London part 1

Friday March 18

Today was the day we had to say goodbye to Venice and hello to London town! Brittany, Heather, and I got up really early, packed and had a little bit of breakfast before we set off. Just like everything else in Venice, we had to take a ferry to get to the airport. When we were on the ferry we did a little people watching. There was the cutest little girl whose mom was putting lip gloss on her. Adorable! We got to the island where the airport was and proceeded to walk about 10 minutes to the entry of the building. After checking in, the girls and I hung out for awhile till we were off! We landed in Rome and had to make our connection there. In case you were wondering, the international terminal in Rome is really confusing. The terminals are just round desks in the middle, and you have to go down an escallator and hop on a tram to get to the plane which is just hanging out randomly in the middle of nowhere. After the flight we had to go through customs. I was super excited to get a stamp from rome and london, but then I found out that all the stamps look the same and didn't have the name of the courty on them. Boo! We waited awhile in line and finally got through. At this point Heather was practically sprinting ahead because her finace, Mark, had flown in earlier and was waiting to pick her up at the airport. He also brought Brittany and I candy. Nice! At this point we split since they are staying in a hotel (and we are in a hostel). Brit and I got out little Oyster cards (for the subway system), found the subway station, and headed with all of our junk out to Camden Town!

So the hostel we're staying in is attached to a bar called Belushi's. The staff was super friendly when we got there, and sorted out a few problems we had with the booking. Plus we get discounted food and drinks there. Score! The room isn't awful, and the bed is actually more comforitable than the one in the hotel in Venice. Who knew? After getting settled in, Brittany and I headed to Piccadilly square to meet up with Heather, Mark, and a friend of theirs from highschool who is living and working in London right now. The official meet time was 8:30. We got there a little early and waited....and waited...and waited. after waiting almost 40 minutes, Brit realized that the time on her ipod hadn't been set to London time, so we were actually and hour early. Oops. On top of that, they ended up being about 30 minutes late, so were felt like we were there forever! Piccadilly square is kind of like Times Square in New York, except with pretty buildings around it. Brit and I went into a few stores in the area. There was one mega souvenier shop which had a map of the tubes on socks...get it?! TUBE SOCKS! I thought this was much funnier than it actually was. Also, we passed by an adult entertainment place that had a sign saying "No VAT increase on lap dances". Good to know.

Once Heather got there, we met her friends, Robert and Anosh. We all wandered a bit, picted up some really good street burritos, and found a pub to hang out in for the night. Eventually, Brit and I made it back to the hostel and met two of our roommates who were Italian university students staying in Camden for 3 nights. They didn't know much English, we don't know much Italian; it was perfect.

Things I've Learned:

Since people drive on the other side of the road in London and lots of people apparently get hit for looking the wrong way, the city has painted on the road directions on which way to look before crossing. Apparently people's parents never told them to look both ways before crossing.

The food here isn't great. Therefore, crappy American fast food is acceptable. They also don't charge you for water here, and bathrooms have toilet seats. I'm in heaven. 

The subway system is the easiest thing in the world to use. I'm in love.