So, just to recap, last January (2010) I began my exploration of Europe.  I was in a strange country, living on my own, with no one I knew within 3,000 miles.  Well that last part might be a little inaccurate.  As I was in London, living and learning, two of my friends from high school where elsewhere in Europe.  My friend Catherine was a short flight away in Dublin, Ireland, and my friend Lauren was studying in beautiful Barcelona, Spain.

Although I got over my homesickness within the first couple weeks, I was super excited when Catherine told me she was coming to London with a few of her friends from Dublin.  It was great to see a familiar face, and somewhat surreal to be gallivanting around Trafalgar Square and London’s SoHo with one of my best friends from high school.  The first morning of Catherine’s arrival in London, I met her and her Dublin friends at the London Eye.  We then walked over to Buckingham Palace to see the Changing of the Guard (click for a YouTube video of the ceremony).  The Changing of the Guard is an amazing ceremony, and was a really great experience, even though it was incredibly crowded.  We then walked around the city and stopped at 10 Downing Street, the home of the Prime Minister, and finally the National Gallery.  Later that night, my friend Jocelyn from uni and I  met Catherine at her hostel to go out on the town.  We ended up at the Walkabout, which is an Australian themed pub, and one of our favorites in London.  It was a great night out with old and new friends, and ended with Jocelyn and I taking the 87 night-bus back to Kingston, and then the 287 night-bus to Surbition.  The night-buses are really no fun!

At the Walkabout

The second night of Catherine and the Dublin crew’s visit to London I met up with them in London’s SoHo, where there is plenty of fun and exciting nightlife.  The first pub we went to was an experience I’d rather forget.  I can’t quite remember the name of it, but it was crowded and uncomfortable, and after the boys had been hit on a few times we realized it was a gay bar.  Who knew? But that was not the reason I’d rather forget it.  While we were standing at the bar, chatting and cracking jokes I felt a tug at my bag.  I turned around to see a guy standing there with my camera in his hand!  This is where being from Jersey really came in handy.  I grabbed my camera from him and flipped out.  I was screaming and yelling every insult I knew.  I even went as far as to take the 20 British Pounds he had in his hand, assuming it was mine.  He would not get out of my face insisting the money was his.  I checked my bag and realized the money was not actually mine so I threw it at him, and he left.  Obviously we left that establishment at that moment and continued our night.  We went to Bar SoHo, which was an amazing club, where we had a fabulous night of catching up, drinks, and dance- offs.  We didn’t let the minor slip up of an almost camera thief in a gay bar ruin our night, but I never used that purse again!

Bar SoHo

After a long eventful night, I ended up crashing at Catherine’s hostel because a long night-bus ride back to Kingston, alone, was the last thing I wanted to do.  It ended up being really convenient because the next morning I set out with the Dublin crew to hit some of the quintessential London sights.  We went to St. Paul’s Cathedral, the sight of Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s royal wedding, Platfrom 9 ¾ in King’s Cross Station, and Abbey Road (Click for a live webcam of the famous Abbey Road Crossing).  It was mind blowing that Catherine and I had gone from hanging in the halls of high school to hanging out in one of the best cities in Europe.  Oh the wonder of life! Haha.

I have included links to the places we went for you to check out on your own, and some of my personal pictures from the visits.  If you have any questions or comments on London’s SoHo, camera thieves, the sites we visited, or anything else, I’d love to hear them! <3 Britt