I left my apartment on Monday morning for Gare du Nord for the Eurostar train. It's a trip a little over two hours and takes you under the English Channel. I was actually a little disappointed. In my mind we would be underground for longer than we were. It was only about fifteen minutes, but it makes sense when you look at a map. On the train I was surrounded by retired English couples. I layed my head back and listened to their accents. I couldn't get enough. For some reason I only think of The Great Muppet Caper. Yes, of all the movies I know and love which have taken place in London, I think of a movie with muppets.
I arrived around 1:30pm and after immigration and customs, I saw my lovely English friend, Becky, waiting for me at the arrivals gate. She and I hadn't even seen each since before Christmas, but it was as if no time had elapsed. I love that! We walked around the station for a bit to find a storage facility for my luggage. We found one only to be treated quite rudely by the worker. His English was weird. It was like a foreign English accent. I just kept saying "pardon" to everything he said. At one point when I was lifting my bag to the conveyer belt, he said something about it being six pounds. I was confused, because whose luggage is actually only six pounds? I kind of ignored that until he got rude again. That's when I realized he was telling me the price. Duh.
Once we dropped off my things, we hopped on the tube and went to Covent Garden. We figured it was best to do all the touristy things in the beginning to get it all over with. Once we came up to ground level I couldn't stop smiling. The first thing that caught my eye was this woman all dressed up and sitting on a wire apparatus and speaking into a microphone. I couldn't tell what she was about to do. Right then, she flipped upside down (for my friends that were formerly in gymnastics, it was a "lemon drop" if you will) and juggled knives upside down. However, I wasn't as impressed because she only did it for like three seconds. I think I could do that. Of course I would never try, but three seconds? We left slightly disappointed. Then I thought "what do her parents tell their friends?" Is it something like (in an English accent) "Oh Jane is living out her dream! We are so proud of all her hard work and happy that all our money into her education got her a prime spot at Covent Garden to juggle knives upside down just as she's always wanted!" This was only to give us some giggles.
We walked a little bit to Becky's favorite shopping store, TopShop. Honestly when I walked in, it made me love London. It is more my style. More casual, more funky, more colorful. There were items in every color of the rainbow. I am so used to seeing black, grey, cream, white, and brown. In Paris each season has a new accent color so that usually helps, but it's nothing like what you find in London shops. They almost promote (and provoke) creativity. It seems that maybe the French have a way of controlling what their country wears simply by not allowing certain fashion to hit stores.Afterwards, we walked to Tragalgar Square. It was quite crowded, but the air was cool and it wasn't raining (yet) so I had no complaints. My pictures probably won't be among my best because of the hovering, threatening clouds. By the way, those hovering and threatening clouds usually never leave London. It rains a lot there. Eat your heart out Seattle - your amount of rain is mere misting compared to London.
After taking in the sites there, we walked towards the South Bank, which is known to be the more modernized part of London. It's more industrialized. We walked by Downing Street, the home of the British Prime Minister. I told Becky that it didn't really look like the movies and that it didn't seem open enough. She said "Connie, do they use the real White House in movies and shows about the President?" Okay she made a good point and I laughed out loud, making fun of my own ignorance.
Next we came up to Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. It was gorgeous! Especially the view since it was right on the River Thames. We walked across the bridge to the south bank. We were getting a bit hungry, so a small snack would do the trick. We passed some museums and shops, the London Eye, then settled on a little come and go eatery. I can't adequately expressed my excitement at seeing everything in English. My French reading isn't too shabby these days so I can always understand what I am reading, but the ease of English was overstimulating to me. I read everything. 
Street performer. This picture was not doctored by Photoshop. This was really his talent.
Greek yoghurt with granola. After trying my first bite, I had to add four packages of sugar. It was my first time eating Greek yoghurt. I was still happy. Just look at the English!
