I'm laying here almost packed wondering where the time has gone. My flight to Nice is at 7:20am tomorrow morning so this is my last day in Spain. I'm glad I'm done with finals but ahh this is crazy. But anyways before I get into that I'll tell you all about my amazingg trip to London :).
So Sara and I got to the airport Thursday night to find out that our flight was delayed 45 minutes. We were surprised because Ryanair prides themselves for being on time but whatever. We were sitting in the terminal waiting when all of the sudden everyone who had been in there walked out and we were so confused. Eventually a guard came and told us we had to go out of the terminal to get our passports checked. In the madness of all of this we met a guy named Kevin on our flight who was also studying in Sevilla and was from Kansas. We all showed our passports and then got in line to board. The attendants started boarding us and we walked outside but apparently there was some misunderstanding so we had to walk all the way back through the gates to the terminal. After more waiting they finally let us through again and this time there was a plane waiting for us.
The flight was about three hours and when we got there we got off the plane and walked to customs. The line was forever long and was not moving very quickly because there was only two people working. It took us an hour to get through customs and when talking to the guy he seriously interrogated us like we were doing something wrong. Anyways after we got through that madness we found a little store to buy some snacks for the hour long bus ride to the center of the city and bought round trip bus tickets and an oyster card for the tube and buses in London. We found the bus and went to town on some salt and vinegar pringles, coke zero, and twix. When the bus dropped us off at Liverpool St we would have been completely lost if my mom hadn't told us which night buses to take. After we figured out what side of the street to be on it was relatively easy to use the night buses with our oyster cards ... and yes they were red double decker buses! The second night bus we had to take dropped us right next to our hostel so we buzzed down and they let us in. The staff was extremely nice and there were a bunch of people in the common room still up drinking even though it was 4 or 5 in the morning. We got to our room and had to use my phone light to get situated and in bed because there was only one major light for the room and everyone else was asleep.
We woke up around 9:30 the next day and barely made it downstairs in time for breakfast. Thankfully we were able to grab 2 pieces of plain toast. Since we had gotten very little sleep we walked across the street to Starbuck's and got coffee. The guy even gave me 2 extra shots even though I only paid for 1! The friendliness continued at the tube station when we asked at the information booth how to get to the place where our open-bus tour started. He not only gave us very helpful directions but also gave us maps. When we got off the tube we went to the Original Tour office and picked up our tickets. They told us where to go to get on the bus. A guy from their staff was standing at the stop and was really funny and nice. Once we got on the bus it took us around London and the tour guide told us about everything. He had a great sense of humor too. We could hop off and hop on anywhere we wanted so we stopped and got off at one point when we were across the river from Big Ben and Parliament. We took pictures in front of that scene and in a telephone booth nearby. We also found a cute little garden and park to walk through. We walked across the bridge to get closer to Big Ben and Parliament and after that walked over to Westminster Abbey. It was all so gorgeous and I couldn't stop taking pictures.
After that we got back on the tour bus until we got to St. Paul's Cathedral. We decided to get off and take pictures in front of the cathedral and eat lunch. There was a grocery store that had a bag of 5 chocolate chip cookies for 2 pounds and a ham sandwich for 1 pound so we split the price of the cookies and I bought the sandwich. Then we walked down to a cute little sandwich shop and I ordered tomato soup to go with my sandwich and cookie. We saved the other 3 cookies for later. After lunch we got back on the tour bus and took it across London Tower Bridge and then got off. We walked back across the bridge and took pictures and then went to look at London Tower. Our Original Tour tickets included a Thames river cruise so we got on the boat at London Tower and rode it to Parliament and back. The guide on the boat told us a lot of interesting facts about the bridges and the buildings on the river.
After our river cruise we got back on a tour bus and took it to the Globe Theatre. We walked around there for a little bit and then found our way to the tube which we took back to our hostel. We found a small, cheap bagel shop next to the hostel where we went for dinner. After such a long day of sightseeing and not getting much sleep the night before we decided to go to bed early. We spent some time talking to one of the guys staying in our room but still went to sleep around 10:30.
We woke up at 8am the next morning and got ready and ate breakfast. We took the tube to the center of the city and went on a walking tour for the changing of the guards. It was awesome because our guide new exactly where to take us so we got good places to stand and could see all the action. We even got to march with the guard down the Mall. Buckingham Palace was gorgeous and overall it was a fun experience. We went to find an italian place for lunch I had read about but it was closed on weekends along with a lot of other things in the area so we found a sandwich shop and bought sandwiches, apples, and water which we ate on the tube back to the hostel. At the hostel we got ready to go see Chicago at Cambridge Theatre. Then we got back on the tube and walked to the theatre. The musical was amazinggg! I love the movie but have never seen the musical and it was everything I expected it to be.
