HeyEveryone!!!
So I finally got my act together to write about my ten day Fall break. I started on Thursday afternoon the 22 of October taking the train to Rome and then to the Fiumicino Aeroporto where I got on my flight (easyjet) to England. Flying into London late Thursday night I was meeting my friend Kristen who also goes to SMC and is studying abroad in London for the semester. I met her at her tube stop (Olde Street) and we went back to her flat that she shares with other British students that attend her University. The following morning we got up early had breakfast and left to do some sightseeing. We started the day over near Notting Hill and the Portobello Road Market. Starting at one end and walking all the way to the opposite end, we walked up and down looking at the myriad of things being sold from old door knockers to tea sets to clothes and everything in between. After Portobello Market, we found a pub and sat down to a late lunch. Following lunch, we made our way over to Trafalgar Square. We both tried to climb onto the backs of the Lions in the center of Trafalgar Square but found that we weren't quite as limber as the little kids doing that, so we climbed up the front of the Lion (with some help from some nice British folk) and took a few pictures before climbing down in search of a coffee. Finding outselves at a starbucks, I had my first "American Size" coffee since arriving in Italy and it was great. Re-energized we did some more searching and found some nice Red Telephone Booths to take some pictures in, and then meandered over to Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, and Buckingham Palace/Princess Diana Monument. After a long day of sightseeing we made dinner together at her flat and then went to Picadilly Circus on the tube for a night out in London.
After my first day in London, we had planned a day trip to Brighton (a small sea-side town a 2 hr bus ride away) leaving at 6:30 in the morning from the bus station that was 45 minutes from her flat. . . needless to say we slept the whole way to Brighton. Waking up in this sleepy village, we realized that the weather was working against us as it was extremely foggy and rainy and cold, but we were going to make the best of it! We grabbed breakfast at a local cafe which was an experience in and of itself. What we thought would be a nice breakfast sandwich and coffee (advertised as the 'breakfast sandwich deal') ended up being two pieces of bread with sausage in the middle. . . not my idea of a breakfast of champions, but still we ventured onwards. Going to the tourist office near the Palace, we looked around at all of the sites in the immediate area and then sought shelter from the rain in the free museum of Brighton. The museum had some great exhibits and was really interesting.
After the museum, we attempted to walk down to the waterfront just to see the old boardwalks, but the rain ended that plan and we went to the local Brighton Pub and grabbed a nice hot lunch and again sought shelter inside. After a filling lunch of fish and chips (perfect choice in the seaside town) we finally saw some sun peaking out from behind the clouds and we walked down towards the seaside and took some pictures with the stormy ocean (being careful not to get hit by the waves that threatened to soak us every 20 seconds!!) Finally we made our way back to the bus station and started our journey home.
My final day in London, I packed up my backpack (my sole piece of luggage for the ten day trip) and went to the London Bridge/Tower of London area on the River. A beautiful day we walked around before heading to King's Cross Station (site of Platform 9 3/4 for those Harry Potter fans out there) and I said my goodbyes as I went through customs to get on my train headed for Paris ! A great trip in the UK and I was on my way to the second leg of my trip!!
peace and love to you all
xoxo aisling
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