I am still sick, have watched all of Willy Wonka (and decided on a new favorite quote in the movie: "If the good Lord had intended us to walk, He wouldn't have invented roller skates." Wise, wise words those are.) and am ready tell you people all about LONDON!!
I love love love love love love love London. In fact, I think that once I graduate, I will buy my villa in the Chianti region here in Italy and then I will find a fabulous flat in London, maybe somewhere in SoHo and get a job at the National Gallery. It will be the perfect life.
Anyways, let me tell you all about it so you will understand why I am so obsessed.
I got there at around 8:30 and Katie (my friend from Hope) and I immediately went to the theater and got in line for the midnight premier of HARRY POTTER and the Deathly Hallows. For those of you who don't know, I have an uncontrollable obsession with Harry Potter. I've mentioned it in my blog before, but I'm not sure if I have made clear the extent to which this obsession affects my life. It's severe. But in a good way. Moving on...HARRY POTTER was amazing and I want to see it again and again and again and again. And with all the other obsessed people in London, it was especially spectacular. I'm in love.Then we slept. Friday was a good day. We did some shopping, explored the city and saw lots of landmarks: Westminster Abbey, the London Eye, Big Ben, etc. I took tons of pictures and I think I got some good ones. I'll put them on facebook STAT for your viewing pleasure. I ate Chinese food which was fantastic, because I have had nothing but Italian food for three solid months now. It was time for a little change. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love Italian food more than most, but one of the most beautiful things in life is variety. So vary I did. Or something like that.
That night we went back to Leicester Square which was where we saw the movie (at the Odeon, which was also where they had the premier...like red carpet, stars, cameras, and all that jazz premier...no big deal...just kidding, that is a big deal. SO COOL) and ate at a restaurant called Yates's. This time, I had a big, greasy, juicy, American hamburger with french fries. It was soooo yummy. Apparently, after 9, Yates's turns into a nightclub, so we stayed there all night. We made some new friends, got some prizes, and had such a fun night. Fun fun fun fun fun. So fun. I loved it.
Saturday, we headed out in the morning and did several more things. We wandered up and down Oxford Street, ate at TGIF (and no, I do not feel bad about eating at an American restaurant...as I previously mentioned, Italian has been my only choice these last few months and I needed a taste of home...I had nachos and they were amazing), and did more touristy stuff. We went into the National Gallery which was very cool because I got to see lots of modern stuff, some contemporary stuff, and three big rooms full of Renaissance Florence stuff. It was wonderful. Katie was a little less enthusiastic than I was, but she was a good sport and followed me around while I jumped from piece to piece and told her all about everything we saw and gushed over each piece for ten minutes.
We left there and did what was probably my second favorite thing in London (Harry Potter was obviously my favorite): St. James Park. Buckingham Palace was very lame when we got there, but getting there was the best. We walked through St. James Park and saw all the birds they keep there. For those of you who don't know, they keep all kind of different birds there. Most noticeably, huge ducks and pelicans. I took some of the sweetest pictures of my life of both of them. They were very brave and friendly and didn't shy away when I put my camera right up to them. It was so cool. The ducks all but literally struck poses for me, and the pelicans were pretty much the same way. In fact, Katie and I saw two pelicans in the lake doing what looked like a mating dance. I wanted to take pictures, so we headed over to that side of the lake. All of the sudden, we came around a corner and there was a pelican, right in the middle of the sidewalk. He seemed friendly enough, so I handed Katie my camera, told her to take some pictures, and went over and petted him. He nibbled on my jacket for a minute like he was going to to eat it, but then he was fine and he let me pet him. (See picture at right.) He started to walk away and I took my camera back and crouched down in front of him and took some amazing pictures. I am so stoked on them. And there you have it.
After that it was a little more picture taking, a little more shopping, and then it was time for Katie to go. She hopped on her train and I headed back to the hostel to burn an hour and a half until my train to the airport left. I finished my book (Of Bees and Mist by Erick Setiawan...a very good book that you should all read) and then it was time to go.The view on the plane as we were taking off was breathtaking. London truly is a beautiful city. I loved the people, the places, everything about it. Actually, I am going to go out on a limb here and say that it was my best weekend in Europe ever. So there.
And now, I am done. I have nothing else to say and I am sick and I need to sleep so I am leaving you. I hope you have once again enjoyed my antics and will come again for more crazy rambling. Have a nice night.
Love to you all. Cheers mate!
P.S. I am perfectly aware that I sound like a maniac in my blog about being captured by the circus. It was (partially) intended to be that way. And no, I was not actually captured by the circus. If you really believed that then you are a loon of the first water. I was merely trying to avoid the wrath of you all. I knew you'd be angry at my absence. You're a tough crowd. You've practically pushed me to the point of madness...let's hope it doesn't go any further. Sheesh.
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