LONDON!

      So it was spring break, and we decided that we wanted to go to London and Dublin for the week.  On Friday we took the bus (at 6:45 in the freakin morning…fml), then the train, and then another bus to Roma Ciampino airport.  After 2 hours of wasting time and waiting at the airport, we finally took off on our cheap RyanAir flight to London!  The flight was very uncomfortable and the seats in front of you are a lot closer than what I’m used to at home.  Did not like that part.  Two hours later, we finally arrived.  London made a WONDERFUL first impression on us with the cold weather and pouring rain…

      We actually stayed in a holiday inn express (we waited until the night before to look up hostels, so there wasn’t much available…oops) in the town of Crawley, about a 45 min train ride from London.  The hotel was SO nice and definitely spoiled us for a few days.  The first night we just walked around Crawley, where we got denied from a pub because Noah was wearing ‘trainers’….THANKS NOAH.  …It was very odd.  But we finally did find a good pub to eat at.  Had a burger and fries!!!!!!  Such a delicacy compared to the straight up pasta and pizza I'm used to. The most entertaining part of dinner though was just seeing how incredibly slutty all the girls were dressed…and it was ABSOLUTELY freezing outside.  I don’t know how they are comfortable with their 2 inch long mini skirts and 10 inch heels…but oh well, to each his own.

      So, Saturday morning we finally went into London.  On the train there, we were talking to these 2 men who know a lot about London on what to do, where to go, etc.  I, with my obsession with Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts, had to ask about Notting Hill.  They didn’t know much about it, but LUCKILY, this really nice girl named Millie overheard and came up to us after the train got to London.  Turns out she lives in Notting Hill and she told us we had to go that day for the outdoor market.  So, we ended up taking the bus with her all the way to Notting Hill.  SUCH a cute area.  We saw the gate where Hugh Grant apparently climbed over with Julia Roberts and said “whoopsie daisies”…such a cute scene.  The outdoor market was incredible.  We originally thought Notting Hill would just be a small fraction of our day, but we ended up spending about 4 hours just walking down one side of the market.  For some reason, the area reminded me a lot of Carrboro or something.  There were flowers, clothes, music, food, and jewelry.  Loud music was playing in some parts too, so it was really lively.  I was determined to find the bookshop where Hugh worked, and when we found one that looked like it could be it (after asking around) we went inside.  Stacy asked the worker there if this was the bookshop from the movie, and she immediately responded with “that was in a studio.”  I refuse to believe it, and therefore, I can say I was in that travel bookshop from the movie.   All in all, if I were to live in London, I would want to live in Notting Hill.  It’s really cute and has a cool atmosphere.  Yeah, most of the houses looked like they were probably really expensive…but hey, a girl can dream.

      Sunday, we did all the typical tourist stuff.  We saw the Buckingham palace first.  Ok, so I’m kind of hesitant in even telling this story, because I got the nickname “MCC” (mentally challenged Cam) after it, but I think it’s worth telling.  So there were these HUGE statues all around this fountain in front of the palace.  One of the statues was a lion.  A bunch of people were climbing up onto the statue (which was really high off the ground) to take a picture sitting on the lion.  When it was my turn, I got up there fine.  I got the picture, everything was good.  Then it was time to get down.  I couldn’t.  I literally was about to have a heart attack and had to yell for Noah to come help me because there was no way.  I thought I was going to fall and was hanging on for dear life…and I know I looked so incredibly stupid in this process.  In my defense, I was wearing these black boots that have metal on the bottom of them, which makes them REALLY slippery.  So I’m not REALLY mentally challenged…I’m just blaming the shoes.  5 minutes later, I finally just took my shoes off and climbed down…with absolutely no dignity left.  Oh well.  We then went on and saw Parliament Square, The Big Ben, and The London Eye.  We actually rode the London Eye, which gave a pretty good view of the city.  It’s more of something you do just  so you can say you did it…but it wasn’t like OH MY GOD THIS IS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!!!  But it was cool. 

      So Monday, it was time for some shopping.  We ended up walking from the train station through most of central London on all these really nice streets.  One street in particular was filled with REALLY expensive stores and very rich people.  I guess it was like London’s version of Park Avenue.  I was keeping my fingers crossed that I would run into Hugh Grant or somebody famous…but to my disappointment, I didn’t.  We then just spent most of the day just shopping on one of the main shopping streets- which in my opinion, means it was a good day.  Then I went and met my friend’s sister, who lives in London, Ellie, at a major metro station.  Stacy and Noah ended up never finding the station so Ellie and I just ended up standing around the station talking and people watching for over an hour...oh well.  We finally found Stacy and Noah and said our goodbyes to her and went to dinner.  The next morning it was off to Dublin!

      Although I did miss Italy, I liked London.  It reminded me a lot of New York City though with its size and everything, yet it was a lot cleaner and prettier.  The major problem in London is the exchange rate for pounds was TERRIBLE.  Everything was SO expensive.  I basically had to double the price of everything to get an idea of how much it would be in American dollars.  The prices weren't less either.  For example, a shirt that would be 7.99 dollars in America, was also 7.99 pounds in London...which means it was about double the price that it would be at home.  Ridiculous.  But, I can't say it stopped me too much from shopping....but hey, you only live once.  It was pretty cool though seeing the red phone booths at every corner and hearing the amazing British accents everywhere.  I randomly say things in a British accent though, and it was pretty hard to quit doing that for a few days to avoid offending everyone…or at least attempt to quit.  Oh well.