A Weekend In London

Whew. This past week has been a whirlwind! Friday morning my alarm clock went off and I practically jumped out of bed. I could not contain my excitement to board the train and head to London. I packed by bag Thursday night because I knew that alarm clock was going off early. In the morning we grabbed a bagged breakfast and lunch from Henry. Be boarded the coach which brought us to the train station in Edinburgh. We got on the train and departed at 07:30. Once the train had started moving, I felt ill. I had been one of the lucky ones with the seat that is backwards. After a while I started to get used to it and my excitement overcame my nausea. We arrived in at King’s Cross in London around noon on Friday. After a short tube ride to Russell Square we walked to The Generator (our hostel). 

Patty did a excellent job picking out a great hostel for us to stay in. We were pretty centrally located and it was easy access to the tube. After we got settled, we decided to go to Madame Tussauds which is a wax museum of pop stars, actors, and people from history. It took us about a hour to navigate our way there, in down pouring rain. I always say traveling with your friends is a true step to knowing them. At last, we arrived and enjoyed our time there. 

Back at the hostel we were getting ready for a live play called, The 39 Steps. If anyone has not seen it, I highly recommend it. We walked to Piccadilly Circus where the play was located. Once we arrived there, I felt as if I was in a old fashioned time square. The lights, people, live performances were breath taking. We entered the theatre and sat down - did I mention we were in the second row in smack dab in the middle!? It was awesome. 

On Saturday we were up early for breakfast at the hostel and had our day pretty much planned to the max. We left our hostel at ten in the morning to walk to Covent Garden and participate in a walking tour of London. On the tour we stopped at many historical places and ended up next to Big Ben and Westminster Abby. The whole time my head was weaving and bobbing back and forth to try and not miss any sights. Our tour guide did a fabulous job with telling us interesting facts and stories along the way.

We then took the tube to Cramond Market. Although, this was not my first choice to go, I went for the street art and for the experience. Cramond Market is a giant flea market where many goods are sold. There are also a lot of touristy stores located along the main drag. We then continued to take the tube back to Piccadilly Circus and walked to Chinatown. We meandered around Chinatown until we stumbled upon a Chinese Restaurant to eat at. We walked up four flights of stairs to find ourselves confused by the menu. I ordered fried rice and sweet and sour chicken. I was keeping my order safe!  After dinner we took the tube back to the hostel and crashed. We had been on our feet concurring the beautiful city. I showered and prepared for another long day.

Once the morning had arrived, I really wanted to go to the Church Service at Westminster Abby. Jenna and I decided to venture on our own and go. Boy, was it worth it. Jenna and I sat in the front row. I was and am still speechless on how to describe the beauty I saw. The fact that I was able to attend and sit in the front - it was such a humbling experience! Jenna and I walked around the London Eye, Big Ben, and then decided to go find some food. We decided to go and eat at The Crypt. Yes, a Crypt. We ate underground at a burial place. It was a experience to say the least! We then met the girls back at the hostel to meet up before we walked to the train station to go to THE MAKING OF HARRY POTTER! I probably have not been so excited in my life. I have read all the books, seen the movies, and now I get to see where they filmed it!? It was a dream come true. Not to mention I may or may not have teared up a bit while waiting in line to enter the tour. 

I spent approximately four hours touring and running around like a child - but hey, I am a BIG fan! We got back to our hostel and crashed again - these long days of walking catch up with you real quick! Monday morning we got up at 7, ate breakfast, and checked out. We took our backpacks with us so we wouldn’t have to return to the hostel. We then took the tube to the London Eye. The views were gorgeous! It was about a 35 minute ride all the way around. Once we neared the top, we could feel the wind a bit and more movement.  A few people were freaked out to say the least. I didn’t want leave the spectacular views - but I was forced off. We then proceed to grab lunch at The Sherlock Holmes Pub. I only got chips because I wasn’t too hungry at the time. Then we proceeded to King’s Cross where we took pictures at PLATFORM 9 3/4! My Harry Potter adventure was complete! 

Overall, London was amazing, but at the end of the day I was happy to be home back in Dalkeith. This past week has been crazy with school, trips, homework, and making time for a social life. I hope I can blog sooner rather then later because there is a lot to update everyone about! Heading to Glasgow on Friday!