London with Grace: Day 3 (23/5)

Grace and I had already been in London two days and not gone to Harrod's so I had to change that. After breakfast we too the Tube over to Harrod's. It was just opening as we arrived there and once we got inside the first thing we checked out were the food halls. The food halls are just so cool and have so many delicacies, including Krispy Kreme, which is a favorite of Grace's, so naturally we had to pick up a couple doughnuts. They did not disappoint and tasted just like Krispy Kreme does in the US.

After having some doughnuts we looked around the Toy Kingdom and the Pet Kingdom (apparently Harrod's likes monarchy's). I think Grace enjoyed seeing Harrod's and we each got a souvenir. I bought myself a bottle of Burberry London perfume for special occassions (I thought that it doesn't get more legitimate than buying Burberry London while at Harrod's in London) and Grace bought a Cuban cigar, something that she can't get in the US. My perfume was also somewhat special to me because it was a pre-flight ritual of mine to spray on Burberry London from the tester at a store in the airport (as I've mentioned, airports are like malls in Europe) before flying out of Dublin. And the men working the perfume section were so cute in a stereotypical British way.

After we had our stylish green bags from Harrod's we headed over to Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens. Once we got there Grace could not resist her Cuban any longer and had to light it up. Here is photo evidence:

A video recap of Grace's London experience:

I had to see the sights that my guidebook suggested (as always) so we headed over to the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain (not that great) and the Peter Pan statue. It was a cute statue and we got a cute sister picture in front of it.

Next stop: Baker Street. Yes, we did see 221b Baker Street from the outside but the reason that we traveled there was to go to a Beatles store. Grace got some socks for her friend Nancy that were purple with yellow submarines on them. We then got some coffee drinks and went back to the hostel to start re-packing for our trip to Paris. After getting back to the hostel we also called our mom to update her on our British adventures. Nothing too exciting.

Since it was so good the first time and we don't have a good Thai restaurant at home we couldn't resist going to the Thai restaurant we went to the first night before Les Miz. It was named Thai Square and it was just as good the second time as the first. Grace got a virgin pina colada and we also got a this great chicken dish that tastes just like Tommy's* Thai basil leaves. If you closed your eyes they tasted the same and Grace and I were just shocked. Too bad this place is all the way in London or we would go there all the time.

After dinner Grace and I walked over to Piccadilly Circus to look around and then headed back to the hostel to get ready for our 3:30 am bus to the airport. I had to finished packing and also arrange a taxi to pick us up to take us to the bus that would take us to the airport outside of London. I'm sure you won't be surprised by this, but I freaked out about getting to the airport on time to catch our flight and could barely sleep that night because I was so worried. I also had to call my mother and stress about it to her.

You'll have to tune in next time to see if the Fisher Sisters make it on the plane to Paris!

*Tommy was the owner of Bahn Thai, the Fisher's favorite Thai restaurant. He moved back to Thailand and is very greatly missed, especially his basil leaves and the pork dish #49.

London-Day 4

We began our last day in London with a breakfast at the hostel at 8:30. After breakfast I was still worn out from the past two days so I took a nap until 10:30. After Brittany woke me up we bid farewell to the London Bridge Hostel and set off to see the London with all our luggage on our backs. Yes, we carried around our 15 lb backpacks for the rest of the day, but it wasn’t that bad.

First stop were some typical British phone booths by Westminster. We wanted to get pictures here so that Big Ben would be in the background. I think they turned out cute.

We walked in the general direction of Trafalgar Square and on the way saw 10 Downing Street with its armed guards stationed outside. I don’t know what I was expecting from Trafalgar Square but it was very impressive. I loved the fountains especially. I wanted to sit on one of the lions but it was slick due to the rain and I didn’t want to chip a tooth again.

10 Downing Street

National Gallery

Nelson's Column

It had begun to rain while we were admiring Trafalgar Square so we headed into some of the souvenir shops around that area to look for things to spend our last remaining British pounds on. You see, each of us only took out 100 pounds from the ATM when we got there and that was to cover our hostel and all our food, souvenirs, and city transportation. I have to say that we did an excellent job staying on budget. The whole trip cost only about 200 euro, including airfare but not including my Billy Elliot tickets because they were a gift. I think that is pretty darn good.

So we browsed around the souvenir shops because Brittany wanted to start a collection of shot glasses from all the places that we go throughout our stay in Europe and we had to find the perfect one to represent the UK. I want to start a collection of something but cannot decide what as shot glasses are not very me. I am considering tea cups or Christmas ornaments, although tea cups can be rather fragile and it is not a good season for Christmas ornaments (turns out Harrod’s sells everything except Christmas ornaments.) Anyway, if anyone has any suggestions I would love to hear them.

Because this was our last day in London we decided to travel back to Harrod’s and explore it further. On our way there we stopped at the Spaghettihouse and got some lunch because we were both starving and we cannot afford food at Harrod’s. The pasta was just so-so but the bruscetta was very delicious.