Our view from our table
BECKY!..and her smoothie
On our way back over the bridge, I saw this really tall man walking towards us. He looked familiar and I could tell he was American. Finally when he got next to me, the lightbulb went off. Craig Kilborn! I mean, I never really liked his show that much. I still nabbed a picture of him from behind though. The dude is really tall.
Once we crossed over, we passed Westminster Abbey, which was where I hopped into a typical London telephone booth. I normally don't do the annoying touristy things, but I couldn't help myself. Maybe I need to work on my originality.
We soon made it to St. James' Park. It was the most idyllic and fairytale park. Everything looked like it was wild, just left to grow on it's own and not manicured. There were pigeons, squirrels (yay!), swans, cranes, ducks and the most beautiful plants and flowers.I really miss squirrels.
We were fascinated by this duck's feet. Click on the picture to see a better view.
This park led right up to the entrance of Buckingham Palace. The view of the park from the palace was breathtaking. It was hard for me to imagine that parks like this are normal here. Yes, we have parks and gardens in Paris, but they all have rocks rather than grass. 
The famous black cabbies. Yes, I rode it one. It costs 6 pounds ($12) and we went less than a mile. I didn't do that again.
From Buckingham Palace, we walked through the neighboring Green Park. It was more open and I think a scene from the Great Muppet Caper took place here. When Kermit and Miss Piggy were riding their bikes and Kermit stands on the seat to impress her. Anyway, on the other side of the park were the fun places. The Ritz and all the shopping at Picadilly Circus.
Believe it or not, these buses had scripture on them. It seemed as though every double decker that passed had a different one. Becky and I were shocked. This would never happen in France. I guess it's just as equally shocking to see it in England.
Picadilly Circus
Noorrrmmmmm! This is a place where everybody knows your name. I know all you men are looking at the car in front of it though. No shame.
After a little shopping (no I didn't buy anything), we went back to get my luggage, then hopped on the Tube to head to Becky's brother's flat on the East side of London. By this time we were starving. Much to our dismay, the Tube was having some major delays. It took forty minutes when it should have been closer to ten. We finally arrived to the station, then rushed to his flat. We dropped off our things, rested for about ten minutes, then we were back out to find some food. Friends had recommended a place in Greenwich called the Trafalgar Tavern. Good food, good drinks, great atmosphere. We were stoked and ready for some fish and chips. We were close to salivating. We exited from the Cutty Sark tube station. We talked for about five minutes just about the name Cutty Sark. It sounds like a bad word or phrase, does it not? It was dark and we had to walk past the university that runs along the Thames, so it was a really pretty view. We finally reached our destination. When we walked in we noticed that there were very few people there. The bartender said they were closing and we only had one minute to order. Once we told him what we wanted, he went to the kitchen, then came back to say that he was sorry, but the cooks already left. Total bummer. No Trafalgar Tavern for us. So we walked around a bit and saw a few places, but vetoed them for one reason or the other, until we found this odd shop that had no particular theme of food. They advertized as being seafood, but they also had burgers and steaks. We didn't care. Got got a three course meal for 11,90 pounds. Not too shabby. I got the shrimp cocktail, fish and chips, and American chocolate cake. Becky had the avocado vinaigrette, fish and chips, and ice cream. It was so much food and our waiter was really nice and gave us more than we were supposed to have. We didn't mind, at least until we were finished and could hardly walk.Becky's brother's tube station. You can see the city in the background.
Right at the Cutty Sark tube station at Greenwich
The most luxurious toilets in all of Europe.
Trafalgar Tavern. Where we DIDN'T eat.
