I spent the first weekend of February in England! It was a very short trip but I was able to see Dana, see a few sites and bring stuff home for her! I left Phoenix on Thursday and arrived in London on Friday morning. Dana was at the airport to meet me and it was as if she had only been away a few weeks rather than six months!! We drove to her house were we dropped of the bags and then we headed for Hastings were she teaches. On the way to her house we saw a John Deere dealership along the road. I thought that was really cool. She had to go to school so I opted to spend time downtown looking around. It was cold but I had three layers of clothes on and a scarf so I was going to be fine (I really wished I had my winter coat from Oregon!!). Dana dropped me off at 10:30ish and I was to meet her in the same spot at 3:30. I hopped out and Dana left. As she drove away, down the street, I suddenly realized that I had left my coat and scarf in her car. It had gotten warm on the drive down from the airport so I took them off and put them in the back seat- where they still were!! I was freezing!!!!!
I did the only logical thing- I immediately went into Debenham's and bought a coat. A cute brown suede type coat that will be a nice addition to my closet. It's not to warm for AZ weather in the winter and it was on clearance!! With my new coat, I headed out to explore Hastings. It is a cute little town that has so much history! But everyplace has history in Europe because it's been there forever! I walked around and looked at some things. They have a lot of the same stores we do. I finally went into Mr. Bean's cafe and had a big hot cup of Mocha and decided to sit in there awhile and read till I was warm again. I read a few chapters in a book I brought and had another cup of coffee before I decided to head out again and conquer the cold. I continued to go up and down the streets. I stayed relatively close to the same area (so I covered some the area twice). Dana had said that could go to another area of town she mentioned but since I didn't have her cell number or really knew where she lived I stuck close to where I was to meet her. I did find a mini-mall in the area and looked through the 10 or so shops there. They have a cute store called Accessorize that I liked.
Dana met me at 3:30 and we were off to the house so I could shower and get ready for dinner. We met some of her friends and had a great meal. We then headed to Kings, a dance club that was good. It had a lot of smoke and a smoke machine so I was having problems breathing but I didn't want to complain and ruin the night so I stuck it out. We danced till about 2:00 am. I had been up for 36 hours by that time and was tired!! We went home and I had to shower again before bed to get the smoke out of my hair.
Saturday we woke up early to meet Gail and go to an English football game. It was fun. We took the bus and drove up there. They had security guards posted all along the stairs between the home and visiting fans. I had more fun watching the fans taunt each other than watching the actual game. We lost and headed home but I had a great time and Gail's dad was so funny! He reminded me of my dad.
Sunday we woke up early and caught a train to London. Halfway there we had to switch to a bus because they do the train construction on Sundays. We then got back on the train from our hour bus ride and ended at Victoria station. As we excited and headed the few blocks to Buckingham Palace, we walked along a brick wall that enclosed the Queen's Muse- the place she stores all her carriages. The palace was neat to see and we notice the guards were going to be changing at 11:30. It was 9 so we headed through the park to see Churchill's war room- where all the planning and strategizing occurred during WWII. Along the way we saw some horses headed towards the other end of the park. They happened to be next to the War Room so we walked over and took a few photos of them changing guards.
The tour of the War Room was really neat. It was cool to be standing in the exact spot that Churchill and his other advisors and the rest of the staff had been all those years ago. It had been restored to how it was when they were there. It was as if they had just got up to go to get coffee or something. They still had the original stuff. When we were done there we headed back up to Buckingham Palace to watch the changing of the guard. They had a band and it was fun to watch them march by. When that was over we headed to Big Ben and Westminster Abbey.
Big Ben is impressive and there is a spot that you can stand and have the London Eye (big ferris wheel), Big Ben and if you wait to the right moment, a double decker bus in the photo. Of course I had to get one of those. Westminster Abbey was closed because it was Sunday but it was cool to see and then we walked by Big Ben and parliament and over the bridge that crosses Thime River to grab a tour bus to ride around and see the sites. They covered a lot of what we had already seen but it was cool to see Scotland Yard, Kennington Palace, the homes of Margaret Thatcher and Sean Connery. We hopped off the bus to switch lines to see other things and saw the American Embassy and then decided to get off- it was cold riding up top (the only place to get a good view and great pics).
Where we got off the bus was a long line of red telephone boxes (booths) so of course I got my picture taken along side them and then in one of them. That is all I really wanted to do in London- see a red telephone box and ride a double decker bus. So I had done both!!! We grabbed the underground (tube/subway) to go to Covent Garden and see the street performers and shop. It was really cool and switching the trains was fun to. There, you can't just get off and go to the other side. You actually have to get off and run up or down stairs and hallways to reach the trains going in the other directions.
Covent Garden was really nice and I picked up a few photos and pictures as well as a purse, tea and some really good candy. We walked around and finally had lunch. I had the traditional Fish and Chips with vinegar and brown sauce. Then we headed out to see London Tower because you can't come to London and not see the tower. It is an old castle with lots of history. It was closed but I did make my way into the gift shop to purchase a few things and then we walked over to see the Tower Bridge. It was impressive in the night being light up. That is the bridge the American's thought they were buying when they bought the London Bridge that is Lake Havasu.
We headed for the train home and of course we had to run to catch it. I did a lot of running that day and I'm not a big runner. The ride home was the same as coming in- we had to get a bus part way. Once at Eastbourne station we stopped off at a fellow teachers house to chat a while. Nate and Craig are very funny and really nice. I hope both of them come to see Dana in Arizona once she gets back because it would be really nice to chat with them again. I had so much fun but I was so tired from the day that I packed and went to bed even though the Superbowl was on TV. With seven hours difference it was really late. I didn't even know who won till I was back at the states waiting for my flight to Phoenix.
In the morning, Dana dropped me off at the train station and I took it to the airport. When we bought the ticket we thought it was a direct train but I had to get off at one point and switch trains. I was a little worried because I only had 4 minutes to make the switch and I had two bags with me. Luckily I just had to walk across the track and there was a couple other people heading to the airport as well so I followed them!!
I made it to the airport and checked in and had a great flight home. I had such a wonderful time in England and everyone was so nice but next time I go I will bring a heavier coat and Dana's address so customs won't be mad at me for not knowing where I'm staying!! (just a hint for those who travel there). :)
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