Ciao Rome! 3 nights were all that was on the agenda for this lovely city and we hate to say goodbye. Fond memories were abundant as we look back on our 3-day Rome visit (Days 4, 5, and 6)
Day 4: Waking up early enough to actually catch our train, we made it to Rome on schedule. Overwhelmed and under-funded, we refueled on euro-menu McDonalds prior to adventuring into the city in hopes of locating our hotel. Wandering into the Santa Marria Magiore Piazza, we spotted our B&B on the corner in an incredible spot of real estate. After walking up 3 flights of stairs and checking in to the office, the manager told us to follow him. Which we did. Down the stairs. Outside. Across the street. Down 4 blocks. Nowhere near the hotel we booked. I was ready to plan some passive-aggressive retaliation fueled by the hearty deceit, but my anger was quickly suppressed upon exploring our new residence. Looking around the room I am now sitting in, it is superb. Clean, spacious room with a huge bed, nice furnishings, wireless internet, and great security. While misled by my internet booking, the deception was a positive one, leaving us with an outstanding hotel across the street from the train station and metro hub.
Then the site-seeing began. Stop one: The Colosseum. Incredible. It gave us goosebumps walking through the chilly halls that contain so much history. We overlooked the arena trying to imagine the unimaginable things that happened in such a place. Blank stares and hundreds of photos later, however, it was time to move on. Next stop: Arch of Constantine.
After seeing the magnificent structure, we set off to explore the Roman Forum. Not knowing much about Roman history, we struggled to locate the exacts sites. After some trial and error, however, we found the entrance and explored the ruins. Mixed with feelings of awe and amazement, we headed up Palantine Hill for a new adventure. Needless to say, we were jealous of the emperors who once resided on that very hill.
Time had gone so quickly that we failed to acknowledge the security guard as he told us it was closing time. After being chased down, however, we left in search of dinner. We had luck this night. We found an authentic Italian restaurant with delicious food for only 15 euros. What could top that? GELATO! The gelato was excellent, especially being enjoyed while strolling past the moonlit Colosseum. And think...we could have been in Cedar Falls, Iowa? I think we made the right choice.
Day 5:
This was the morning in which we got to sleep in. After feeling guilty for missing crucial sightseeing hours in Rome, however, we hopped up and got to work. On todays agenda was Vatican City. Entering through the museum, we explored the different ages of Catholic artwork, working our way towards Michaelangelo's Sistine Chapel. By far one of the greatest masterpieces of the world, this chapel could have been admired for days. Unfortunately pictures were not allowed, but Steph and I tried anyway. Our success is yet to be discovered, seeing as how we have yet to analyze our pictures. Keeping our fingers crossed.
From the strenuous museum, we went to St. Peters Square to take a break. Sitting on the steps surrounding the Cathedral, we enjoyed Ringo Cookies and Ritz Crackers and watched the pigeons frolic about, occasionally throwing a cracker or two their way. After a nice rest in the beautiful square, we entered St. Peter's Basilica. The magnificence of such a place is surely not needed. Any building in which Michaelangelo's Pieta can blend in is too lavish.
Always ones to make our families proud, we decided to attend mass in the Basilica. I figure if we're going to ever go to mass, why not go in the greatest cathedral in the world? Singing in Italian in the headquarters of Catholicism was a very humbling and peaceful experience. Receiving communion in such a holy place was beyond words. Donating 19 cents was embarrassing yet well-intentioned.
Our prayers must have fallen on deaf ears, however, seeing as how dinner went. After a long, romantic night stroll across the city, we were starving and looking for good food. We found a place, that appeared to be local, with reasonable prices and edible food. We were quickly ushered in and seated with special English-only menus. I began to worry as I saw them take a roll from a 8-pack plastic bag and put it into a bowl for our gourmet bread. Things only got worse.
I remembered Rick Steves speak of places that don't even have true kitchens, so I intently wandered the vicinities with my eyes, only to find no obvious kitchen and no discernible kitchen staff. Then I saw the worst sight I could have seen: 3 microwaves. Not hidden very well from the public, the microwaves were being used to cook our food. Before telling Steph, she asked me if I heard a microwave ding. I said yes, but before she could respond, our food was on the table. Needless to say, our food was cold in the center, and we had just spent 15 euros on microwave frozen pasta. It was our National Lampoon's European Vacation moment.