We made it back and talked with her brother's roommate for a bit and laughed a whole lot. Then we fell asleep before we knew it. We woke up to rain. Lots of rain. After we talked a bit, we figured we should just go straight to her parent's house in Wokingham, rather than checking out more of London. When we arrived to Waterloo, we purchased tickets to Wokingham. It took about an hour and we were there. Becky's lovely mother picked us up at the station. I will stay that I rode in my first English car and loved it. I sat on the left side. Yeah. We went to Tesco which is a big grocery store chain, and fantastic! Maybe it's fantastic because it reminds me of Tom Thumb back home or something. I bought books in English since they are so expensive in Paris. I also bought a newspaper and Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason for three pounds. It was a good trip to say the least.At her house we relaxed. We sat on a large couch, in a large room, in a large house, next to a large kitchen, while watching the large telly. Space is a commodity people. Don't take it for granted. We were vegetables that night. We had dinner and then resumed our spots back on the couch. That's basically all we did. It was GREAT!
The next day Becky left for Paris, and I went back into London for the rest of my trip. I had booked a hostel and planned to explore the city on my own. Before we left, her mother drove us into the heart of Wokingham. Their little shopping area is so cute. Not many people were out, which I could understand, considering the rain. Then we hopped back into the car to head to the countryside to have coffee and pastries. I wish I took a picture of that place. It's the first time in almost a year that I didn't go absolutely nuts with taking photos.
I sat at this station for over an hour. The train to Waterloo was canceled, so I had to wait for the next one.
Once I finally made it to Waterloo, I hopped on the Tube to West Kensington to check in at my hostel. I didn't know what to expect, but this place was NICE. It beat any hotel I've been to, for sure. There were computers and internet, a bar, pool table, large large flat screen, restaurant, garden, hot tub, etc. I went to my room which I would be sharing with three strangers. Yes, that's the catch. It's cheaper and nicer than some hotels, but you share. Eh who cares, I was outside most of the time anyway. I just needed a place to lay my head.
I walked down to Kensington High Street knowing that there would be plenty to see. I went to Waterstones, the Barnes & Noble of America. I bought a London AZ book which is like a mini Mapsco. I asked the cashiers if they could recommend something that I could do for the night. They suggested Covent Garden and a few different pubs and restaurants. In order to give me time to decide, I went to the Starbucks next door to have some coffee and look through my book. It was a great view and great people watching. I looked across from me and saw this man. Something struck me about him. "Are his beard and eyebrows actually painted on?" is what I had to ask myself. Sure enough, they were. So me, being the very clever, discrete gal that I am, pretended to be cleaning my camera while I took a picture of him. See people, it's all for you, for the sake of this blog.
Click on the picture for a better view.
I decided to ignore the cashiers' advice and head to Picadilly Circus. There was a dress that I had seen at Mango on the first day, so I figured that would be my one gift to myself from London. But when I came out of the tube station, I saw the TKTS booth which sells theater tickets for half price the day of the show. I walked up and asked if they had any for Les Miserable. Yes, they did for 20 pounds, which was actually my limit. I had twenty minutes to be at the theater and Mango was just down the road, so I hauled it. It was raining and my umbrella was very fragile. It was a five euro purchase at H&M and hardly worth it. I made it. I got the dress and ran the entire way to the Queen's Theater. I found my seat and took one picture before the man came over and told me I couldn't do that (well two because I snuck the second one with my camera).
The show was amazing. I loved every minute of it. I left the theater and was just in awe at how beautiful everything was in Picadilly Circus. It's kind of like the Times Square of London. I grabbed a few things at a souvenir shop before I was on my way back to the hostel.
