And when London calls, you ALWAYS answer

The new life outlook is "If London calls, you ALWAYS answer". What can I say, it could be a banker. And you know we're all trying to marry rich and live in London. One of the Swedish girls on my trip learned what an American Express black card was last week and then met a 24 year old boy with one this weekend. And that's why you go to London.

Well, besides all the other great things...

Big Ben always seemed like a pretty cool big clock. But it's so much more than that, it's stunning. It has blue and gold embedded into its face that I'm sure would just sparkle if the sun ever shinned. Big Ben is connected to the Parliament building. Unfortunately, we were unable to sit in on a session because both houses were on recess.

Big Ben and Parliament:

Westminster Abbey is located across the street from Parliament. It's a work of architectural genius. Since the building isn't expanding in area, they have literally just cramped memorials and grave sites into every open space, with the Abbey now containing over 3,000 of them. My favorite room is the Lady Chapel, an addition Henry VII built in the 1500s which has an amazing ceiling.

Westminster Abbey:

Hidden garden inside:

The Lady Chapel (we weren't allowed to take pictures inside):

We continued our Harry Potter adventure by walking across the Millennium Bridge, the bridge that gets destroyed by the Death Eaters in the first part of the 6th movie.

Millennium Bridge:

We saw Buckingham Palace as we crowded outside the gates for the changing of the guards. It's literally a mad dash to watch the calvary parade on the street and then to transfer to the fence so you get a good view for the changing of the guards. I got some good pictures from pushing my way through. However, on Sunday, right outside the entrance to the Jewel House, we got to see a changing of the guards from literally 5 feet away! We just happened to have front row seats without even realising what was happening.

Buckingham Palace:

Palace gates:

Changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace (huddled outside the gate):

Changing of the guards outside the Jewel Tour (up-close and personal):

We explored Harrods, one of the first ever department stores, being founded in 1834. You could probably live your life there as it has everything from tea to Oscar dresses to workout machines to live animals. They  even used to sell lions. One was bought by 2 men in 1969 and their reunion story was front page news back in the day.

Harrods:

Christian the Lion story, very touching:

After Harrods, we ventured to stores we could actually afford and I bought my first ever romper... we'll see how that goes.

One night for dinner, we decided to go to Piccadilly Circus, the Times Square of London. After passing 3 sex shops, we found real Mexican (of course that's where it's located). I loved this restaurant though because they had 400+ hot sauces from all over the world, including Texas Pete - which is a product of Winston-Salem, so I of course spotted it from across the room.

Piccadilly Circus:

Wall of 400+ hot sauces:

I even got to see one of my friends from preschool/ summer camp/ high school while in London. She's studying there through her uni, Boston University, and lives in one of the poshest neighborhoods of London, Kensington.

After a long weekend, we were treated to a first class train ride home (which actually proved to be cheaper than standard class), and was a great ending experience to our London trip. After an exhausting weekend, we were served duck, crisps (American chips), fruit, pretzels, cake, wine, and tea. I could get used to first class.

And my one life lesson of the trip: certain types of strangers take better pictures than others. Go for moms with kids in the 5-12 range or Asian couples. With other people, you just end up with huge picture fails. I want a picture of all of us with the MONUMENT, if I just wanted a picture of our group, I could take it in a bathroom for all I care.

One of the strangers we asked to take our picture was completely wasted (he told us)... at 1pm. Let's just say I was scared for my camera's life. He surprisingly knew how to take a good picture though.

Group picture (with monuments!!):

I've already planned my next trip to London, with my beautiful roommate from UNC, Maggie. I can't even wait!