London

Quite a while ago, a group of us decided to arrange a trip to London. I had all but forgotten about it, until someone reminded me to get ready. After a quick flight and dealing with immigration, we waited about two hours for a bus to take us into town. We got there, finally, found our hostel, and rested a bit. After a short rest, we found the bar in the hostel and had some cheap drinks there. We walked to the underground station and took the tube to the downtown area, along the River Thames. It was quite nice out, and we saw he Big Ben tower and the London Eye ferris wheel all lit up. I also found a football shop where I bought a scarf of West Ham United (see a couple paragaphs down about the team). We had a traditional English dinner, of fish and chips to end the evening.

The next day we took a free tour of the whole city. We swa the place where the Great Fire started along with all the sights you think of when you think of London. We saw Big Ben by day, Westminster Abbey, The Houses of Parliament, 10 Downing Street (where the Prime Minister lives), Buckingham Palace, along with other things like the Millenium Bridge and the bridge built entirely by women.

That evening, we went to a comedy club show. It was quite funny, even for a very small venue.

Next day was the Tower of London. I found out that it's not really a tower at all, but a castle/fortress. We saw the places where the Kings of England lived and worked. We also saw the armouries and prison chambers.

Also on display at the Tower of London are the Royal Crown Jewels of the Royal Family. These things are pretty incredible. Centuries old, and under the tightest security I've ever encountered. You basically walk into a safe, with a door over a foot thick. Qute impressive.

That same day, Klaus and I took the tube to East London (the not-so-nice area) to a place called East Ham. East Ham is the place where Upton Park is. Upton Park is the place where my favorite soccer team, West Ham United Football Club, plays. Unfortunately, there was something going on inside, famous people and that kind of stuff... so we were unable to tour it. But, the guy at the front desk felt sorry for us travelling all that way not to be able to see the grounds. So he gave us an email address to email for a tour and some free stuff.

That night we saw a movie at one of the huge cinemas in Leicester (pronounced Lester) Square. It is one of the movie houses where world premiers are shown. 1300 seats. That same night was the premier for the new movie Dreamgirls. So Beyonce Knowles, Eddie Murphey, Jay-Z... all those famous people, were there. I didn't see any of them, but they were there.

Next morning, we headed back to Germany. It was a very nice weekend, and the weather (which was terrible in Germany) was great in London. We kind of escaped that big storm, so we were more than happy.

The bar inside the hostel. They had "Pint for a Pound" from 6-9 pm. Cheap drinks!

The London Eye by night. It's really cool looking. It's one piece of a three-part project. It's the only one that had any success.

St. Stephen's tower. It's more famously known as Big Ben. This is actually false, as Big Ben is actually only the big bell inside the tower. But it doesn't really matter. :)

On the River Thames by night. (Pronounced "Temms") Really cool boats and stuff. The boat there in the foreground is actually permanently there, as a night club/bar/restaurant.

The Tower Bridge. Easily one of the most famous bridges in the entire world.

Me in front of Upton Park, where West Ham United play their home games. You can also see the scarf I'm wearing--it matches the emblems on the stadium. Also, I'm wearing two coats (to match better). I'm not that huge. :)

From Dylon With Love