EUROTRIP BEGINNINGS

The following was written on Thursday, Oct 8th... in case you get confused about my writing tense:

NORTHWEST AIRLINES:

We scored a $675 plane ticket, open jaw from SEA --> LHR / VCE --> SEA but unfortunately you get what you pay for: a delayed outgoing flight, only 10 minutes to spare to catch our transfer in Minneapolis/St. Paul and bad quality airplane monitors.

Our first flight was domestic but due to some weather and apparently construction issues, our flight was delayed by 30 minutes, leaving us only 10 minutes to deboard the plane, find food, and find our transferring flight gate before boarding to London. The movie they played was "My Sister's Keeper" but the monitor ended up blurring the movie for the last 30 remaining 30 minutes of the movie. Both Soaps and I were sad since we heard good reviews about the movie and have been meaning to watch it.

Our second flight was much roomier and we also got dinner, which I assumed we didn't since I never get fed for free on domestic flights. We were served dinner right after we stuffed our faces with Chinese food we bought at MSP. Our touch screens were pretty cool until they kept restarting every once in awhile =/ On the other hand, I saved my food for a midnight snack and it was actually really good vegetarian pasta.



LONDON:

[WED 7.10.09] Once we landed in London it was a long line to get to "interrogation". They only asked me a few questions and I was on my way but for some reason they held Soaps back for a few more questions. It was her first time traveling international and she was nervous already so this did not help with her stress level. We got through and everything was fine until we picked up our luggage and couldn't find our other friends who flew via British Airways. We landed in different terminals and had to meet at the central terminal after costing each other 1.50 in text messages.

We then purchased a train ticket to London which cost about 7 pounds. My friend almost purchased the Heathrow Express ticket for double the price. Our stop, Paddington was only a few stops away . Our first view of London was the stop immediately following the airport, Harem, which reminded me of the ghettos of the Bay Area when riding the BART. I was surprised at how ghetto most of the stops were, actually. I just assumed everything in London was pretty like in the movies. Our area, however, is quite nice and sometimes I wonder if love actually is all around... The point of the Heathrow Express was to skip all the ghetto parts and travel straight from the airport to Paddington Station.

Most people vacation to a spot where weather is nice and everyone dresses half naked, however, the weather in London was almost identical to our dreary Seattle weather. The irony of this was that when we left Seattle, it was nice sunny weather. We had to roll our luggage through puddles and find our hotel. However, once we found it, there was a sign saying we had to check in across the street... pretty inconvenient if you ask me! On top of their reception being in a different building with a different name, we have to drop off our room key at reception whenever we leave our room, then return to the reception to retrieve it when we return... apparently we go through all this trouble because they only have 1 key to the room. What I want to know is, how do they know if we end up keeping the key when we go out?

Crossing the street took some getting used to even with signs on the ground saying "LOOK LEFT" or "LOOK RIGHT". Being a jay-walking rebel here could be more dangerous than in the states for me. Our first day in London we spent it settling down and catching up on sleep since we were all exhausted. We also discovered that wifi was not free and that it costs 2 pounds per hour. Not knowing where to eat, we asked a receptionist where she suggests a good dinner place for us and she asks us "what do you fancy?"*sigh* British English is so cute! But then when I hesitated to answer she asked if we were looking for Chinese food.. um WRONG. Just because we're all Asian doesn't mean we want Chinese food... We asked for Indian and ate at a place called "taste of India". The food was OK but I've had better... so much for Indian food being super good in London!

[THU 8.10.09] Today, day 2 of London, we bought a day pass on the tube for 5.60 pounds and explored a few places. We first caught the tube at Lancaster Gate right across from Kensington Gardens, which reminds me of central park but prettier. Its a land where dogs roam leash or "lead"-free and are extremely obedient! Also, I got to see a swan up close =) The park is beautiful and I hope I can go back at least one more time before we head to Paris. We took the tube to Tottenham Ct Rd station to find Ling's all-time favorite designer flagship store: Orla Kiely. She pined over everything and left with a gigantic shopping bag. I kind of wanted a small shopping bag since they were so adorable and bought a face towel with cars on it. =) Technically I left with more than I paid for, a face towel and a lunch bag hahah. I also was tempted to buy a cup of Starbucks to see how it compared. After waiting for my drink I realized that everyone before me got their drinks before I did! I found out the hard way that once you pay for your drink, you tell the barista what drink you had so they can hand it to you. They don't call out completed drink orders here =/ Although I find that it is less convenient, it seems much more proper to talk to the barista directly rather than not say anything at all, have them yell out your order, then take it and go without having to say a word...

