We set off on a late flight Friday night arriving in "London" or about an hour away and eventually made it to our hotel at about 2 in the morning. Needless to say it was necessary that we sleep in the next day. However, we managed to pull ourselves out of bed and see what London had to offer. The last time I had been in London I was only there for a few hours and before that I was too young that I only remember purchasing a zebra mask from the zoo and that was my excitement so I was excited to revisit London.
Managing to figure out the Tube, we headed to take part in a free tour being offered. We arrived early and had some time to kill so we walked around for a bit and somehow wound up in front of Harrod's and enjoyed a nice chai latte from Starbuck's which has been greatly missed. Eventually we made it to the meeting place of the tour, but when we arrived learned that our tour guide had had some car trouble so we were off on our own. We were near Buckingham Palace so we walked past Hyde Park and went to the Palace. Being back there gave me massive amounts of deja vu from when I had been there with my family. From Buckingham, we walked through another park and I loved the blooming trees and all of the daffodils popping up everywhere, it certainly made for a beautiful weekend and great excitement for spring! We then walked past the War Cabinet museum and came to Big Ben, Parliament, and Westminster Abbey. Just as we were standing around taking pictures of Big Ben, two of my friends began to scream "Kevin, Kevin!" Confused I turned around and it turned out that someone they knew from NUI Maynooth was just standing there too taking pictures! What a coincidence it turned out to be! So we walked around with him for a bit and then we went with him across the city to St. Paul's Cathedral for a prayer service. I was surprised at how large St. Paul's and greatly impressed with its beauty. We then looked for dinner and taking after many of our Irish friends, Audrey and I bought our dinner at Marks and Spencers since everything is already made for you there. We then waited for our other two friends to get their food as we sat outside looking as though we were homeless by eating our dinner on the side of a building. Jackie and Bridget's friend Kevin then came along and then trying to make a joke he put a folder with some spare change on it trying to make it look as though we were beggars. Oh dear was I embarrassed! From there we said our good-bye to Kevin and headed back to our hotel and got ready for the evening. Once we were ready to go, we headed to the Tube and went to meet Jackie's friend from Notre Dame who was studying in London. He took us around to different pubs and we got a bit of London nightlife. We finished the night at McDonald's bored and so we tried to win the Monopoly game by collecting as many pieces as we could from everyone we met, but unfortunately were not successful in winning anything. Eventually we made it back to our hotel and were ready for some sleep.
The next day was jampacked, but Audrey woke up with a sore throat and stayed in bed for the day. So Jackie, Bridget, and I headed out to see the rest of London. We started out by heading to West Kensington to see my "cousin" Susannah sing at a service. It was great to see her even though it was only for a short period of time. From there we went to King's Cross and saw Platform 9 3/4 from Harry Potter. The three of us took a few pictures and my picture where I hid my hand in my sleeve and put it against the wall to make it appear as though it made it through the wall and into the "wizard world" was a huge hit with all of the other tourists in the line behind us. Leaving my stardom behind, we wandered to see if there were any shows on for later that day which would interest us. However, we eventually decided against going and met up again with Jackie's friend, David. From there, the four of us went to the National Gallery where I was able to see an original of Picasso's from his oh-so vibrant blue period. After taking in the glory of one of the best artists to ever live, along with Degas and Monet, we went for lunch at a Chinese buffet. We had tried to go to some of the best fish and chips in London, but being a Sunday it was closed. However, the chinese buffet was one of the best I had ever had. After lunch, we headed around the corner and went to another museum which housed the Rosetta Stone. For some reason since I was younger, I have always wanted to see the stone. For what reason? I have absolutely no idea despite the obvious magnificence. We wandered for a bit longer throughout the museum seeing fascinating exhibits and were able to see actual mummies...hmm. From there we walked back where the Notre Dame students are housed, said good-bye to David, and then took the Tube to see the Tower Bridge. We walked along the Thames and finally made it to the bridge and then walked across it. After a long day, we were ready to head back to the hotel. However, by the time we arrived back, Susannah had texted me and finally able to make it out of the hotel room, Audrey and I went to dinner with Susannah. She and her roommate gave us a little driving tour of the city and then took us across town to an area she described as London's Brooklyn. When we arrived, I certainly agreed with the description. Wherever we had gone was certainly a bit rougher around the edges, more artistic and full of people from all different nations with the smell of curry hanging heavy in the air. This part of London had certainly gone away from the city's stereotype of pristine and royal. I liked wherever we had been taken and we were off to try a pizza place Susannah had heard about. As we walked through the streets the streets were a bit dirty and people were running around everywhere, but there was an energy about the place that made you want to explore more. We spotted a simple white sign with Pizza and a arrow pointing written on it. As discreet as it was, the restaurant was amazing. We walked in and it looked as though it were more of an art gallery rather than a pizza place. Everyone was sitting on boxes and the tables were made of wood boards supported by various objects such as wood horses. There were all sorts of things hanging from the ceiling. I swore it was an art gallery, but when I received my pizza I confirmed my suspicions. The pizza was better than any other I had ever had. The pizza itself was the art and I was the buyer. The thin bread held up a variety of different ingredients which made it gourmet and decadent with ham and artichokes and a host of other glories. I was completely satisfied and may never be able to eat another pizza the same way again. When we left, Susannah drove us around a bit more and then we were off to the hotel and said good-bye. It was wonderful to see her and have some more family I knew over here to keep in contact with.
When we got to the room, we quickly packed and then went to straight to bed since we had to be up at 3:30 to catch a bus to our airport for a 6:50 flight to Dublin. After incredibly long lines for us to simply hand over our tickets to be stamped and to get through security, we literally sprinted through the entire airport which was incredibly too long to get back to our gate and after two stairs and massively long hallways, we made it to our gate just in time and made our flight. Thankfully we made it back ok and although I wish we could have spent a few more days in London, I was happy to be home despite the rain we were greeted with!
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