When we got to Harrod’s we were more than happy to pay the three pounds to check our very heavy backpacks and began exploring. The first thing we saw was another Diana and Dodi Memorial. This was a statue of them grasping hand while releasing a bird above the words “Innocent Victims.” You see, Dodi Al Fayed’s father owns Harrod’s, hence the numerous memorials. We also signed the memorial book by the statue.

Egyptian Room

Food Hall

Chandelier in Food Hall

It took us another two hours to fully discover Harrod’s. We took a walk through the fossil gallery, containing all sorts of rare stones, the Pet Kingdom which offered the classiest things for your pet, the piano section, and even searched for the bulletproof clothing. Harrod’s offers quite a selection. We eventually made our way to the Harrod’s souvenir shop where Brittany bought some Harrod’s shot glasses and I got a nice leather bookmark. Successful shopping trip.

We walked over to Piccadilly Circus again, stopping at many souvenir shops on the way because it was raining heavier now. Our other hangouts for the trip were McDonald’s. You see, sometimes you just need somewhere to sit and look at a map or use the bathroom and McDonald’s is the perfect place. We have been in Mickey D’s all across London.

We made our way to Victoria Station to get the Gatwick Express back to the Gatwick Airport. We were supposed to meet Stevie there as well but her phone died and she ended up meeting us at the airport. By the time we got to Victoria Station I was damp, cold, and tired from the day and ready to get back to my own bed in Dublin.

I have noticed that the airports in Europe are like malls. Seriously, most of the airport, as far as I can tell, was dedicated to retail. There was even a Harrod’s there (with some good deals I might add.) We spent our time before the flight journaling and just resting. The real drama came when Stevie misread her boarding pass and told us we were at Gate 8. Well we get to the entrance to that section of gates and the guy working there tells us there is no Gate 8. We all thought he was joking but turns out that there is in fact no Gate 8 and Stevie was just the eighth person to check in. No worries, we did get to our real gate on time, but what kind of airport just doesn’t have a Gate 8.

We arrived at the Dublin airport, the guy in immigration applauded me for skipping class to go to London, and boarded the AirCoach to go back to UCD ending our English adventure. What a great weekend (although I think I am still recovering)!

London-Day 2: Whirlwind Tour

After our less than perfect first couple hours in London on Saturday night we were ready to do some major sightseeing in the city. In the morning light everything looked better. We packed everything we possibly could into our four days in London so prepare to be impressed considering we walked about 30 miles over the whole trip just to see everything.

First up, Parliament. This is easily my favorite sight in London because it is so impressive and very English.

I fell in love in London. His name is Ben and he is really tall.

And right next door was Westminster Abbey. We didn’t go inside because it was kinda costly but it was stunning outside.

Up next, Buckingham Palace and I wasn’t impressed. Sure, it was big, but not ornate or particularly palace-like. It kinda reminded me of the Field Museum. We returned the next day for the Changing of the Guard, also not that impressive.

Calvary

And whereas Buckingham did not meet my expectations, Harrod’s far exceeded them. I just thought that Harrod’s was a place to go while you are in London, but it turns out it is the Disneyland of department stores. And it was Valentine’s Day, so although I did not have a Valentine I could give myself a special day.

Brittany and I got an ice cream sundae in the food court and it was heavenly. The atmosphere was just perfect and the sundae was delicious. I just love Harrod’s! I’m hoping to marry rich so I can fully enjoy all it has to offer.

Another highlight of Harrod’s was the Toy Kingdom. All the toys and colours and toy demonstrations were magical. I could have stayed and looked around for hours. We ventured back to Harrod's on Tuesday so more Harrod's pictures to come.

Next up on the Brittany and Claire Whirlwind Tour was Piccadilly Circus to pick up our London Passes which gave us free entry to attractions and fast access. Then we started mastering the tube so we could go to…

Platform 9 ¾!

From Harry Potter!

When we got to King’s Cross and located Platform 9 ¾ there were just a bunch of tourists standing around taking pictures. Well leave it to Claire and Brittany to start the trend of pushing the cart. I did however get too enthusiastic about pushing it and accidentally pushed the bar down which cut up my fingers. But I do have a great picture of myself entering Platform 9 3/4.

And while we had a day pass on the tube we ventured to the most famous crosswalk in the world!

Abbey Road is quite possibly the most dangerous tourist destination ever. It is a lively street and people are running out into the middle of it. They will then spend a decent amount of time positioning themselves to look like the Beatles, then their photographer will sprint out into the street to snap more than one picture, possibly providing critique about how to hold their arms throughout. Notice I did not pose because I felt bad stopping traffic and didn't want to risk my life. Perhaps when my family joins me in London we'll take our Christmas card photo here.

One of the traditions here is to sign the wall outside Abbey Road Studios, so like a good tourist I did.

And then we rode the tube to the hostel. One curious thing about the tube was the lack of “Mind the Gap” signs. A voice did come on the intercom and say “mind the gap” while people were entering and exiting the cars. I have to say that I have pride in our tube achievements over the weekend because you name it and we can tell you how to get there on the subway.

After a long day of sightseeing we had some pepperoni pizza at the London Bridge Hostel that was surprisingly delicious for being made at a hostel. We journaled a little and reflected on the day before getting ready to hit the town for Valentine’s Day, but I think that is a story for another post.