls figured out the address and we went back up there and he was like, where are your return tickets.
We didn’t have them because to check in for a flight all you need is your passport and confirmation number.
We told them that and they were like, how do we know that you will actually leave on Monday, we’re just supposed to believe you without any proof?
They eventually let us through, but it was a pain to say the least.
The crazy thing is, when we flew into the Barcelona airport the first time we didn’t have to do anything.
They
didn’t check our passports at all.
Basically, you just
get your luggage and walk out.
Its weird, and then this little airport and hour outside of London would barely let us through.
Next, we had to catch another bus to take us into London.
Another nap!
When we finally got to London, it was FREEZING and raining.
Basically miserable.
It was about 55 outside, with wind and rain on top of that.
All the Londoners were wearing wool coats and scarves, and here I am in two long sleeve shirts and a light hoodie.
Seriously it was so cold.
When we got off the bus we had to walk in this miserable weather
to our hostel.
And it wasn’t that close.
I think it was about a thirty minute walk. We just wanted to check in and drop off our heavy bags and then leave and go see some of the city.
We walked in and got everything situated and stuff, put our sheets on our bed and then go
t ready to leave.
The hostel was different.
I think we just got really lucky in Portugal, because that hostel was amazing and more like a quaint hotel.
This one, first of all smelled awful everywhere (the room, the hall, the bathroom).
Also, we were in a room with 16 people so it was just weird, and the bathroom was down the hall, and less than my standard for sure.
By this time we were hungry so we asked the lady at
the front desk where to get some good fish and chips.
We walked to were she told us to go and had lunch there.
It was so good!
I loved the food.
And, probably the best part ever, they had REAL ketchup!
I used more than normal just because I miss it so much
J.
One of the things that I realized almost instantly was that I could read all the signs because they were all in english!
I haven’t been able to do that for almost a month now!
Another funny thing was that in Barcelona when we are trying to find somewhere to go eat, if anything is in English, its like steer clear of there, because its probably really bad food, so I kept thinking in my head, ew, not that, its probably gross, just out of habit from spain.
Anyway, after we ate we started walking around, sort of following a path working our way to St. Pauls Cathedral.
We stopped along the way in souvenir shops and stuff like that.
When we got to St. Pauls, we had some coffee outside waiting for some in our group who had gone shopping
for a minute.
The coffee was good, nothing special, but loads better than Spain.
We walked around St. Pauls and took pictures and stuff, because its gorgeous!
We wanted to go inside but it was really expensive, so we decided not to, and just to keep seeing stuff.
We walked across the Millennium bridge, which was cool, and then went to the tate modern.
It’s just a museum, which I’m not a huge fan of,
but we were told to go by some of our professors back home, and we were so miserably cold that the warmth was welcomed. We didn’t stay long at all, just enough to thaw out some, and psyc. Ourselves out to go back out.
We walked along the Thames river taking pictures along the way of course.
We passed the globe theatre, and in the distance could see the London eye and the tip top of parliament, and on the other side, the Tower Bridge and this cool skyscraper designed by Norman Foster.
We passed the city hall, also designed by Norman Foster, and went in and looked around a little too.
It’s a really cool looking building.
After that we walked across the Tower Bridge back to the other side of the Thames. We walked around making our
way back to our hostel but walking in clothing stores along the way. We walked up to the Lloyds of London building. Then we got tickets for the tube(metro) to go back to our hostel. The tickets for one ride were 5 pounds..equivalent to 10 dollars! That’s crazy. In Barcelona they are only 7 euros for 10 rides so only about 10 dollars. When we got back, we just got a little snack for dinner and chilled at the hostel. We were going to go out but we were all so exhausted we decided against it. We ended up meeting this guy at the hostel from Australia and talking to him for a long time and then just going to bed.
