Weekend in London

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Trip Start Jan 04, 2006 Previous
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  London, United Kingdom
Monday, January 16, 2006

This weekend was amazing. After class on Friday, me and 7 others from the PSU group boarded our train and hit the tracks to London. We got there around 5:30 and navigated the underground to our hostel. We stayed in Hyde's Park Smart View Hostel which was in a part of town full of ritzy hotels (the Ritz was down the street, hehe) and gorgeous scenery. For those who know london, it was very close to Hyde's Park (obviously). After all of the country of Slovakia checked in (ok, maybe not all, but there was like 40 of them...) and an hour of waiting in the hot smoky lobby/bar, we finally checked in and got our room. 5 of us in one (mine), 2 in another, and 1 in another. The hostel was pretty much an old hotel with a whole bunch of bunk beds and lockers stuffed in. But it was nice, and the bathroom was very nice. Not too shabby for my first hostelling experience. We were all starving by this point so we went out to look for some dinner. Ended up at a very charming little restaurant where I had amazing fish and chips. Then we went back and hung out downstairs for like an hour before we headed upstairs to hit the sack early...Saturday was going to be a long day

Again..

.

Saturday it was up and at'em at 6:45 to meet our tour at 7:45 (and we still had to find the pick up point.). We got the couch just fine, and then had a lovely drive through the center of London where we saw all the classic sites (Big Ben, West Minster, Parliment, The London Eye...). We also saw my favorite part, all of the couture shops (armani, fendi, louis V, Gucci, Coach, prada..just to name a few ;o) ). Then we got to the coach station..and had some quick breakfast before actually getting on the tour bus.

We first arrived at Leeds Castle where we had cream tea (Mmmm...) in this amazing old room near the castle. I went through the castle (which was amazing) and just enjoyed the sites (Including the real life Dog Collar Museum..yes, they actually had that..). Then we got on the bus and went to see the White Cliffs of Dover. This is where the soldiers left from during WWII. It was the last thing they saw, and what they looked forward to seeing again because it meant that they were home. Got gorgeous pics on the pebble beach, and saw the entrance to the tunnel that goes under the English Channel. Then we headed to Canterbury where we ate traditional english food (more fish and chips, tea, and apple pie with real whipped cream). Then came my favorite part

Again...

. We went to the Canterbury Cathedral. As we walked in, I looked up, and it was so beautiful. The arches, the details, and the choir. There was a mass there later that day, so the boys choir was practicing. It was heavenly. The church was so beautiful, it almost moved me to tears. We walked through the santuary and saw all of the sights, and took in the towers and the details, everything.

After we left the cathedral, we had time to just do whatever. Our group split up, and some of us went shopping, or saw more sites. The town was so lovely and charming, I felt like i was in a real life version of Beauty and the Beast.

Then we returned to London, and quickly drove past all of the sites at night, and returned to Euston. However, we were 3 hours early for our 8:12 train. So we sat in the food court and waited. Then the 2 hour train turned into a 4 1/2 hour train because of stops, and we finally arrived back in Manchester, tired and dirty at 12:30.

That was my first English trip, and pictures are up to prove how beautiful it was...This weekend brings the Beatles Experience in Liverpool and possibly a trip to Stonehenge and Bath. Can't Wait...

Post your own travel photos for friends and family More Pictures

All the girls in my room	Bathroom in the Hostel	Can we go already...	Castle from another angle
Cheers! (they actually do say that here...)	Cliffs.	Couldn't resist the beauty	Did they give us MORE butter for dessert??
Greenwich	Hotels on the Dover Cliffs...	In front of the Tour Comp. Window	In the Town Streets
Isn't if so pretty?	Its True	Leeds Castle	London Eye (out the bus window)
London Sites..	Looking the Other Way	Me and Allison at our first Tea	Me and Kristin's Fav room
Me at the Entrance	Me on the Beach in front of the Cliffs	Me on the Pebble Beach	Megan on the Beach
Mmmm...more m'n'ms	More at the Spanish Topas Restaurant. Mmmm....	More Dinner Finding	More Dog Collars...
More Hotels around our hostel..	More Leeds Castle...	More of the Castle Grounds..	More of the outside..
more of the town	More on the bus	Ocean..Reminds me of Cali	On the Bus ready to go
one more before I left	One more Outside Shot...	One more time...	Out with our tutor
Part of the Castle Up Close	Real London Bobbies Now...	Settling into the hostel	Some Hotels around us
Some of the Gardens	Takes my breath away...	The Ceiling in the room at the Cream Tea	The Dog Collar Museum
The English Channel	The garden/cemetary.	The Girls on the Beach	The Hotel that sat above the Hostel
The Library..	the Weaver's Cottage and Canal	The Wedding Hall	The White Chalk Cliffs of Dover
Top of the Gazebo..	Town of Canterbury (yes, like the Tales)	Trying to Find Dinner	Up the Beach...
Upstairs to the Restaurant we Ate in	Waiting for the bus with Alan Ferns :o)	We all look the same taking pictures	We have Chocolate on the Train, we'll be fine

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