On Friday, Emma and I went into London, checked into the hostel and waited for Kylea and Anna H to arrive... We went to a little Italian restaurant around the corner and had a fantastic chat and decent meal. Emma and I laughed that Penne alla Arabiatta was on the menu - we've been laughing at Eddy Izzarrd's joke all week! (will put the link on here soon!) Anyway We were waiting for Iva to show up, but she had told us she'd be arriving at 10pm...
We were all staying at the Palm Lodge in Swiss Cottage, and got back to Kylea's room to find my favourite Czech - IVA!!! We had a quick catch up, but she was hungover so Em, Kylea and I got ready, said goodnight to the others and got ready. We ended up drinking vodka, juice and red bull on my bed in our 20-bed dorm, having whispered conversation... We went into Camden, and not knowing where to go, we befriended a security guard eating a huge slice of pizza... He pointed us to the Cuban club, where had a massive night dancing salsa until the club shut! It took us a while to leave the Stables, cos we were chatting to all the locals (then I casually put on an American accent and claimed I was from Tennessee... Like you do)
Unfortunately we got to bed quite late, with quite a lot of vodka in the system, so waking up at 8am with the rest of the dorm was a tad difficult. We slowly manouvered towards the 31 bus, and went to the Camden markets - WOOHOO!! (Jordi practically ordered me to go while I was here three years ago; I never made it until now!) We had such great weather, and once we got to the main drag we ambled our way through the crazy punk stores, souvenir shops and then into the Stables Market. We browsed through the various avenues of this amazing place, looking at all the t-shirts, jewelry, postcards, nick-nacks and capturing as much of it as I could in my photos...
Another great part of the markets was the food places! Delicious looking curries, mexican, noodles - worked wonders for the hangover! There was a Chinese place that thrust fried chicken - 'bang bang chicken' - in our face, to try it for free! Which I did.... It was delicious, so I walked past a few times. Haha... We ended up having it for lunch; £2 for bang bang chicken and noodles! Yes please!
Once we'd basically exhausted the markets, streets and shops of Camden, we went back to the hostel and met up with Anna and her brother Matt. Saying goodbye to Em, we went for a walkabout in London. This was so nice, we walked around Soho, chatting away, catching up as we went through the bustling city. Along Oxford St we found HAMLEYS Toy Store!!!!! My childhood memories came flooding back, from when I was in here with Daddy when I was little! We saw all the plushies, the teddies, and the games (yes, I dragged all our friends around the toy store!) and I felt all the excitement of a child...
Once we'd basically exhausted the markets, streets and shops of Camden, we went back to the hostel and met up with Anna and her brother Matt. Saying goodbye to Em, we went for a walkabout in London. This was so nice, we walked around Soho, chatting away, catching up as we went through the bustling city. Along Oxford St we found HAMLEYS Toy Store!!!!! My childhood memories came flooding back, from when I was in here with Daddy when I was little! We saw all the plushies, the teddies, and the games (yes, I dragged all our friends around the toy store!) and I felt all the excitement of a child...
Sadly, noone else felt my enthusiasm for Hamleys, so down to Regent St and Oxford St we went. Then we walked through Green Park, where I complained there werent enough squirrels around, and Matt explained how they were hibernating... Makes sense, it was quiiite cold, and apparently snowed a few weeks ago... The sunset was beautiful, orangey red and very clear. Then we emerged at the wonderously lit Buckingham Palace!
And the best surprise was finding my wonderful Swiss friend, ANNA G!!!! It was so great to see her, we all gave her a massive hug, then took more photos. We walked back to the tube, said goodbye to Matt and trained back to Swiss Cottage. We went to the local pub 'Ye Olde Swiss Cottage' to have a drink, talk more, have some grungy pub food (steak and ale pie with chips and gravy, with a pint of cider for good measure) and catch up with my old friends from Salzburg :)
And the best surprise was finding my wonderful Swiss friend, ANNA G!!!! It was so great to see her, we all gave her a massive hug, then took more photos. We walked back to the tube, said goodbye to Matt and trained back to Swiss Cottage. We went to the local pub 'Ye Olde Swiss Cottage' to have a drink, talk more, have some grungy pub food (steak and ale pie with chips and gravy, with a pint of cider for good measure) and catch up with my old friends from Salzburg :)
The five of us went to Camden (for a second night!!) and bar hopped, danced, drank and had a great time! We caught the 31 night bus back to the hostel at some ridiculous hour, had a great sleep and was up in time to check out, and see Kylea and her friend Megan off at the train station...
Sunday was spent in the National Portrait Gallery with Iva, and the two Anna's. All I can say is WOW!! From the building itself to the artwork, paintings ranging from the 13th century to the early 20th, it was beautiful, interesting, inspiring and awesome! It is hard to put into words just how fantastic a place that houses these masterpieces really is, but I took down some names of amazing works/artists that I saw: Da Vinci, Boticelli, Michelangelo, Raphael, to Monet (my first experience with Impressionists!) and Van Gogh. There were others - from the Netherlands, Britain and Germany, which were amazing, and I will fill in later. Another great part about the NPG is that they ACTUALLY explain the painting - sometimes explaining its contents, what this represented for the time period, or information about the artist. Fantastic!
As the afternoon wore on, I farewelled Anna and Iva and caught the train back to Paddington, to go bowling with Emma and Chris... I got a Bagel Nation bagel for the train ride - ummm, delicious!!! Chicken, melted cheese and BBQ sauce, and zero calories! (SHHH TRAVELLING!)
I was so engrossed in said delicious bagel however, that I nearly got off the train at Slough (ARGH!) but thankfully I caught myself at the last minute, then went and sat in another carriage so I didnt look stupid... At Ems, we caught up on Em's favourite TV show 'Got to Dance' which features her future husband Ashley Banjo. It was the final and coolest dance crew Prodijig won!! They do Irish Dancing but to kinda hip-hop music...
Bowling was super dooper fun, I got to meet Chris' work mates Robyn from Yorkshire (tbc!) and Will from Wales (haha). Tto form I was pretty good in the first game, but went steadily downhill to lose the second, and barely beat Em for 4th place in the third game. However, we WERE battling a lane which cambered left - honestly!! It was ridiculous. We also got a plate of food (including curley fries! YAY!) and then greasy hand + heavy ball = gutter :(
At home, we planned on having an early night, however Em then decided she was going to watch The Proposal, featuring her other future husband Ryan Reynolds (did I mention Emma is now Mormon?) She went to sleep happy, and I went to sleep a little snotty as I seem to have a little cold. TOTALLY WORTH IT for the best week in London!!
Kylea told me about your American accent and the whole pretending-to-be-from-Tennessee thing when she visited me in Barcelona...I couldn't stop laughing. I'm gonna have to hear that live in person!
ReplyDeleteI miss you Ace!