Ashley and I arrived in London quite early in the morning. We bought 72 hour "tube" ticket for the time we were there. It was such a great deal. For 3 days of transportation in only cost about 17 pounds (about $25). I made reservations at a hostel called ASHLEE HOUSE. I thought it would be a fun idea because it shared the same name as Ashley. The Ashlee house turned out to be a really nice place to stay. The receptionist Lucy made us feel like we were at home. We ended up being in a 10 person room. It was fun because we had the chance to meet a bunch of different people from all over the world. That day Ash and I decided to make up our own walking tour. All we had was our map to guide us. It ended up being such a fun day because it wasn't planned and we ended up having the best timing! On our self guided tour we passed the London Museum, The Tottenham Pub (where we had our first European lager), The National Gallery, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, House of Parliament and the London Eye. Our timing was great along the walk because we stumbled upon a beautiful orchestra performance in St. James Park right outside of Buckingham Palace and then an our later we happened to walk right up to the "changing of the guards." This was really funny because the guards were trying their hardest not to laugh and be serious... but we saw most of them crack a smile and a few of them just lose it to laughter.
The next day was spent hanging out on Jubilee Walkway near the London Eye. Jubilee Walkway is very entertaining because of all the street performers. We saw some amazing acts and unbelievable costumes. Later we took a great boat tour down the Thames River, which at one time was the busiest river in the world! On the tour we got to see the famous "London Bridge," St. Paul's Cathedral, Shakespeare Globe, The Tower of London, and a really beautiful bridge called the "Tower Bridge." After the Cruise we went on the London Eye. It is the worlds second highest observation wheel. It is designed like a giant bicycle wheel made by 6 different countries in the Europe. That night Ashley and I went to the "Absolute Icebar London." This was a crazy experience! When we walked up to the bar they give you lined poncho and gloves. Once you walk in the temperature drops to below freezing! The bar is made completely of ice. Our shot glasses were made out of ice too! It was sooo super cold! They say you aren't allowed to be in there more then 30 minutes or you will freeze to death (I think they are exaggerating a little... but only a little).
On Tuesday we met up with my friend John from Seton Hall. He now plays futbol (soccer) in London. First we went to an authentic "full english breakfast" then he showed us around Trafalgar Square - a central square the is the destination of most marches and demonstrations. We also took an all day walk (shopping spree) up and down Regent St. THANKS JOHN!!! Ash and I definatly got our SHOP on! Later that night we met Sarah Foden (Erin's husband Mark's sister) in Soho. We had a great time talking and having a few cocktails. :)
Day 4 in London was kind of a huge mess! Ashley and I woke up went to the travel agent to buy our EURAIL ticket. We realized we needed to go across town to get on the day of travel. Then we had to plan how we were getting from London to Amsterdam. With a few hours of deliberation and time spent on the Internet and tubes we decided to take the FERRY from London to Amsterdam. This was the cheapest way by far and it turned out to be very very nice and fun!
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