Day 6:
We needed to be at a church about 20 minutes away between 7 and 8:30 this morning in order to pick up tickets I had purchased to see the pope. I looked at my alarm clock in the morning, and it was 8:10. Without missing a beat I hopped out of bed, got dressed and ran out the door. Sprinting through Rome, I was lucky to have already gotten a feel for the city and grown accustom to crossing the congested streets. Making it to the church at about 8:20, I found the doors locked and no one in sight. Panicking, I pulled out my Rick Steves book and discovered that the chapel opened at 9. Waiting around, I entered the chapel and got my hands on the tickets in enough time to go get Steph and make it across town to the Vatican City by the Pope's 10:30 appearance and blessing.
Seeing the pope and being a member of the audience was absolutely incredible. While not intimate, the masses surrounding the pope gave him their utmost attention and listened to every word being given. It was beyond words as he came around in his corny popemobile with his outstretched arms. While Pope Benedict and I may not see eye-to-eye on many issues, well most every issue actually, he is still the pope, and it was honor to be in his presence.
The rest of the day and night was spent criss-crossing town seeing everything we had yet to see: from the Trevi fountain to St. Peter in Chains, we finished off our Rome trip by tying any lose knots. We got gelato again, making it at least one gelato for every day, a record I am very proud of. After finishing all the sights and wrapping up our trip, Steph bought a donut bigger than her head and we went up the Spanish Steps to enjoy it overlooking the beautiful city. Whether or not sugar covered dough is the best way to enjoy Rome is undecided, but one thing is for sure. This city was one that we will forever remember. Whether for the microwaved lasagna or the peaceful walks through lamp-flooded streets, Rome truly was a beautiful city that deserved more time.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Spring Break Part 1 (Days 1,2,3)
I am currently pressing every key as gently as possible, crammed in a room not much bigger than the 4 bunk-beds it encompasses, trying not to wake my sleeping dorm-mates as Steph studiously surveys Rick Steves for tomorrow's adventures. Tropical hard candy and lemon cookies are adding the fuel to our late-night update, but let's back up a few days.
Day 1:
Guess what Tim? We made it to the train on time! We were actually so early after eating our morning pastries (courtesy of our trusty Tesco) that we chased down an even earlier train...just because we could! Barring some minor difficulties we made it to London Stansted Airport with little trouble. The journey over to Italy, however, was an annoyingly in-your-face barrage of Ryanair employees as they constantly awoke you from your already bad sleep to sell you perfume. Crammed seats and little organization only made matters worse, but for 50 bucks each, we weren't complaining.
Our first night in Italy was questionable at best. We arranged for the hostel to pick us up from the airport, only to be presented with a shuttle 40 minutes late. Upon joining the local Italian driver in his 4-seat Lancia, he started cussing realizing he lost his validation ticket. Quick on my feet, I found it for him and saved him a 300 euro fine. Needless to say, the ride was very quick and friendly (besides a pit stop to pick up his girlfriend).
Our first hostel experience was...interesting. A cool place that was truly Italian, the hostel lacked the privileged charm of spic-and-span double rooms. The stay would have been rather enjoyable had it not been for our German truck-driver room mate. His snoring put Dad (5 years ago mind you) to shame. It nearly shook the entire floor. Gotta thank Steph for being prepared with earplugs though.
Day 2:
We woke up to the smell of fresh breakfast. When I say breakfast, though, I mean packaged croissants and when I say woke up to the smell, I mean to our alarms. But anyways, we then needed to get across the country to Naples, Italy. I would tell you all about the countless adventures encountered during this overly-long leg of the trip, but it would all seem too redundant. Late trains, bus connections, language barriers, and 2 rookie travelers. Same old, same old.
Naples, however, was nicer than Bari. That is not necessarily a compliment though, seeing as how Bari was absolute rubbish. Naples seems to be the New York of Italy, having over 2 million residents and the title of most highly concentrated city in Italy. We were a little uneasy walking through this urban metropolis, and things did not impprove as we reached our hostel. In an alley down an unlabeled street, we had to enter an apartment complex and walk to the 6th floor (over uneven and slanted stairs to boot). I think we both nearly lost it when we entered the house. It was literally a mans home, with a few guest rooms. I wanted to run. In hindsight, however, I couldn't have been more wrong. Back to that later.
