Ok this will be short...even though I said that last night! But it's 2:30 am, you know where I'm heading. I had a great day today...even though it was FREEZING, rainy, and windy, I tried to make the best of it. I got a late start because I slept in a little...Lolo must have turned the heat on before she left because I was so cooooozy in bed, it was hard to get out! Big surprise, I'm sure. Anyways, I battled the rain to a great coffee shop in Stoke Newington (the neighborhood Lolo lives in) and then took the Tube into Central London. I had to stop at this place called King's Crossing because the Harry Potter tribute was at the station! I posted a picture of it....Platform 9 3/4 for those who have read it or seen the movies. They had a cart that disappeared into the wall too...I loved it. Anyways, headed on to the Westminster area and saw the London Eye, Big Ben, Parliament, Westmister Abby, and Buckingham Palace (posted a couple pictures). Touristy spots for sure...I met a family from Binghampton, haha! But it was really cool, even in the rain...I actually bought a souvenir (Lolo suggested getting something small from everywhere I went) of a double decker bus key chain. Hehe totally typical but I had to! The rain got really bad after Buckingham palace so I made my way back....thought about stopping at the London Aquarium to stay dry but couldn't justify spending $26 U.S. on a ticket. It's so hard to look at prices here and know you have to double them to realize how much you're spending. Really sad too because the shopping is sooo tempting :) Oh well, maybe other places will be more reasonable. Went back to Stoke Newington after to shower, eat, and get ready for Lolo's show. I was a little late because the bus took f-in forever!!! It was so much fun though...Lolo seems pretty shy at times but she really comes out of her shell on stage...she was great!! The venue was called Boston Music Room and I got meet a couple of her friends...all really nice and welcoming. Tried a couple good beers too...but turns out they were Danish and French beers! Oh well, I'll get to the English Ales, I'm sure :) Came back on this side of town with Lolo and went out for one more drink...different atmosphere than the Boston Room but we had good conversations with guys from Dublin and Belfast. I'm fascinated with their accents and they actually made me read from a newspaper to hear mine. Haha I kept trying to tell them that they're the ones with the cool accents, the U.S. has nothing to brag about! Oh well, it was fun. Off to sleep for sure....it wasn't as short as I thought it'd be. Doing brunch instead of breakfast tomorrow, I'm sure. :)

Long day!

It's been a looong day so I'll try to get as much in before I pass out! Lolo and Willie have a laptop that they have kindly let me check my e-mail and upload my pictures, so this works out great. I felt like I saw so much today but I only TOUCHED upon London! I got up really early to head to Greenwich first which is on the South side of the river Thames.....gorgeous little area that has so many shops and cafes as well as museums and history. I headed there to see the Royal Observatory and get some great shots of the London skyline. Too bad it was cloudy! Greenwich Park was beautiful and actually the spot where all time in Europe is based out of...Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). My favorite part, however, was the observatory because it's where the Prime Meridian is! I posted a picture below of me straddling the line...one foot is in the Western Hemisphere and the other in the Eastern Hemisphere! How sweet is that!? I thought it was pretty interesting. :) I left Greenwich after that (and a coffee of course) and headed to a couple more touristy stops. London Bridge, Tower Bridge, and Tower of London. London Bridge is nothing too exciting...pretty dull if you ask me. But Tower Bridge makes up for it...got a lot of good pictures (I'll post one below as well). Continued to walk to St. Paul's Cathedral (gorgeous and enormous) then went to Tate Modern Museum. Very interesting art in there, I was impressed. Just walked along the river after that, got plenty of pictures and stopped at the Borough market to check it out....too bad I had just eaten. I'll definitely go back there because Lolo told me a scene in one of the Harry Potter movies was filmed there! I have to get a picture :) I was literally exhausted after all that....walked closed to 6 miles I'm sure and even in the most comfy shoes, my legs and back were tired! So I came back to Lolo's and relaxed, waited for her to get out of work. We made dinner here together (rice and veggie curry dish....sooooo yummy!) then went out for a "pint" at an English pub. They had a nice fire going and all...completely felt like I thought it would. Tomorrow I'm going out for the day for more sights and then seeing Lolo's show at night. Also, a friend from Mary Wash caught up with me on myspace and she's living in London right now! Hopefully I'll be able to see her...even just for coffee to catch up, it's been years! It's been a little lonely walking around the sights all by myself, but I really am enjoying the time to take things in and all. I know I'll meet more people when I start staying in hostels and I'm so grateful for Lolo being so nice and letting me stay with her! But ya know, I like to talk and don't want to start talking to myself soon! Hehe just kidding. No one is super friendly in London though, I've noticed. Even Lolo admitted that most of them are rude! But I am not complaining at all....I'm in love with this city and the experience so far. Just commenting, hehe. Besides I can go where I want, when I want and feel like I'm getting a lot accomplished. It's a good feeling :) Anyways, write more soon....xoxo. Hope everyone is well.

And it begins....:)

Well I'm heeeeeere! Exhausted but here! I definitely couldn't sleep much on the plane (seats were tight) so it feels like I've been up for days. But getting through Heathrow was a breeze and I got through customs 3 people behind Solja Boy! Crazy huh? I never would have known who he was had the customs guy not said anything. I wanted to do the Solja boy dance right then but ya know, didn't think it was a appropriate....or any good for that matter :)

The Underground train system (the Tube) was really easy to grasp and I'm glad for that since I'll be using it all weekend long. I had to lug my backpack all around for the afternoon before I met up with Lolo but at least it was comfy! I must have stuck out like a sore thumb because I had to meet Lolo in Oxford Circus which is a very high-end shopping area. Completely reminded me of NYC. But Lauren Marinaro assured me that's the most American-like place in London, so not to worry that it will all be like that! It just made me jealous that I didn't have the money to spend on clothes :) So tempting....

Lolo is the greatest! I met up with her for coffee and we chatted for awhile about some plans for the weekend. She reminds me so much of Aunt Mary (you were definitely right about that Michelle!) and very easy to get along with. Her apartment is in Stock Newington which is right outside of London so that's where I'll be staying. The area is great...artsy and ecclectic. There is a giant Victoria cemetery in the middle of the neighborhood and it's a beautiful walk through it. I started a bit later today (after a nap) so it scared me a bit to be in there after dusk....another time for sure :)

Well tomorrow starts my sightseeing frenzy...Lauren and Lolo gave me a bunch of ideas for things to see and of course I want to see it all. Definitely have to catch up on sleep tonight so I'll be able to manage it tomorrow. My eating schedule is wacked out too!! I haven't eaten much all day so hopefully everything will work out tomorrow. Or not...since English food is nothing to brag about! Hehe :) I'll write more soon when my head isn't fogged from lack of sleep!! Small price to pay......:)