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| Today was just about the best day here. I took my last walk around the city and it was a fabulous 55 degrees out. All I needed was a long sleeve shirt and a sweater.
I meandered along the south bank of the Thames again and found the cool concrete skate park again. This time I had my camera and the flash and there were over 20 kids there doing tricks. I got some awesome pictures of some amateur BMX riders. I even got to know a few of them. I got their emails so I could send them the link to my web album so they could get copies of the pictures I took. I think I hung out there for a good 2 hours just taking pictures. I can't wait to get them off the camera and look through them all.
I am here in my hotel and taking advantage of it. Room service is awesome. And watching movies in French is weird.
I will be back tomorrow! YAY! I have no idea how long this accent is going to linger. It kind of sticks at the beginning of conversations then I slip back and forth between American and English phrases. Don't be surprised if I ask where the bin is or if I call the ATM a cash machine. Or use the word 'cheers' instead of thanks. Odd terms these english have.
See you soon! Cheers! | | |
| I've been having the toughest luck when it comes to sleep lately. I don't think I was able to fall asleep until 2:30 last night and even after I fell asleep I kept waking up. In the morning my dorm-mates were up and about getting ready for the day so I grabbed my ear plugs and rolled over. I didn't wake again until 11 when the cleaning people came in and started vacuuming.
I despise the cleaning people here. I know they're trying to do their job but have they no consideration? Yesterday I'd just taken a shower and some girl came in to get the trash. I figured it would just be that but she propped the door open with me still in my towel and two more girls came in to change sheets and vacuum. I was like, I'm soaking wet in a towel with nothing else on and you're going to prop the door open. YEAH THANKS. So I grabbed my clothes and changed in a bathroom that was just mopped so I ruined a pair of socks too. I was really annoyed at that point. So I hung out in the hall until they were done with the room so I could get to my stuff again.
So this morning was similar to that where I had to dodge the vacuum and hide out in the bathroom. After that I got some cash and headed for my favorite place. Camden Market. There I finished my Christmas shopping. JOY.
Tonight is my last night in the hostel. Then I'm hitting up a hotel for my last night so I can get a good nights sleep and finish packing and repacking everything. I'm doing a jig of happiness. You can't see it but I am. | | |
| Last night I stayed up late talking to a lady I'm rooming with so I slept in again. This time I missed breakfast. No huge loss. I just had a big lunch. I went to a gourmet burger place but it still wasn't the same. I can't wait to get back to American food. I tried fish and chips. It was good, but very greasy and messy. And I miss my kitchen so much. I want to cook!
So yeah, I slept in again but this time until 10. Then I grabbed my camera and went out walking. I used the Thames to find my way to the London Eye, the huge ferris wheel on the bank of the river. It was a nice walk because a lot of little shops open on the side of the river walk this time of the season. I found a little area under a walkway that kids had rather taken over to use as a skate park. It was covered in colorful graffiti that looked really cool so I took pictures. I wish I'd had my flash with me so I could get some shots of the kids doing tricks. I'm thinking about going back tomorrow to see if I can get some better pictures.
I got to the Eye and got on. Half way to the top my camera battery died. I was a bit unhappy but I had gotten a few good pictures. I saw Big Ben as well.
I'm so tired of paying for internet. I can't wait to get home and have my internets 24/7. Sunday. Welcome home party, anyone? I need a drink. | | |
| This morning I woke up with a headache. So I slept in for a bit. Then I decided I wanted something remotely American. I heard a rumor there was a Whole Foods just off the tube at High Street Kensington. So I headed over there and got a little caught up in all the shops. After shopping around and remembering that everything actually costs twice what it says because of the exchange rate, I refrained from buying and moved on.
Whole Foods, like everything else the Brits copy off us, is waaaaaaaay more fancy here. It's 3 levels and everything is well organized into their sections. I could not find what I wanted most though. Easy Mac. What I really want is regular Mac n Cheese but I have no access to a kitchen. They had neither anyway. Despair.
But they did have a lovely foody bar for take out boxes that I took advantage of. I grabbed some fresh fruit as well and some ice cream. I think I've been maintaining an almost balanced diet. Almost being key word. Then I came back and layed down to read for a bit to feel better and I passed out again. For about 4 hours. So much for doing anything else. So I resigned to a quiet evening here at the hostel. I'm gonna have a beer or 2 and try to get friendly with the locals. And I'm sure I look terribly classy in the sitting room here in my skirt and tall boots with my laptop in my lap and a beer between my thigh and the couch arm. Oh yes. Classtacular. Mmmm, Stella. | | |
| I'm back in the first hostel I stayed in. I could use something familiar. I had a casual morning and slept till bout 8:30 which is late for me lately. Got up and got breakfast and took a fantastically long shower. Showers always make me feel better.
After that I decided to meander to Leicester Square and see how much tickets to a few shows would be. One I definitely want to see is Les Miserables. I've heard so much about it and I haven't read the book or anything.
I got a pamphlet listing all thats on and got some food at a restaurant that only takes cash. I needed more after that so I went to an exchange to cash out a 50. Tell me, what do you think I got back? Does any one know what the exchange rate was today? I was raped. In the ass. Backwards with something hard and sandpapery. I got 17 pounds and some change. The exchange rate was 2.20 to one american dollar. I wanted to say 'Fuck you British people!' but then I realized it wasn't their fault they had a thriving economy.
So to cheer myself up I spent more money. I went to see a matinee of Phantom of the Opera. Mind you I've seen it before but that was 8th Grade. But I fell in love with it all over again as soon as I saw the stage. It is indeed my favorite play and I enjoyed it immensely. The movie will never hold a candle to actually seeing it in theatre. Seeing that immense chandelier come to life and rise from the floor then seeing it fly down from above your head to crash into the stage... You don't get that in a movie. And if someone sang All I Ask of You to me with the same sincerity that Raoul does, I would melt into a puddle of goo. Then if said serenader means what they sing, I would probably rape them. And then I would drag them down to my dungeon home of my own demise and make them sing for me.... Ok I might not go that far but I think you get the idea. But the raping still stands. | | |
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