Naples underwhelmed (Stephanie the sisters' word, not mine) and failed to resonate with either of us. Maybe it was the lack of big-name attractions or our lack of enthusiasm, but the city seemed too big and too dirty. Although, it did have character. The birthplace of pizza was obviously abound in local pizzeria's, and we went to a local favorite with lines around the block. It was better pizza than the night before, but it was no Zeno's, Peppino's, or Pagliais. Is that blasphemy to say about the city where pizza was created? Possibly I suppose. But the pizza here is different. It is wafer thin, cooked in wood-burning ovens, and has minimal cheese. Interesting and tasty, but largely unsatisfying in my opinion. Great experience though eating at the same table as 6 local Italians. Our first gelato trip helped make up for the unsatisfying pizza.
Day 3:
Our troubles with connections had eliminated a few hours out of our sight-seeing time and had unfortunately demanded we cut out a place from our itinerary. Pompeii, unfortunately, was the place that had to go. We couldn't be bummed for long, however, walking onto the shore of the tropical paradise island Capri. No plans and superb weather made the day perfect. It was one of the days that need not be recorded through words, for it would fail to express the beauty and joy experienced. The moments of eating way too much gelato on the top of a mountain overlooking a gorgeous city, mountains, and the vast openness of water are ones that burn into your heart and mind but mean nothing to those not there. Needless to say, it was amazing. Randy and Jean would love it...it was a city waiting for a cruise ship.
We cut the day early and headed to Sorrento. A questionable choice that was only partially successful, the city was a mixture of gross tourism and unique Italy. Souvenir and treat hunting, however, made the city of Lemons a real treat. Hence why we are devouring Orange and Lemon candies and Lemon cookies. Who cares about eating healthy anyways. The healthiest thing I've ate this trip has been...peanut laced chocolate? Oh the joys of being a kid. No wait! I had eggplant! That takes us to a few hours ago.
We just finished eating a dinner made by our fabulous hostel host, Giovanni. The hostel is called Giovanni's Home, and that is truly what it is. We are guests in his quaint apartment and it felt pretty odd at first. But now it feels like we are all one big happy family...which I think is what he wants in a way. He just cooked us a delicious Italian pasta feast made of noodles, cheese, sauce, and unfortunately, eggplant. Guess where I sat? Right next to him. Do you think Italians like when you pick around their food? They don't. I suffered through eggplant before Steph, being the amazing girlfriend she is, pulled a sly move and switched our plates while he wasn't looking. Oddly, her plate was full of hot gooey pasta and had no eggplant.
After dinner we had a group sing-along where we learned some classic Italian songs. They will be on YouTube. The night was absolutely incredible. We couldn't have picked a better hostel. The most gracious host we have ever had, Giovanni provided us with an unforgettable experience in a highly forgettable city (in my opinion anyways).
I apologize if this post is long and all over the place. We just have wireless right now and wanted to update prior to continuing to Rome. It's been a long day and my writing seems to be the current victim of sleep depression. We'll update as soon as possible, but internet can often be hard to come by on a budget.
Oh yeah, did I mention we haven't changed our clothes since leaving England? Not even for sleep? That makes it something like almost 72 hours. And we don't plan to until bed time tomorrow in Rome. I'm not sure if I'm embarrassed or proud...both maybe?
Day 1:
Guess what Tim? We made it to the train on time! We were actually so early after eating our morning pastries (courtesy of our trusty Tesco) that we chased down an even earlier train...just because we could! Barring some minor difficulties we made it to London Stansted Airport with little trouble. The journey over to Italy, however, was an annoyingly in-your-face barrage of Ryanair employees as they constantly awoke you from your already bad sleep to sell you perfume. Crammed seats and little organization only made matters worse, but for 50 bucks each, we weren't complaining.
Our first night in Italy was questionable at best. We arranged for the hostel to pick us up from the airport, only to be presented with a shuttle 40 minutes late. Upon joining the local Italian driver in his 4-seat Lancia, he started cussing realizing he lost his validation ticket. Quick on my feet, I found it for him and saved him a 300 euro fine. Needless to say, the ride was very quick and friendly (besides a pit stop to pick up his girlfriend).
