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Thursday, May 9, 2013

London and Big Ben!

Looking at the pictures I took, I cannot believe I was actually in London! My friends Emily, Nikki, and I arranged our travel plans to spend 4 days in London after our finals were done. All the days were packed with sight-seeing as we tried to fit every tourist destination into our trip!

The first day was a little rough... we boarded a bus Thursday night to the Cork Airport where we spent the night until our 8am flight the next morning. Who would have guessed that the airport would close at night and they would turn off the heat.... It was freezing!!! We all tried our best to sleep and then got on our Air Ryan flight to London! Things, thankfully, got better once we landed and found out apartment. Renting an apartment for the trip was a great idea because we had a kitchen to ourselves, and it was much cheaper than a hotel because there's no room service.
We were exhausted that day so we took it easy by visiting the Tower of London and then enjoying a nice dinner under the bridge with a glass of wine :)


Day 2 consisted of an 11 hour tour around London! An open-top bus took us to all the major sites of the city, including 10 Downing Street (where the Prime Minister lives), the Palace of Westminster, St. Paul's Cathedral, and Westminster Abbey. Next, the tour took us on a river cruise and then to see the Changing of the Guards! It was so neat to watch the old guards emerge from the St. James' Castle and then march to Buckingham Palace following a band. Our tour then continued onto Scotland to see Stonehenge!




Day 3 was a full day for us to explore the city on our own. We first went to Abby Road, and of course crossed it many times! We all agreed that we needed to relax from finals, so after Abby Road we spent time in Portobello Market. This area is mostly all outdoor shopping and cafes... perfect for three girls to relax and get some smoothies! After the market we walked around Hyde Park (which was gorgeous ) and found the Peter Pan statue! Before this day could end, we had to visit my top 'thing to do' in London.... BIG BEN!







Our last day in London was just as fun as the others! We started the day off by traveling just outside the city to the Wimbledon Tennis Courts. After seeing the courts, we visited the national History Museum and then went on the London Eye. Being over 440 feet above London, you could see everything from the Eye! It was really incredible!! Next, the three of us found Platform 9 and three quarters from the Harry Potter movies. We took a few pictures and then went to our last event of the trip.... Les Miserables at the Queen's Theater!! The musical was beyond words, I was in awe the entire performance








As crazy as London was, it was definitely an amazing city! I had a ton of fun visiting pretty much all of the major attractions and hanging out with my friends. This was the prefect way to end the school year and my study abroad semester!









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