Wednesday we checked into our hostel, which initially was a bit of a disappointment. By Wednesday afternoon I was tired, and starting to feel a bit homesick. In retrospect, I think it was a combination of jet lag and all the Guinness I drank in Dublin. The hostel in London was significantly larger, but also more crowded and less relaxed feeling than Dublin- kind of like if you were to compare the cities themselves. We also were in a 16 bed dorm with all women, so I felt a bit like a sardine. After a nap though, my mood drastically improved and I was ready to investigate dinner. Nat and I did some Yelping and decided on a Thai place down the road that promised amazing food for a good price, despite their run down appearance. I had a delicious green curry and was quite pleased with my choice, delicious!!! After that we soaked up some wifi in the common room and hit the hay early.
Thursday we had full intentions of waking up early and beginning the day with a walking tour of London, but early ended up being 11 so we opted for the 3pm tour instead. After we woke up we went and got coffee and then made our way over to Covent Park to a good fish and chips place we had heard about. They only had take out so we ate it outside a park...yes, outside...because this was a private park that required a key? I don't get it either.
All in all, a great tour (for free!) and we also got discounted tickets for a pub crawl! After the tour we went out for drinks and appetizers with Miley, a girl from the tour at a swanky London bar during happy hour, the back to our room for leftover Thai food and an early to bed night. Zzzzzz
Friday we took the tube up to Camden with Miley, which is an area filled with really cool food and shopping markets. While a lot of it was touristy stuff, I loved the jewelry portion and picked up a couple rings to adorn myself with. We ate some food from the massive market, (I had falafel, it was delish, sorry I forgot to grab a photo) and then wandered back to our hostel to rest up before the pub crawl. Once napped and revived we were ready for the stunning nightlife of London. The first couple bars were very standard "pubs" I would say....World Cup games, beers, little wooden booths, but then the bars started getting a bit more interesting. We went to one called "Proud" which was an old horse stable where you could hang out in the horse stalls with your group, or head out onto the giant terrace. The fourth one was a pretty standard bar, but we danced a lot so that's always fun. It amuses me to no ends that Europeans are listening to music that I would consider a throwback...."Teenage Dirtbag" came on three times during the evening. The last bar, called "Koko" was really more like a music venue. It was massive and there was a live band playing.
Saturday morning we got up and went over to Borough Market and to see the Tower Bridge. The market was this amazing place with every type of food you could imagine, and I found myself filling up with little samples of everything. I didn't buy anything to eat because we had afternoon tea planned, but I think I got a good taste of most things. My favorite thing to see? Prosciutto, as fresh asyou can get it....Mom, this photo is for you:
After seeing the market and the bridge, we came back to Kings Cross area to meet Miley for tea! A delicious almondy Rooibus tea and some cured meats, cheeses, olives and bread later I was full and happy and ready to continue my journey to Paris (where I actually am now, but that's a different blog post ;)
Almost forgot to mention! England has the best reminders to get Pap smears I've ever seen, so that was pleasing! Once a health advocate, always a health advocate!
Anywho, enjoy and stay tuned for my adventures in Paris in a few days!
Xoxo










Wow! What a full couple of days! I love the mind the gap sign.
ReplyDelete