Our first hostel experience was...interesting. A cool place that was truly Italian, the hostel lacked the privileged charm of spic-and-span double rooms. The stay would have been rather enjoyable had it not been for our German truck-driver room mate. His snoring put Dad (5 years ago mind you) to shame. It nearly shook the entire floor. Gotta thank Steph for being prepared with earplugs though.
Day 2:
We woke up to the smell of fresh breakfast. When I say breakfast, though, I mean packaged croissants and when I say woke up to the smell, I mean to our alarms. But anyways, we then needed to get across the country to Naples, Italy. I would tell you all about the countless adventures encountered during this overly-long leg of the trip, but it would all seem too redundant. Late trains, bus connections, language barriers, and 2 rookie travelers. Same old, same old.
Naples, however, was nicer than Bari. That is not necessarily a compliment though, seeing as how Bari was absolute rubbish. Naples seems to be the New York of Italy, having over 2 million residents and the title of most highly concentrated city in Italy. We were a little uneasy walking through this urban metropolis, and things did not impprove as we reached our hostel. In an alley down an unlabeled street, we had to enter an apartment complex and walk to the 6th floor (over uneven and slanted stairs to boot). I think we both nearly lost it when we entered the house. It was literally a mans home, with a few guest rooms. I wanted to run. In hindsight, however, I couldn't have been more wrong. Back to that later.
Naples underwhelmed (Stephanie the sisters' word, not mine) and failed to resonate with either of us. Maybe it was the lack of big-name attractions or our lack of enthusiasm, but the city seemed too big and too dirty. Although, it did have character. The birthplace of pizza was obviously abound in local pizzeria's, and we went to a local favorite with lines around the block. It was better pizza than the night before, but it was no Zeno's, Peppino's, or Pagliais. Is that blasphemy to say about the city where pizza was created? Possibly I suppose. But the pizza here is different. It is wafer thin, cooked in wood-burning ovens, and has minimal cheese. Interesting and tasty, but largely unsatisfying in my opinion. Great experience though eating at the same table as 6 local Italians. Our first gelato trip helped make up for the unsatisfying pizza.
Day 3:
Our troubles with connections had eliminated a few hours out of our sight-seeing time and had unfortunately demanded we cut out a place from our itinerary. Pompeii, unfortunately, was the place that had to go. We couldn't be bummed for long, however, walking onto the shore of the tropical paradise island Capri. No plans and superb weather made the day perfect. It was one of the days that need not be recorded through words, for it would fail to express the beauty and joy experienced. The moments of eating way too much gelato on the top of a mountain overlooking a gorgeous city, mountains, and the vast openness of water are ones that burn into your heart and mind but mean nothing to those not there. Needless to say, it was amazing. Randy and Jean would love it...it was a city waiting for a cruise ship.
We cut the day early and headed to Sorrento. A questionable choice that was only partially successful, the city was a mixture of gross tourism and unique Italy. Souvenir and treat hunting, however, made the city of Lemons a real treat. Hence why we are devouring Orange and Lemon candies and Lemon cookies. Who cares about eating healthy anyways. The healthiest thing I've ate this trip has been...peanut laced chocolate? Oh the joys of being a kid. No wait! I had eggplant! That takes us to a few hours ago.
We just finished eating a dinner made by our fabulous hostel host, Giovanni. The hostel is called Giovanni's Home, and that is truly what it is. We are guests in his quaint apartment and it felt pretty odd at first. But now it feels like we are all one big happy family...which I think is what he wants in a way. He just cooked us a delicious Italian pasta feast made of noodles, cheese, sauce, and unfortunately, eggplant. Guess where I sat? Right next to him. Do you think Italians like when you pick around their food? They don't. I suffered through eggplant before Steph, being the amazing girlfriend she is, pulled a sly move and switched our plates while he wasn't looking. Oddly, her plate was full of hot gooey pasta and had no eggplant.
After dinner we had a group sing-along where we learned some classic Italian songs. They will be on YouTube. The night was absolutely incredible. We couldn't have picked a better hostel. The most gracious host we have ever had, Giovanni provided us with an unforgettable experience in a highly forgettable city (in my opinion anyways).
I apologize if this post is long and all over the place. We just have wireless right now and wanted to update prior to continuing to Rome. It's been a long day and my writing seems to be the current victim of sleep depression. We'll update as soon as possible, but internet can often be hard to come by on a budget.
