Hallelujah!
Leaving home was bittersweet, I've already started to miss everyone.
First thing I missed was the sunshine.
We arrived in London Heathrow at 2:40am pacific time (10:30am-ish in London) and we're greated by rain. Joy. Thankfully though, we experienced sprinkling here and there, but no pouring. BTW, the airline I took was Air New Zealand. While I like there service and meal selection, the economy class has REALLY cramped seats. I didn't sleep very well.
Note to self: Take the Heathrow Connect. It's a better deal than the Heathrow Express or taking the tube. For £7.50, it'll take you from Heathrow to London in 25 minutes. Heathrow Express cost twice that and takes 15 minutes. The Tube costs £4 for ONE HOUR.
I took the Heathrow Express, which while fun, wasn't worth it. My initial plan was to take the Tube, but yeah, one hour, just wasn't going to cut it.
Next time, I'll try to exercise better judgement.
The Heathrow Express took me to London Paddington. Unfortunately for me, I got lost trying to find my hostel. But in the end, thankfully, I found it:
The Royal Bayswater Hostel: 121 Bayswater Road, London
By the time I found my hostel, got myself situated, it was about 1pm-ish. I'm sharing a room with six other girls. We only have one tiny bathroom in a really cramped little room. I don't think I would recommend the hostel to anyone who likes to be hygenic. Once I post the pictures, you'll see why.
I miscalculated the distance my hostel is from Buckingham Palace. Seriously, judging from the tube map, it looks like it's a short walk, but it's not. When I got lost trying to find my hostel, I had to walk the entire distance of Hyde Park on Bayswater Road to find the damned place. I thought, oh Lancaster Gate Underground Station isn't that far from Queensway Underground Station (which is where my hostel is located right next to) - WRONG! From now on, while I'm in London, I'm taking the tube everywhere I go. Try saving money and my feet paid for it.
But then, I wanted to take the tube going from Buckingham Palace to Trafalgar Square, but decided against it. Seriously, there's just too many sights along the way to take the tube and ignore. I walked past Buckingham Palace to Big Ben to Westminster Abbey to Trafalgar Square to the National Gallery. London is just absolutely gorgeous, especially the parks, it's rich history is just entrenched in all the architecture and monuments. It really reminds me of New York.
Tomorrow, I'm heading off to Thames River. Catch the London Eye, cross the London Bridge, climb the Tower of London, see St. Peter's Cathedral...
I'm limiting what I do at night. Really, by 5pm, I'm spent. I just want to go back to the hostel, wash up, surf the internet, and then sleep. Wake up early, sight see and hopefully not miss any important trains. The only bad thing is, I haven't really found a good place to get good food for cheap. Anyone know where I can really great Shepherd's pie for cheap?
I'll write tomorrow... for now, good night!!
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