After the musical we tried to go to the British Museum but it was closed so we went to platform 9 3/4 instead. Kings Cross station was under construction so the original was covered up and instead they had a poster of brick and the shopping cart and the plaque outside of the station. It was a disappointment but at least they had something. We ended up going to McDonald's for dinner because it was cheap and close to where we were. Then we took the tube to the Tate Modern which had really cool modern art. After that we took the tube back to the hostel to get ready for the night. We heard Soho was cool at night so we took the tube to Soho after we finished getting ready. We walked around for awhile but couldn't decide where to go because we were tight on money. Some promoter tried to get us to pay five pounds to get into a club/bar and get a free shot. It was tempting but we decided to look around more first. We found a pub that looked like it had cheap drinks and we split a pear cider which we heard was really good and definitely was. We talked to an old guy sitting at the bar for a long time who was really nice and we got shots of jager for only one pound each. Then a guy was passing out cards to get free entry to the same place the promoter tried to get us to go earlier. We walked over there when the pub closed and danced for awhile. Sara made friends with a group of French students.
After we got tired we walked back hoping to get cupcakes from a place we saw on the way but sadly it was closed. We weren't sure were to get the night bus but as soon as we looked confused a guy came over and showed us exactly where to go. We took the bus back and got muffins at our bagel shop instead of cupcakes. When we walked back into the room the two guys that were in there had just turned off the light so they said we could turn it back on and we ended up talking for an hour or two before we went to sleep. When I woke up the next morning around 9 there was a random Asian man lying on the floor of our room which was extremely funny. We never got the whole story but apparently he knew one of the people in the room.
We packed up and ate breakfast and paid for a locker at the hostel because we wanted to go check out the huge mall across the street. On the way there were Italian food tents set up and one of the tents had pastries. I asked how much it cost for one and he said we could have one for free which was awesome. We then walked to the mall to find that it didn't open until 12 which was a let down. We decided to go back and get our bags and go to the city instead. In the city we found another place to shop and I ended up buying a really cute dress from Mango. We walked back to where the bus was supposed to pick us up looking for something to eat for lunch. We ran into the same guy who we met flying over and the three of us got lunch at a breakfast place. We were tight on time but ate really fast and made it to the bus stop just in time.
At the airport we had to wait in line to get our tickets stamped and then Sara and I got some snacks at the store we had the night we got there. We went through security which was insane. Someone puts your bags through for you. My bag got stopped and I stood there as he completely destroyed everything in my bag when the only reason was because my ziploc of liquids was too big and I needed to put them in a smaller ziploc which I had in my bag. We literally stood there for 30 minutes as they went through my whole bag and then put it back through security when all that was wrong was the size of my ziploc bag. We had to rush to the gate and got there about ten minutes before they started boarding. We got back to Sevilla without any problems and our señora made us dinner.
Looking back on the trip I'm so glad we decided to go. It was such an amazing city and I definitely want to go back one day. It was cold and rainy the whole time we were there but we still loved it which I think says something. I could definitely live there. The day after we got back was our last day of classes and then I had my Spain Today final yesterday (Tuesday) and my Literature final today. It feels good to be done with classes. I'm packing now and hopefully I'll be able to fit everything and it won't weigh too much because Ryanair charges crazy fees if you go over your weight limit. Since it is our last night here and we haven't been able to go out this week because of finals Mackenzie and I are going out tonight and have decided we just are not going to sleep. Our flight is at 7:20am and we have to check baggage so we have to get there 2-1.5 hours ahead of time. We are going to try and catch the 4:30am bus to the airport. We are flying to Marseille and taking a train to Nice. When we get to Nice I guess we can sleep on the beach :). I'm so excited to start traveling around Europe but it's crazy how time has flown by. I'm going to try and keep up with my blog between cities while we are on the train.
For my last 12 hours in Sevilla Sara and I are going to go see Plaza de España, buy some last minute souvenirs, and eat churros. Then we are going to eat dinner at the apartment for the last time and go out with everyone. I'm sad to leave Sevilla but sooo excited for traveling. ¡Hasta luego!
...p.s. blogger is being lame right now and not letting me add pics so I will do it later when I have time/it is working
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