Oh yeah, did I mention we haven't changed our clothes since leaving England? Not even for sleep? That makes it something like almost 72 hours. And we don't plan to until bed time tomorrow in Rome. I'm not sure if I'm embarrassed or proud...both maybe?
Thursday, March 18, 2010
SPRING BREAK!
Well folks, spring break starts tomorrow for us here in England. That means that posts may be limited, photos sparse, and videos non-existent. But depending on our travels, maybe we will be able to stay connected. Who knows. For those of you that are curious, here is our basic outline:
Day 1: Fly form London to Bari, Italy
Day 2: Naples/Pompeii
Day 3: Capri/Sorrento
Day 4: Rome
Day 5: Rome
Day 6: Rome
Day 7: Orvieto/Civita
Day 8: Assisi/Cortona
Day 9: Siena
Day 10: Siena
Day 11: Volterra
Day 12: San Gimignano
Day 13: Florence
Day 14: Florence/Fiesole
Day 15: Cinque Terre (swing by Pisa on the way)
Day 16: Cinque Terre
Day 17: Cinque Terre
Day 18: Verona (Lake Como)
Day 19: Verona (Lake Como)
Day 20: Verona (Lake Como)
Day 21: Venice
Day 22: Venice
Day 23: Venice before flying home.
So as you can tell, we went against the words of advice given by both families to just take it easy and relax. We're going to see everything we can. Hopefully relaxation fits into the schedule, but we want to see as much as we can see. We can rest when we're old.
Anyways, wish us luck! Hopefully we won't miss too many trains or pull a Becky and break our leg.
Day 1: Fly form London to Bari, Italy
Day 2: Naples/Pompeii
Day 3: Capri/Sorrento
Day 4: Rome
Day 5: Rome
Day 6: Rome
Day 7: Orvieto/Civita
Day 8: Assisi/Cortona
Day 9: Siena
Day 10: Siena
Day 11: Volterra
Day 12: San Gimignano
Day 13: Florence
Day 14: Florence/Fiesole
Day 15: Cinque Terre (swing by Pisa on the way)
Day 16: Cinque Terre
Day 17: Cinque Terre
Day 18: Verona (Lake Como)
Day 19: Verona (Lake Como)
Day 20: Verona (Lake Como)
Day 21: Venice
Day 22: Venice
Day 23: Venice before flying home.
So as you can tell, we went against the words of advice given by both families to just take it easy and relax. We're going to see everything we can. Hopefully relaxation fits into the schedule, but we want to see as much as we can see. We can rest when we're old.
Anyways, wish us luck! Hopefully we won't miss too many trains or pull a Becky and break our leg.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
LONDON
Guess where we went this weekend? In case you missed the title, we went to the sprawling city of London. 2 days of pure craziness left us with an overwhelming impression of a city that is best described as a combination of New York City and Washington DC.
Sunday morning blessed us with travelers luck. After misreading the bus schedule and missing our bus, we caught one that was to arrive at the train station 15 minutes after our scheduled train, meaning we would have to wait an hour for the next train. Our luck kicked in, however, and our bus was 14 minutes early. Considering trains here leave on time, we sprinted to the train only to see the doors shut in preparation for departure. Thankfully for us, an equally late girl was a few steps in front of us and twice as crazy. She pounded on the glass demanding to be let in as she screamed at the train attendants. As they opened the door for her, we sheepishly slipped in and found 2 unreserved seats (a practice that has saved us a lot of money but caused us to sit on the floor many times).
Arriving in London, the first stop was the British Library. We only explored two rooms full of literary treasures and saw the Magna Carta, Hamlet, Hayden's Messiah, Various Beethoven compositions, and most importantly, original Beatles lyrics to Help, Hard Days Night, Ticket to Ride, and I Want To Hold Your Hand among others. Next stop was our lovely hotel. For 60 pounds a night, it was a steal. Great location, quiet room, comfy bed, and hot breakfast makes for a good stay.
Sticking par to course, we went into the British Museum, admired the magnificent entrance hall, saw the Rosetta Stone, and left. Next stop was an hour-long trek across town to Hyde Park, the Central Park of London. Considering it was Sunday, we were going to see the Speakers corner. Imagine it now; a space dedicated once a week to crazy people professing their thoughts, however ludicrous. We jumped from group to group listening to the importance of judgement day, the lie that is the Muslim faith, the lack of help from the British in wars, and how both black and white people should kill each other off. Crowds enjoyed jumping in with interjections and screaming arguments constantly ensued.
