An American in London

Fourth and Final Destination: London, England

On Thursday afternoon, Kaitlyn and I boarded a plane to our final destination: London, England. Kaitlyn has a cousin who lives in London, and they were nice enough to let us stay at their place. It is normally my responsibility to get us where we need to go, but this time Kaitlyn wanted to prove that she could make it from the airport to their house without my help. Not surprisingly, she ended up having to ask directions from a random man on the street. Kaitlyn is really good at reading street signs from far away, but I will always and forever be the one with the sense of direction.

We'd both been to London before, but neither of us had seen the ceremonial Changing of the Guards. So we woke up early Friday morning and made out way to Buckingham Palace. I was always slightly obsessed with the city of London and the Royal Family growing up, so finally being able to see the red coated men in their funny black hats marching around playing music felt like a dream come true.

Changing the Guards at Buckingham Palace

Afterwards we went for a stroll through Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens. On the way to the park we passed a very strange man who was carrying two ferrets in the hood of his sweatshirt. At one point, one of the ferrets fell out of the hood and was just dangling down his back. The whole thing was quite bizzarre. The most mesmerizing part of Hyde Park was the Rose Garden. I will always and forever be a girlie girl when it comes to roses, and being completely surrounded by their scent made my heart skip a beat. There are very few things in this world that I find more romantic then roses - I guess that explains why my favorite perfume is called "Rose the One." After spending some time smelling the flowers, we finally made our way through the rest of the park to Kensington Palace.

Nothing comes between a man and his ferrets

The Rose Garden in Hyde Park

Roses make my heart melt.

I really wanted a picture with the swans in Hyde Park, but
Kaitlyn would not take it. She was convinced that I would
scare the swan and it would come flying at her. I literally
had to follow this swan around for 30 seconds before she
would snap the photo. 

"So come with me, where dreams are born, and
time is never planned. Just think of happy
things, and your heart will fly on wings,
forever, in Never Never Land!" - Peter Pan

In front of Kensington Palace

After a quick bite to eat at the famous Nando's peri-peri chicken restaurant, Kaitlyn and I met up with Andy for a few drinks. Before I can continue with the story, I feel as though I should take a step back and offer an explanation since 95% of the people reading this blog have no idea who "Andy" is. If you remember back to my Amsterdam blog, you might recall me mentioning someone named "The Best Man." Well, the Best Man has a name, and his name is Andy. We've stayed in touch since then, and about a month ago he asked me to come visit him in London. There was absolutely no way I was going alone though. I mean, what if he turned out to be a psychopathic liar who was actually plotting my murder (don't worry, he wasn't)! So Kaitlyn and I rearranged our Spring Break in order to spend the last weekend in London. A few beers and one very pink cider later, Kaitlyn and I went back to change and Andy left to meet up with his friend.

Friday night was, for lack of a better term, amazing. After a quick bite to eat, Kaitlyn and I met back up with Andy and his friend James, aka "Bulldog," at a bar in downtown London. The second we walked in I could feel my heart beat faster. I honestly felt like I was walking into my dream bar. There was a large, two story glass wall behind the bar with iron boxes displaying countless bottles of liquor, and a large iron and glass staircase ran up the side wall leading to the second floor. Not only did this bar look impressive, but their drinks were fantastic. When I first ordered a Cosmo, Andy and I watched in confusion as the bartender rubbed a fresh orange peel over the glass before pouring the alcohol in. We had no idea what he was doing, but when I tried it I found that I really enjoyed the subtle orange flavor. It was honestly the most unique Cosmo I've ever had. A couple of drinks, a lot of laughs, and a bucketload of memorable moments later, we hopped in a cab and went to an 80's dance club. I know a lot of people don't enjoy 80's dance clubs, but I had a blast. Everyone knows I'm a sucker for Summer Loving and Greased Lightning, so I was giddy and excited when they started to play a Grease montage. At this point in the evening, neither Kaitlyn nor I had any idea where in the city we are since we took a cab there. You can imagine my surprise when I exited the bar and found myself staring face to face with St. Paul's Cathedral. From there we once again hopped in a cab to an undetermined bar recommended to us by the cab driver. Even though we didn't spend much time in the last bar, we were there just long enough to have a drunk man awkwardly dance for us in front of the couch. Fortunately, the dancing stopped when Andy returned from the bar. It was an extremely awkward moment for both Kaitlyn and I since neither of us are accustomed to "dance serenades" from incredibly intoxicated men. 

View of St. Paul's Cathedral from the 80's bar

Random dance serenade.

Andy and me

Resting our feet at the last bar after a night out in London

Kaitlyn and I decided to sleep in on Saturday and have a relaxing morning around the house. We sat on the couch, watched tv, read magazines, and reminisced about our trip. Being back in a house with normal, everyday furniture made me realize just how much I miss curling up in a ball on the couch! After a leisurely morning, we finally headed back into the city to eat fish and chips and visit Camden Market. Camden Market is a large market filled with über short dresses, hilarious t-shirts, and pointless nicknacks that just scream London. To be perfectly honestly with you, I actually bought my first tacky-tourist souvenir since arriving in Europe. I am officially the proud owner of an "I <3 London" keychain. After walking around the market for a while, Kaitlyn and I passed a Piña Colada stand. At the time we thought it was a fantastic idea. Unfortunately, something in the drink didn't agree with us and we instantly felt sick. It seriously felt like a massive hand was trying to push out of my diaphragm and bust through my skin. Neither of us could finish our drinks, and they left us feeling pretty ill for the rest of the evening. Word to the wise: never buy Piña Coladas from a random street vendor in London.

Tacky tourist souvenirs for the win!

Oh, how sweet. It was love at first knit.

That evening, Kaitlyn's cousins took us to a local pub that was tucked away in the middle of a residential neighborhood. The pub was really small and quaint, and it was entirely filled with locals. The menu changes every evening, so even the regulars don't get sick of the food. Unfortunately, I was still feeling somewhat ill from the Piña Colada, so I wasn't able to take full advantage of the genuine pub food. But what I was able to eat lived up to my expectations. When Sunday morning finally rolled around, I awoke to the sound of rain. It was a very fitting end to our time in London since neither Kaitlyn nor I wanted to leave. Out of all the cities I've visited, Hamburg and London take the top two spots for "European cities I could see myself living in." For those of you who have never visited London, you're making a huge mistake. It honestly and truthfully lives up to all the hype.

Tschüss!