Marie's Guide to London Good Times

London was fabulous. Even though I am currently exhausted from the deadly combination of too little sleep and too many days of go-go-go, I am not regretting a single moment of action. In three weeks, I saw more than I ever imagined I could. But of the countless sights seen and the numerous adventures had, I do have my favorites. Next time you’re in London (invite me!), make sure to try to get the following done:

Chichester:

Because it is totally adorable - quaint and picturesque and so full of history it will blow your mind. The wall running down certain roads? Is 1,00 years old. And you can touch it. Think on that for a minute. The shopping is awesome, the food delicious. Added bonus: The train ride from London will take you through green country side and by castles!

A Market:

Personally, I am a fan of Cambden Market. Portebllo is supposed to be pretty awesome too. The point is that while in London, you must go to a market. They take up entire streets, are crowded and diverse and there is this energy in the air that - I swear - makes you giddy. The food is amazing, and the selection makes you dizzy, because everything looks good but there are simply too many choices. They are also an awesome souvenir stop. I love going to the markets.

Platform 9 3/4 at King’s Cross:

My inner Harry Potter nerd died and went to heaven when we finally found the platform they have erected in honor of Harry. There is a trolley tuck in the wall, a sign that says ‘Platform 9 3/4’ and a feeling of incredible joy all around. Angels sing in the background. Seriously. Just know that you want to heads past the sign that directs you to Platforms nine and up and keeping heading towards 0-8. This makes no sense, but it is The Way. So do it.

Stonehenge:

I repeat myself. But. Still - DO IT.

Windsor:

And rent a motor boat to ride around the Thames. Seriously, one of my favorite half hours of the whole entire trip. The area is gorgeous - there are willows and rolling hills, a castle and ferris wheel in the backdrop. Because it near the palace, there are swans (one of the royal animals) everywhere. The town is sweet and small, perfectly adorable. Windsor Palace is insanely regal, and the employees some of the nicest I have ever met.

Science Museum Adult Night:

Two words: Silent disco.

(Picture 100+ adults with headphones on. Everyone is dancing, a few are singing - no one is doing the same thing, no one is singing the same song. It was fabulous.) (And, ok, there was other stuff too: comedians and actors and food and art projects and trivia and contests and it’s a museum, for crying out loud. But. Seriously. The silent disco.)

Harrod’s:

Now, I only got to spend about two hours here, and let me tell you - that was not nearly enough time. While there, I only saw about three floors, two toy stores, a pet store, a furniture department, and the women’s shoes. And the chocolate bar. That too. Which I highly, highly recommend. But from my limited experience, Harrod’s is amazing. Of course, everything is about 8,0000 times too expensive for me, but its still fun to look at the pretty stuff.

British Science Museum:

Again, I did not get to spend enough time here. Forty-five minutes is pretty much just enough to make you realize that you really, really wish you didn’t have to go to group presentation and could instead spend oh, about 8 hours looking at all the old, cool stuff. I did get to see the Egyptian section, though. So interesting! So amazing! That thing? Is 4,000 years old! What? If (when) I go back to London, I will devote a whole entire day to the museum, for sure.

Ireland:

Does this count? It should. Because if you’re in London, you are an hour away from Dublin, and you should make the trip. It will be worth it. I promise. I only spent one night there, but I can already say that Ireland is awesome and I will be visiting again.

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There are, of course, many other fun times to have. I am sure I am forgetting something super important ad super fun, but I cannot think of what it might be...

Things I love Thursday

This week I love:

Platform 9 ¾ : Because it is real! I was previously mistaken, and this is wonderful. And I have a fabulous video of me attempting to break into Hogwarts. Ten points, Britain, for erecting a monument to the franchise that made me love you.

Windsor: The castle and the town. The castle, because it was beautiful and incredible and huge. Plus, the employees there were some of the nicest I have ever met. They were smiley and helpful and went out of their way to be accommodating. The town was awesome too, because the Thames ran through it and for 22 pounds, five people could rent a motor boat for half and hour and cruise around. The experience was one of my favorite.

Silent Discos: Headphones with multiple channels. Hundreds of people dancing and singing to music only they hear. Pretty much the coolest thing ever.

