May 18, 2010-
I woke up to a beautiful clear, sunny day as Molly and I walked down to the train station to catch our ride at 7:22 AM. After a 3.5 hour train ride we arrived at the London Euston station. We found a place to buy a tube train pass and headed to find our hostel. When we thought we had found our stop, we got off and headed toward the exit. When we put our tickets through the machine though, if wouldn't let us through. Turns out we had only bought a pass for zones 1 and 2, when our hostel was in zone 3. Thinking we were stuck, the man in charge told us we could simply update our card for a little extra cash. We were glad we got that taken care of. As we began walking around the town the train had dropped us off in, Molly and I realized we had gotten off at the wrong stop. It was a rough start to the day but we eventually found our stop and made it to our hostel. We were staying at the London Backpacker's Hostel in a 12 person female room. We didn't know what to expect but as soon as we got to our room we met a nice Canadian girl who was traveling by herself around London. We became pretty friendly with her, getting to know her and sharing our travel stories. After Molly and I changed into our concert clothes we hopped on the tube again to head to King's cross to see Platform 9 3/4, like in Harry Potter. We walked around for quite awhile at the station trying to find this landmark and finally game in to ask someone, sounding like a typical tourist. We finally found the area where a half trolley cart was sticking out of the wall with a label above that said Platform 9 3/4. Of course, it was nowhere near platform 9 or 10. Our next stop was to London Bridge. As we were walking to see the famous bridge we got mixed into a group of business people who had appeared to have gathered for a fire drill. We continued to follow them until we realized they were walking into a parking garage back to their work, so we quickly escaped that pack of people, embarrassed that we thought they were tourists that knew where they were going. We walked along the Thames River enjoying the nice weather. We rode to Tower Hill next to check out the Tower of London where all the Jewels are kept and saw the famous Tower Bridge. Our next stop was to St. James Wood where the famous Abbey Road is located. We walked about 5 minutes from the station and came across the same exact street crossing The Beatles crossed for their album picture. There were a number of people crowding around waiting to take their picture crossing the road. The Abbey studio was located just beyond the crossing. Molly and I quickly took pictures of us crossing, avoiding getting hit by the cars passing by. I can only imagine how tired they are of having to wait for tourists to take their pictures everyday there. We hurried to the tube to catch the train to Wembly Central to see the Flight of the Conchords concert at Wembly Stadium. We grabbed dinner and found our way to the entrance. The concert was amazing and both Molly and I were laughing the whole time. Even Dave from Flight of the Conchords, Arj Barker, told jokes at the beginning of the show. I love his humor! It wasn't long before the concert was over, but I had a great time and could hardly believe I got to fulfil one of my dreams of seeing Bret and Jemaine live from the second row in London! I even got a picture with Arj Barker after the show. We found our way home after a long day, struggling to stay awake and climbed into our beds with the other girls asleep already. At some point during the night one of the girls yelled at the other girl to stop moving and making noise. Molly and I both got pretty scared since it had woken us up and were afraid there was going to be a big girl fight. They argued a bit but nothing more, guess that's what happens when you put 12 girls into a room together.
May 19, 2010-
The next morning Molly and I got up early to shower and get ready for the day. The hostel provided breakfast where we got to talk to our Canadian friend again. Our first stop for the day was to St. James Park to watch the changing of the guards at the Buckingham Palace. We got there extra early to get a good view. We were right outside the gates with a great view of the ceremony of the changing of the guards. At one point two of the guards came marching straight toward us! It was pretty neat seeing them up close and person. I couldn't imagine having to do that everyday though. We walked along the outside of St. James Park. It was so beautiful with all its trees and the sun was shinning. There were so many runners too! I was really surprised, but if I had a beautiful place like that to run in, I would too. We walked past Big Ben, the Parliament, saw the London Eye, and Westminster Abbey. The clock just struck 1pm when we walked past the abbey so we were able to listen to the bells. We were really hungry so we stopped at a Pasty shop to try the famous Cornish Pasty made in Cornwall and shipped to London. I had a steak pasty and it was delicious! We stopped at a near by McDonald's to get a McFlurry, of course, to end our meal right. We hopped on the train again to Knightsbridge to do some shopping and stop at Harrods. I couldn't believe how big Harrods was! There were over 5 floors in Harrods full of clothes, accessories, and toys. It was so easy to get lost. We spent most of our time in the toys, having fun looking at all the neat stuff. After too much fun and a good hour spent in Harrods we did a bit more shopping around the city. It was all so expensive though, ranging from Burberry to Dolce and Gabbana! At one of the stores there were even paparazzi standing right outside the store. We thought that was pretty neat and wondered who it could have been. We hopped on the tube to the Euston train station and began our trip back to Bangor. It had been another long day, but I had a blast getting lost and finding my way with Molly =)
