Common Pence

Hello all-

Wow... Where to begin. I feel that I have so much to tell! After landing in London, we waited for Kerry and Neil to arrive at their terminal. While sitting in the lobby area, there was a little British boy there with his dad. He was singing Jingle Bells and with the combination of his accent and his smallness, it was the cutest song I've ever heard. I think that was when it hit me that we were indeed in London.

After the group had gathered, we caught the express train from the airport to Paddington Station; another really neat experience. The station was enormous with vendors selling flowers and people hustling every which way. Although I am not a Harry Potter fan, sorry friends, Matt said it reminded him of something described by J.K. Rowling. We made our way to the taxi line and climbed into the most adorable little box of a taxi. The seats in the back all faced each other, unlike the US taxis where someone always has to 'take one for the team' and awkwardly sit shotgun next to the driver. Taxis aren't cheap in London, so that was a one time ride to our Hostel.























Our Hostel is AMAZING!! I highly recommend this trendy little gem. The lobby has computers to use, games, couches, flat screen TVs and a mini bar serving wine, drinks and snacks. We have our own private room with 4 twin sized beds, 2 bunk beds to be exact. That's right... More room for activities!!! We also have our own bathroom in the room, which is really nice. After getting situated we walked down the street and came across a place called Tower Tavern. Chalk that baby up as the first delicious meal we have all had. We ordered entrees like fish and chips, sausage with mashed potatoes and gravy, and steak mushroom stout pie with peas! All was delicious, but we collaboratively agreed my pick, the sausage, was the best. Mmmm mm mm! We then headed back to the hostel and had a bottles ;) of wine, we were making conversation with one of the receptionists who told us about a club on the South side of London.
























We took her recommendation and off we went, across the river! We took the underground "bullet" as they call it and then proceeded to stand in line for an hour for this club called Plan B. It was very different from clubs in America. The music was reggae mixed with house and I LOVED it!! We all got our boogie on, called it a night and took a double decker bus back to our hostel.





We are lucky enough to be coincidentally in London during the known, annual Notting Hill Carnival. The carnival spans over a 3 day period and today, because of London's bank holiday, was the biggest day to go. So of course we went! There were people as far as the eye could see in every direction, a new smell of delicious food with every new wind change, and around every corner was a different type of music with bass heavy enough to vibrate your bones.. It was awesome!! Definitely a cool experience to be a part of. We unfortunately did not bring our cameras due to the gypsies!! (or so the locals say) But we found some pictures online that were very exact to what we saw today.



















I could go on and on about how wonderful London is. We are all falling in love with this city. Tomorrow, which is our last day here, we plan to see Buckingham Palace, The London Bridge, and Big Ben. We have to check out of our hostel by 10am and our flight to Amsterdam leaves at 7pm, so we will have some time to kill! The journey of EuroFest! continues!! Still so much ahead and sooo much to look forward to :)











Our view from my bed :)






Also! Side note... Did you know the UK equivalent of our cents are pence? Well, we didn't. But we use it frequently now, and you should too.... Which makes a lot of pence.



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Location:London