I made it back to the hostel to find the other three beds were occupied and all my things were undisturbed, thank goodness. I quickly changed and hopped into bed. Just before I dozed off, the snoring, the LOUD snoring began. I assumed it was the man on the other bottom bunk. It took a while to fall asleep, but I finally did. I set my alarm for early so that I could get out and see London! I woke up at 7:30am and went to the restroom to get ready. When I came back into the room, the mother (it was a mother, father, daughter I shared my room with) said in a Russian accent, "I am sorry for my snoring last night!" I had to laugh because I would have definitely assumed it was her big and tall husband.I made it out by 8:00am. I went to the tube station at West Kensington towards Notting Hill Gate. It's probably my favorite romantic comedy. I love it. I have no shame about it either. I watched it before I came so that I could find the addresses of the places. It didn't take long since I was only a couple of stops away. I could have walked there, but my poor feet had had enough. I came up at Notting Hill Gate and found my way to Portobello Road. Well first I got lost and went down Cambridge Street. The townhomes were so pretty so I didn't mind and they were also just across from this cool garden (which upon returning to Paris and watching Notting Hill, found out that the garden I saw was THE garden from the movie). I didn't go in though because I just wanted to find Portobello Road. I finally found it and then walked down the long, road that begins quite curvy. After walking for a bit, it became familiar. I was there on a Thursday so that street market wasn't in full force. It's usually on the weekends.
You can see this sign in the movie since it is just across the street from the Travel Book Store.
Did you know that Woolworth's still exists?
The famous blue door, only it's black now and doesn't stand out at all. 
The building across from The Blue Door had this painted on it. I don't know who this is, but it's pretty incredible.
This is where The Travel Bookstore was in the movie. The store next to it was still in existence during the movie as well.
The original Travel Bookstore on which they based the idea of Hugh Grant's store in the movie.
I thought these little townhomes were painted like the smaller, older homes in Highland Park in Dallas.
Just as I put my camera up and turned the corner to the tube station, I saw Elle McPherson. It was kind of cool to see a celebrity in Notting Hill. Now I would be really excited if I saw Julia Roberts there. Right. Next I had to run rush back to the hostel to check out. I actually just left my bag in the lobby so that I wouldn't have to drag it all around London.I walked to Kensington High Street again. They have everything over there. I went to Urban Outfitters and felt a little bit nostalgic. I saw the Whole Foods and my heart pitter pattered. The neighborhood is big but feels so small.
I kept going on to Kensington Gardens which butts up to Hyde Park. By this time the clouds were looking fierce. I walked for a bit and couldn't help but stopping every second for photos.
Kensington Palace
Just outside of the garden gates. 
I went back into the garden when I saw all of these flowers. Doesn't this one look like a painting?
Once I left, I went back to Whole Foods. I walked around for about thirty minutes. It was honestly the oddest feeling. I felt like I was in Dallas but I wasn't. I wasn't even in Paris, but it was all so familiar. I knew I wanted nuts. I always purchased almonds and pecans at Whole Foods at home. Bingo, I found them. Then I saw Naked Juice from a distance. I ran, yes ran, to look at them. It cost the equivalent of $5.50, but I didn't care. I wanted Berry Blast Naked Juice. That was my lunch and it was great. I bagged it up and hopped on the tube again, this time destined for Tower Hill. It was a bit of a way away, but worth it. The weather was getting worse, but I didn't have all that much time till I had to get back on the Eurostar and head back to Paris. I came out of the station to find really really old buildings paired with modern buildings. It was interesting, but I liked it. The whole area was busy with tourists trying to get tickets into the Tower, those that were eating, and those that were just relaxing while they had time and before the rain would begin again. I walked through the crowd to the Thames to find a bench viewing the Tower Bridge while I ate my pecans and juice. It was a happy moment for me. I don't know why that lunch made me so happy, but it did. The bridge looks just as I thought, but much more fairytale-like. The blue on the bridge was REALLY blue. It's bad that it's my impression of it, but it is. It's gorgeous of course.
Upon exiting the station, there was a really peaceful park dedicated to fallen soldiers. I didn't read much of it because of the time constraint, but I managed to try and capture the feeling of it.
And just across the street was my destination. It was so beautiful.
View of the Tower Bridge from my bench
And that's it folks. I went back to the hostel to grab my bag, then I spent a little bit of time at the station before I departed for Paris. I will honestly say it was the first time I didn't want to get back to Paris. I just couldn't brave the city. I wanted to stay in London longer, but I know there will be other opportunities to go. I will be back.
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