Overwhelmed with joy after experiencing political and religious angst at it's finest, we took the tube across town to the beautiful St. Pauls. Deciding not to enter due to admission price, we set off across the Millennium Bridge (the one that collapses in one of the Harry Potter movies) to the Tate Modern art museum. Enjoying works by all of my favorite artists, time flew and the museum closed before we were done. During our exploration, however, we managed to run into a local Hull friend and his girlfriend.
All this work made us hungry. We took the tube back to our hotel to find cheap food around the neighborhood. Unfortunately, however, London doesn't believe in cheap food. Our stomachs demanded food, however, and we settled with an overpriced cafe that charged 2 pounds per water and 8 pounds for a burger sans fries. Man. Oh well. It was a pretty underwhelming 24 pound meal but it got the job done. 5 pounds for Baskin Robbins, however, was well worth it. Is there better ice cream than Baskin Robbins Rainbow Sherbet? No. Of course not.
The only thing left on our itinerary was sleep. Which we did. Very well.
The morning provided beans, eggs, cereal, bacon, and OJ for some nice energy for our action-packed day 2. Stop 1: Newspaper stand for a bottle of water and candy bars #3 and #4 for the weekend. The tube took us to Buckingham Palace despite our ignorance in missing the changing of the guards. Steph demanded for me to get her to live in the palace, and I politely refused.
We bought an all-day tube pass and I decided I wanted to get some use out of it. So I decided to drag Steph up to Abbey Road. Walking across the legendary cross-walk, dodging cars and the occasional cyclist, we got the cliche photo-op. Is it sad if of all the amazing things we saw in this historic city, standing in the same place as John Lennon was the most awe-inspiring?
After swinging by legendary Abbey Road studios, we headed back to tube to take over to Trafalgar square. After exploring the amazing square, we headed to the National Gallery. Despite countless rooms being closed by union action, we saw centuries worth of remarkable artists from Michaelangelo to Rembrant to Van Gogh. A full day wouldn't have been enough to see everything, and the setting sun demanded our premature departure. We then walked down Whitehall road, past the Ministry of Defense and the street upon which prime minister Gordon Brown lives.
This street eventually led us to the Westminster Abbey and the House of Parliament (including Big Ben). After many photos, we passed through countless security check points to enter the House of Commons. Sitting in a balcony, separated by 2 inches of bullet-proof glass, as members of the House of Commons debated the length in which cleared suspects' DNA should be held on state records was amazing. The dialogue was monotonously political, but the experience was excitingly fresh and one-of -a-kind.
We then took the tube back across town to grab an early dinner where Steph tried fish n chips. She gave a thumbs up review before we grabbed Baskin Robbins for the second night in a row. This decision would prove costly, however, as we missed the early train back to Hull by 2 minutes. Treating ourselves to 4 more candy bars, we waited an hour for the next train home. This ride contained a 24 minute layover in Doncaster, and our luck meant that the train took 24 minutes too long to get in. The train was gone and we began to decide whether we should A. Spend the night at a local hotel (if we could find any) B. Spend the night in the train station waiting room, or C. Spend the night riding the train (using our unlimited rail passes) all over the country. We decided on option C before discovering that there was one last connection to Hull 30 minutes later. Hopping the train, we made it home in time to catch the final bus home. For an hour at least, luck was back on our side.
I feel like there is so much I forgot or left out, but oh well. I will spare you all. But Manchester United hammered AC Milan last night 4-0 and are into the final 8 for Champions League. They're gonna win it all. I guarantee it.
Sunday morning blessed us with travelers luck. After misreading the bus schedule and missing our bus, we caught one that was to arrive at the train station 15 minutes after our scheduled train, meaning we would have to wait an hour for the next train. Our luck kicked in, however, and our bus was 14 minutes early. Considering trains here leave on time, we sprinted to the train only to see the doors shut in preparation for departure. Thankfully for us, an equally late girl was a few steps in front of us and twice as crazy. She pounded on the glass demanding to be let in as she screamed at the train attendants. As they opened the door for her, we sheepishly slipped in and found 2 unreserved seats (a practice that has saved us a lot of money but caused us to sit on the floor many times).
