The London Experience

95% of our time in the UK was fantastic! So I'll mostly focus on that... but I do feel like I should briefly mention the 5% that was horrible. On our way flying from Ireland to the UK, we passed a small little booth called: Immigration. No big deal... we've been through these before. They ask us how long we're staying, the nature of our stay, look at our passports, make sure the picture matches and send us on our way.

Not this time. 

I think I may have caught a small glimpse of what it feels like to be a Mexican trying to visit America. Long story short- we messed up the customs application, couldn't remember the address where we were staying, they threatened to punish us for some Schengen rule (even though they are a non-Schengen country and it's not their jurisdiction) and then they proceed to ask Christopher 9235359 questions about his life like he may just be a terrorist. Seriously UK... we just want to see Big Ben, check out Buckingham Palace and eat some fish & chips.

So after we were "luckily" allowed through immigration, despite the desires of the grumpy immigration official... it was smooth sailing.

The best part about London was definitely the Underground (public transportation). It was SO convenient and actually really reasonably priced. For about 5 pounds each, we got to travel unlimited for a whole day. It was definitely worth it.

We got to see all of the classic touristy stuff: Big Ben (life goal, check!), the London Eye, Tower Bridge, West Minister Abbey, Buckingham Palace, the changing of the guard (twice), Picadilly Circus and Oxford Street for some fabulous shopping. Christopher got a brand new suit for only 23 pounds...jacket AND pants! Plus of course, I splurged a little... it's hard to stop myself in the middle of a giant Primark - my favorite store, ever.

Once again, we got to stay with another awesome Couch Surfer. His name was Jonathan and he lived in a north London suburb. He told us a little about the riots which had just ended. It was crazy hearing all the stories. We didn't really see much... just a few busted windows and boarded up buildings. They had most of the remains cleaned up.

One highlight of our trip was a little day excursion to see the famous Stone Henge (another life goal, check!). It was awesome listening to the audio guide about this "mysterious" monument. It's crazy thinking they have no idea who made it, why it was created or the biggest question HOW it was made. I couldn't believe that humans moved these huge stones across hundreds of miles...each of the stones weighed more than 3 elephants! I loved the mystery of it all.

We of course had to snap a couple classic tourist photographs with the red telephone booths and my personal favorite... the Prime Meridian of the World in Greenwich. It was cool thinking that we had one foot (or in my case, one hand) in each hemisphere... or that we kissed while he was standing in the Western Hemisphere and I was standing in the Eastern. I loved it.

While we did enjoy the fish and chips... we actually ventured out and tried some Korean food. And we are so glad we did! The restaurant was brand new and catered to our every need - offering us free upgrades, free appetizers and constant attention. Our waiter even offered to let us use his laptop when we were surfing the web on our iPhone. It was the best service I've ever had at any restaurant in my life...and I'm being 100% serious. It was the best.






One idea Christopher had was to visit the big attractions during day light...and night time. This was a fabulous idea. Here are my favorite pictures of Big Ben, the London Eye and the Tower Bridge during the day and at night... so beautiful!


 


Our journey back to Belgium was long...and tiring. We decided to take the night bus because it was 1/4 the cost. We pictured getting on the bus, sleeping for 6 hours, coming home, sleeping for 3 more hours and then going to work. However... we forgot to take into account that they clear out the whole bus to check everyone's passports and then once we arrived to the coast, we had to get out again, get on a ferry for 2 hours and then get back on the bus before continuing our journey home. It was long...and tiring - but looking back, I still think it was worth saving a few 100 pounds.


We really loved our time in the UK. Partially because everyone spoke perfect English, partially because it was so clean and I think partially because it reminded us most of America. We are getting a teeny bit homesick...although we are definitely taking advantage of our time here in Europe. We are so grateful for this opportunity to see so much of the world. Traveling is definitely an adventure!