need to catch the bus and our bus left at 3:45 am. How fun. In order to get the bus stop we had to walk because the metro stops running at 12, and it was a forty minute walk. So we set out from our dorm room around 2:45 am Friday morning, carrying all our stuff with us, including heavy laptops because of our stupid studio professor. Needless to say, the whole bus ride we all slept. Now here’s where the real fun began…for me at least. Sarcasm? Yes. We get to the airport and wait in this super long line to check in, all with less than an hour of sleep. I went first and when I tried to check in the lady was like, hm, you’re not on my list. They didn’t even have computers to check people in, they were using a printed list of names. So, the lady left and went to look up what was going on. Turns out, according to the airline although I still think they’re wrong, I had booked my flight for Thursday morning instead of Friday morning. The thing is, we all booked them together, and the way the website works is you have to change pages for a different day, so I don’t see how that could have happened. So, basically what I had to do is buy another ticket. I was so pissed. It was such a waste, and it wasn’t cheap either. I’m still mad about it, but what can you do? We got on the plane and it was the most ghetto airline I’ve ever seen. Again, we all slept. When we got to London, the passport people were absolute jerks. We had to fill out this paper and it had a place for an address you had in London. We put n/a because we didn’t know any better and then when we went up there, the guy was like, where are you going to stay, what’s your address. We were like we don’t know, we are staying in a hostel for two days. They were like, well, we can’t let you through un
less we have an address, how are we supposed to know where you are going otherwise. So, one of the girls figured out the address and we went back up there and he was like, where are your return tickets. We didn’t have them because to check in for a flight all you need is your passport and confirmation number. We told them that and they were like, how do we know that you will actually leave on Monday, we’re just supposed to believe you without any proof? They eventually let us through, but it was a pain to say the least. The crazy thing is, when we flew into the Barcelona airport the first time we didn’t have to do anything. They didn’t check our passports at all. Basically, you just get your luggage and walk out. Its weird, and then this little airport and hour outside of London would barely let us through. Next, we had to catch another bus to take us into London. Another nap! When we finally got to London, it was FREEZING and raining. Basically miserable. It was about 55 outside, with wind and rain on top of that. All the Londoners were wearing wool coats and scarves, and here I am in two long sleeve shirts and a light hoodie. Seriously it was so cold. When we got off the bus we had to walk in this miserable weather to our hostel. And it wasn’t that close. I think it was about a thirty minute walk. We just wanted to check in and drop off our heavy bags and then leave and go see some of the city. We walked in and got everything situated and stuff, put our sheets on our bed and then go
t ready to leave. The hostel was different. I think we just got really lucky in Portugal, because that hostel was amazing and more like a quaint hotel. This one, first of all smelled awful everywhere (the room, the hall, the bathroom). Also, we were in a room with 16 people so it was just weird, and the bathroom was down the hall, and less than my standard for sure. By this time we were hungry so we asked the lady at the front desk where to get some good fish and chips. We walked to were she told us to go and had lunch there. It was so good! I loved the food. And, probably the best part ever, they had REAL ketchup! I used more than normal just because I miss it so much J. One of the things that I realized almost instantly was that I could read all the signs because they were all in english! I haven’t been able to do that for almost a month now! Another funny thing was that in Barcelona when we are trying to find somewhere to go eat, if anything is in English, its like steer clear of there, because its probably really bad food, so I kept thinking in my head, ew, not that, its probably gross, just out of habit from spain. Anyway, after we ate we started walking around, sort of following a path working our way to St. Pauls Cathedral. We stopped along the way in souvenir shops and stuff like that. When we got to St. Pauls, we had some coffee outside waiting for some in our group who had gone shopping 
for a minute. The coffee was good, nothing special, but loads better than Spain. We walked around St. Pauls and took pictures and stuff, because its gorgeous! We wanted to go inside but it was really expensive, so we decided not to, and just to keep seeing stuff. We walked across the Millennium bridge, which was cool, and then went to the tate modern. It’s just a museum, which I’m not a huge fan of, but we were told to go by some of our professors back home, and we were so miserably cold that the warmth was welcomed. We didn’t stay long at all, just enough to thaw out some, and psyc. Ourselves out to go back out. We walked along the Thames river taking pictures along the way of course. We passed the globe theatre, and in the distance could see the London eye and the tip top of parliament, and on the other side, the Tower Bridge and this cool skyscraper designed by Norman Foster. We passed the city hall, also designed by Norman Foster, and went in and looked around a little too. It’s a really cool looking building. After that we walked across the Tower Bridge back to the other side of the Thames. We walked around making our
way back to our hostel but walking in clothing stores along the way. We walked up to the Lloyds of London building. Then we got tickets for the tube(metro) to go back to our hostel. The tickets for one ride were 5 pounds..equivalent to 10 dollars! That’s crazy. In Barcelona they are only 7 euros for 10 rides so only about 10 dollars. When we got back, we just got a little snack for dinner and chilled at the hostel. We were going to go out but we were all so exhausted we decided against it. We ended up meeting this guy at the hostel from Australia and talking to him for a long time and then just going to bed.
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