Honorable Mentions:

Julia’s Bulgarian food; carrot cake; Temple Church; Westminster Palace; chocolate covered strawberries; looking out over Big Ben and the London Eye from a penthouse club; chugging mango/apple/orange smoothies; talking springs in really, really uncomfortable beds; realizing that your head/arm/backpack has finally been released by the angry tube doors.

(I do not love fire alarms. Third one in two weeks. What the heck?)

Things I Love Thursday

This week I love:

Harry Potter - Which is, of course, obvious. But I am talking more specifically about the Harry Potter locations which I have visited. Platform 9 3/4, disappointing as it may have been, was worth going too. And I am in London, where Harry spends much time. And even if it doesn’t really count, Oxford was full of movie filming sights. I have stood on the same staircase the line them up for sorting on, I have walked through the Great Hall, gazed in on the Infirmary, and looked up at the owlery. This all makes me and my not-so-inner dork insanely gleeful. My heart gets all happy. You can see this plainly in my pictures.

This is the Great Hall.

Oxford - And not only because it is so beautiful to my Potter-nerd self. Nope. It is beautiful all on its own. The colleges are of course stunning (and I really, really, really want to go there), and the town is adorable. Plus, I had the most delicious chicken pesto panini. Like, I am hungry just thinking about it. Good school + fun town + yumyum food = I could so live there.

At Oxford.

Stonehenge - Which I have already flailed about, but which still deserves mention. Things do not become one of The Seven Wonder of the Medieval World for nothing now, do they?

Leaping for joy.

The Tube System - Because I have finally figured it out and it saves my feet. Plus, I still don’t like or clearly understand the bus system.

Thai food - I am about to go eat my leftovers from yesterday’s lunch. Excitement is me.

There are, of course, many other things I could list. But these are the creme of the crop, so they get the attention. One week left! I am looking forward to the remainder of my adventures, but I am also looking forward to seeing my family and friends for more than a week!

don't drink the water (STONEHENGE!)

7/19/10

Today, we went to Stonehenge!

It was insanely cool. Totally worth the 2.5 hour bus drive. I will show you pictures (of which I took a ton), but know this: It really is as amazing as everyone says.

Afterwards, we headed to the old Roman Baths. They were also pretty insanely awesome. Being somewhere with that much history, that is so unfathomably old is pretty intense. Again, the pictures are pretty good at illustrating this.

One bad thing: When we had finished walking around, I went to buy a glass of the water, which the pump up from the natural hot spring and will sell you in a glass to drink for about the equivalent of USD75 cents. I figured, hey! It’s history. Sure, I’ll drink it.

Bad choice.

It tasted like blood. That’s about the most accurate description I have for it. It was hot, smelled like rotten eggs, and was disgustingly metallic. But did I drink it? YES. I paid for it, afterall.

In conclusion: Go to Stonehenge. Go to the Baths. But don’t drink the water.

Dublin in Pictures

More from Dublin! I came back on Saturday night (or Sunday morning, if you want to get technical), safe and in one piece. Saturday Kevin and I walked around the City Centre some more and meandered our way over to the Guinness Storehouse. The pictures above tell the story, but for the record: Even when poured properly, and drank at the bar on top of the storehouse, beer? Is gross.

DUBLIN!

For the record: Dublin is awesome.

Reasons why it is vastly superior to London are as follows:

• The streets are prettier. They are cute and bustling and just more appealing.
• The people are absolute awesome. No less than four individuals were independently involved in helping me to find/get on/get off the right bus at the right time.
• The weather is amazing. I know that this is not the case all year, but today was perfect; cool, bright, breezy. LOVE.
• There are little pubs with names like O’Donoghue’s that serve real live shepherd's pies.

There are other reasons too, I just can’t think of them at this second. My brain has been awake for too many hours to really work. But that’s ok, because Dublin was worth the 5am morning.

things i love thursday

Julia and I attempting to break through Platform 9.

After making it to the center of the maze (same one they filmed the Harry Potter movie in!), I was traumatized.

At Hampton Court with Julia & Rylie.

King's Cross! I am holding a mop. I am four seconds away from trying to fly away on it.

First rainy day in London. Look at my cute rain umbrella! And the London Eye in the background.

I am a copycat. I once read this article about how to make it big on blogs and it linked to this one girl’s blog and she had a “Things I Love Thursday.” I am going to copy her, because London is too busy and too fun to write everything that has been going down. Ready? Ready!