Anyway, we explored the area, saw Trafalger Square, The National Gallery, and ate at a cute cupcake place that had delicious sandwiches (mine cost 3.85 pounds). We also visited the British Museum which was gorgeous and had many cool artifacts. Being the language nerd that I am, my favorite exhibit was the Rosetta Stone. I still cannot believe I got to see the real slate in person! We tubed over to St. James and saw the St. James Cathedral, the Millennium Bridge and the Tate Modern Museum. We soaked in the rest of the sunlight by the bridge sipping mochas and hot chocolates while a man sold the most annoying bird whistles behind us. The view and the music was unforgettable... We topped off our evening by revisiting Monmouth Street (home of Orla Kiely) with a plan to eat bangers & mash at a pub next to the cupcake cafe. Unfortunately the pub and almost every surrounding restaurant was packed but we managed to find one with an open spot for 4: a vegan/vegetarian restaurant called Pete's Salad Bar Cafe. We all ended up ordering meat dishes which were OK. The best part of the meal was the dessert: Brazilian Pudding which was similar to tiramisu but possibly more delicious.

Now, here we are back at the hotel. We saw a lot today, much more than I expected to see but I don't feel overwhelmed, nor do I feel like there isn't enough time to see the rest of the sights tomorrow. I'm relaxed and enjoying my time here. The only downside is I felt we had wasted too much time looking for the right street or direction to head to but hey, its not like we know this area so its expected. I did however research our itinerary for tomorrow so we spend less time wandering where we don't want to. I am exhausted after all the walking but still feel chubs from all the food I ate. I thought that being on a budget would make me spend less money, which it does, but I still end up buying food. Without the convenience of a microwave it seems that leftovers aren't an option. Of course I hope my mindset about this changes when we stay in Paris but we'll see.. once a foodie, always a piggie =)



--UPDATE ON 9.10.09:

[FRI 9.10.09] Our last full day in London I think we museum-ed out. We wanted to see all our last sights while we were still here since we're leaving tomorrow. We started our day off by taking the tube to Piccadilly Circus to see how crazy it was but it wasn't as busy as we thought since it was only 10am. Most of the shops here open late (11am) and close early (5pm). We wandered around Piccadilly Circus area and ended up walking to Chinatown by Leicester Square Station. Chinatown was pretty small but we found a bakery that was open early and bought some pastries (egg tart, custard bun and hotdog buns). We paid 3.80 pounds for our total when our friends, who spoke Cantonese to one of the sellers paid 4 pounds total for more food than we bought. Sucks to be ripped off =( Then we took the nearest tube to head to Hyde Park Square to see the Wellington Arch and Buckingham Palace.

We got to the palace before the changing of the guards but were too cold to stay outside and wait so we ended up walking to the Victoria Line to tube to some museums. Today's weather was overcast with strong cold winds so we wanted to defrost indoors. Soapy had been waiting to visit the Natural History Museum and we were not disappointed! There we saw dinosaurs and other stuffed animals (not teddy bears but dead animals who were stuffed) and minerals. My favorite exhibits was the Vault that had the most expensive gems and stones and the brontosaurus skeleton. It reminded me a lot of "A Night at the Museum"haha =) After spending a few hours there we tried to leave but the Museum was so huge we just kept walking through and found more parts of it. After exiting, we went to the Science Museum next door but could only manage to explore for an hour. I'd say half of the hour was dedicated to their gift shop haha. I really wanted to buy a little Lego man on a keychain who had a "torch"/flashlight on the bottom of his feet but he was too expensive and would have cost 8 pounds. We had originally planned to see the Victoria & Albert Museum next door but our legs were tired and some of us had blisters on our feet so we headed to Westminster to see the last of our sites and make it home ASAP.

As soon as we got off Westminster Station, Big Ben was standing there before our eyes! It was beautiful and also conveniently located so we didn't have to walk too far. Westminster Abbey and the view of the London Eye were also just around the corner so we were able to take pictures of those. Westminster Abbey, where Princess Diana's funeral service was held, was breathtaking and definitely worth the trip over there. Unfortunately it was closed for tours so we couldn't see the inside. From there a sign said that the Victoria stop was nearby but it wasn't really and the gloomy rain came back to shower us. Fortunately, there was a pub where we could rest our weary feet and order some "bangers and mash". It was delicious and decent priced. Soapy and I ordered 2 orders of sausage and mash for 10 pounds. Very filling. Luckily the nearest tube station was across the street, the St. James Station.

We just got back a little bit ago and there's plenty of evening left to spare. I'm spending the rest of the evening packing and planning for country #2: France. Tomorrow we shall be en route to Paris =) Hopefully we will have WiFi access from there!

-- UPDATE AN HR LATER:

just realized I had free WiFi access in the lobby at the reception across the street. pretty lame considering my discovery happened our last night here.. BOO.