I woke up to a beautiful clear, sunny day as Molly and I walked down to the train station to catch our ride at 7:22 AM. After a 3.5 hour train ride we arrived at the London Euston station. We found a place to buy a tube train pass and headed to find our hostel. When we thought we had found our stop, we got off and headed toward the exit. When we put our tickets through the machine though, if wouldn't let us through. Turns out we had only bought a pass for zones 1 and 2, when our hostel was in zone 3. Thinking we were stuck, the man in charge told us we could simply update our card for a little extra cash. We were glad we got that taken care of. As we began walking around the town the train had dropped us off in, Molly and I realized we had gotten off at the wrong stop. It was a rough start to the day but we eventually found our stop and made it to our hostel. We were staying at the London Backpacker's Hostel in a 12 person female room. We didn't know what to expect but as soon as we got to our room we met a nice Canadian girl who was traveling by herself around London. We became pretty friendly with her, getting to know her and sharing our travel stories. After Molly and I changed into our concert clothes we hopped on the tube again to head to King's cross to see Platform 9 3/4, like in Harry Potter. We walked around for quite awhile at the station trying to find this landmark and finally game in to ask someone, sounding like a typical tourist. We finally found the area where a half trolley cart was sticking out of the wall with a label above that said Platform 9 3/4. Of course, it was nowhere near platform 9 or 10. Our next stop was to London Bridge. As we were walking to see the famous bridge we got mixed into a group of business people who had appeared to have gathered for a fire drill. We continued to follow them until we realized they were walking into a parking garage back to their work, so we quickly escaped that pack of people, embarrassed that we thought they were tourists that knew where they were going. We walked along the Thames River enjoying the nice weather. We rode to Tower Hill next to check out the Tower of London where all the Jewels are kept and saw the famous Tower Bridge. Our next stop was to St. James Wood where the famous Abbey Road is located. We walked about 5 minutes from the station and came across the same exact street crossing The Beatles crossed for their album picture. There were a number of people crowding around waiting to take their picture crossing the road. The Abbey studio was located just beyond the crossing. Molly and I quickly took pictures of us crossing, avoiding getting hit by the cars passing by. I can only imagine how tired they are of having to wait for tourists to take their pictures everyday there. We hurried to the tube to catch the train to Wembly Central to see the Flight of the Conchords concert at Wembly Stadium. We grabbed dinner and found our way to the entrance. The concert was amazing and both Molly and I were laughing the whole time. Even Dave from Flight of the Conchords, Arj Barker, told jokes at the beginning of the show. I love his humor! It wasn't long before the concert was over, but I had a great time and could hardly believe I got to fulfil one of my dreams of seeing Bret and Jemaine live from the second row in London! I even got a picture with Arj Barker after the show. We found our way home after a long day, struggling to stay awake and climbed into our beds with the other girls asleep already. At some point during the night one of the girls yelled at the other girl to stop moving and making noise. Molly and I both got pretty scared since it had woken us up and were afraid there was going to be a big girl fight. They argued a bit but nothing more, guess that's what happens when you put 12 girls into a room together.
May 19, 2010-
The next morning Molly and I got up early to shower and get ready for the day. The hostel provided breakfast where we got to talk to our Canadian friend again. Our first stop for the day was to St. James Park to watch the changing of the guards at the Buckingham Palace. We got there extra early to get a good view. We were right outside the gates with a great view of the ceremony of the changing of the guards. At one point two of the guards came marching straight toward us! It was pretty neat seeing them up close and person. I couldn't imagine having to do that everyday though. We walked along the outside of St. James Park. It was so beautiful with all its trees and the sun was shinning. There were so many runners too! I was really surprised, but if I had a beautiful place like that to run in, I would too. We walked past Big Ben, the Parliament, saw the London Eye, and Westminster Abbey. The clock just struck 1pm when we walked past the abbey so we were able to listen to the bells. We were really hungry so we stopped at a Pasty shop to try the famous Cornish Pasty made in Cornwall and shipped to London. I had a steak pasty and it was delicious! We stopped at a near by McDonald's to get a McFlurry, of course, to end our meal right. We hopped on the train again to Knightsbridge to do some shopping and stop at Harrods. I couldn't believe how big Harrods was! There were over 5 floors in Harrods full of clothes, accessories, and toys. It was so easy to get lost. We spent most of our time in the toys, having fun looking at all the neat stuff. After too much fun and a good hour spent in Harrods we did a bit more shopping around the city. It was all so expensive though, ranging from Burberry to Dolce and Gabbana! At one of the stores there were even paparazzi standing right outside the store. We thought that was pretty neat and wondered who it could have been. We hopped on the tube to the Euston train station and began our trip back to Bangor. It had been another long day, but I had a blast getting lost and finding my way with Molly =)
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