This week I love:

The Old City; big buildings that are older than our country; St Paul’s Cathedral; visiting Fleet Street (!!); the financial district and its Starbuck’s every ten feet; Oystercards; becoming semi-literate so far as the tube system is concerned (!!); the people in the paleopathology department of the Museum of London; the Tower of London; meeting old friends at the Tower of London and planning trips to Ireland with them (Kevin!!); impromptu photoshoots; visiting old castles; looking at old art; running through the same maze they filmed Goblet of Fire in; walking so much I don’t feel guilty about eating Milka (!!!) chocolate; standing under Big Ben as the quarter-hour strikes; Westminster Abbey in all its splendor (!!!!!!); KING’S CROSS TRAIN STATION, even though it was not like it was supposed to be and there was no wall between 9 &10, only train track, and even though it was inside and not like the movie and even though I definitely didn’t get to go to Hogwarts; the fact that tomorrow morning I take off for Ireland!!!!!!!!

Yay!

two days in quick review

Kevin and I with the Tower Bridge in the background. And, yes, we think our pose is awesome.

The Chichester Cathedral.

The statue showed me the pose. Outside of Chichester Cathedral.

Because these last two days? Have been super busy but also super awesome.

7/11/10

Chichester; London

· Early, early morning. 7:30 does not equal fun

· Met Angie, our walking tour-guide. She is old and perky and very English. Altogether adorable.

· Rode the train! Not King’s Cross, but still worthy. Went to Chichester:

o Two hours on a train; saw castles on the way.

o Beautiful little city, with buildings that were built in the 14^th, 16^th centuries. So amazing, so insane. So not-Arizona.

o There were these streets with shops on both side, cobblestone paths, and bubble-blowers sending orbs to the rainbow streamers. Insanely adorable.

o Beautiful, huge cathedral. Stunning.

o Hospital that has been around for 1200 years. They take care of the poor old. Amazing garden, awesome mission, sweet, bubbly lady. I wish I could live there!

· World Cup Final! Spain vs Holland. I cheered for Spain at Prince Albert’s Pub (so crowded I was pushing through the crowd to the table that Riley’s friend had for us; so many people). Ate chocolate and booed at appropriate moments. Also read our textbook, like the dork I am. Spain (and thus me) won. We walked home to people singing, dancing, high-fiving, and honking in the streets. Kind of magical.

· Panicked over the lack of ticket-booking for Dublin. This became a theme.

7/12/10

The City of London: Tower of London; Tower Bridge

First, fact: There is a square mile in London called The City of London. It is not the same as London. The Queen has no jurisdiction over it, but the Grand Mayor (?) does. I never knew this. Had no clue.

Today, I:

walked to the point of extreme, whine-inducing foot pain; tramped through the Old City, where there are buildings that are so old and beautiful that I have trouble believing they are real; saw St. Paul’s cathedral and was no disappointed with its grandeur; walked through narrow little allies reminiscent of the past by infinitely more adorable; brushed shoulders with the extremely well-dressed financial men; took way too many pictures; had yummy Japanese lunch; met with Kevin (!!!); went to the Tower of London; saw the White Tower, the Royal Jewels, and a few devices of torture; goofed around with the camera in a 13^th century building; walked over a pretty, very old bridge; almost-napped in a not-quite park; ate Ben & Jerry’s to fuel my journey home (!!); perfected my tubing (ha); vegged; booked tickets to Dublin, after much stress, angst, and general Marie-ness (!!!!!!!!!!!).

Anyway.

This is still fun!

country the fourth

GUESS WHAT?

I’m in London.

Country the fourth, check.

I’ve only been here about ten hours, but I’m already loving the city. Not that it has quite hit me that I’m in London - home of history and Harry Potter - because, quite honestly, my brain is just, “Oh. Jet-lag and another foreign city. We’re used to this.” Not to say I’m not so excited. Because I am. Very much so.

What am I most excited about this first day?

the Mars Bar I ate in the airport; the fact that you can drink the tap water (!!); my room (because it is my room - bed, sink, chair, desk and shower); our Turkish dinner; the old buildings; the warm weather; the super-fast internet; the fact that the sun doesn’t set until 9:45pm; and knowing that tomorrow, I will be on the London Eye.

More updates to come.