Arriving in London, the first stop was the British Library. We only explored two rooms full of literary treasures and saw the Magna Carta, Hamlet, Hayden's Messiah, Various Beethoven compositions, and most importantly, original Beatles lyrics to Help, Hard Days Night, Ticket to Ride, and I Want To Hold Your Hand among others. Next stop was our lovely hotel. For 60 pounds a night, it was a steal. Great location, quiet room, comfy bed, and hot breakfast makes for a good stay.
Sticking par to course, we went into the British Museum, admired the magnificent entrance hall, saw the Rosetta Stone, and left. Next stop was an hour-long trek across town to Hyde Park, the Central Park of London. Considering it was Sunday, we were going to see the Speakers corner. Imagine it now; a space dedicated once a week to crazy people professing their thoughts, however ludicrous. We jumped from group to group listening to the importance of judgement day, the lie that is the Muslim faith, the lack of help from the British in wars, and how both black and white people should kill each other off. Crowds enjoyed jumping in with interjections and screaming arguments constantly ensued.
Overwhelmed with joy after experiencing political and religious angst at it's finest, we took the tube across town to the beautiful St. Pauls. Deciding not to enter due to admission price, we set off across the Millennium Bridge (the one that collapses in one of the Harry Potter movies) to the Tate Modern art museum. Enjoying works by all of my favorite artists, time flew and the museum closed before we were done. During our exploration, however, we managed to run into a local Hull friend and his girlfriend.
All this work made us hungry. We took the tube back to our hotel to find cheap food around the neighborhood. Unfortunately, however, London doesn't believe in cheap food. Our stomachs demanded food, however, and we settled with an overpriced cafe that charged 2 pounds per water and 8 pounds for a burger sans fries. Man. Oh well. It was a pretty underwhelming 24 pound meal but it got the job done. 5 pounds for Baskin Robbins, however, was well worth it. Is there better ice cream than Baskin Robbins Rainbow Sherbet? No. Of course not.
The only thing left on our itinerary was sleep. Which we did. Very well.
The morning provided beans, eggs, cereal, bacon, and OJ for some nice energy for our action-packed day 2. Stop 1: Newspaper stand for a bottle of water and candy bars #3 and #4 for the weekend. The tube took us to Buckingham Palace despite our ignorance in missing the changing of the guards. Steph demanded for me to get her to live in the palace, and I politely refused.
We bought an all-day tube pass and I decided I wanted to get some use out of it. So I decided to drag Steph up to Abbey Road. Walking across the legendary cross-walk, dodging cars and the occasional cyclist, we got the cliche photo-op. Is it sad if of all the amazing things we saw in this historic city, standing in the same place as John Lennon was the most awe-inspiring?
After swinging by legendary Abbey Road studios, we headed back to tube to take over to Trafalgar square. After exploring the amazing square, we headed to the National Gallery. Despite countless rooms being closed by union action, we saw centuries worth of remarkable artists from Michaelangelo to Rembrant to Van Gogh. A full day wouldn't have been enough to see everything, and the setting sun demanded our premature departure. We then walked down Whitehall road, past the Ministry of Defense and the street upon which prime minister Gordon Brown lives.
This street eventually led us to the Westminster Abbey and the House of Parliament (including Big Ben). After many photos, we passed through countless security check points to enter the House of Commons. Sitting in a balcony, separated by 2 inches of bullet-proof glass, as members of the House of Commons debated the length in which cleared suspects' DNA should be held on state records was amazing. The dialogue was monotonously political, but the experience was excitingly fresh and one-of -a-kind.
We then took the tube back across town to grab an early dinner where Steph tried fish n chips. She gave a thumbs up review before we grabbed Baskin Robbins for the second night in a row. This decision would prove costly, however, as we missed the early train back to Hull by 2 minutes. Treating ourselves to 4 more candy bars, we waited an hour for the next train home. This ride contained a 24 minute layover in Doncaster, and our luck meant that the train took 24 minutes too long to get in. The train was gone and we began to decide whether we should A. Spend the night at a local hotel (if we could find any) B. Spend the night in the train station waiting room, or C. Spend the night riding the train (using our unlimited rail passes) all over the country. We decided on option C before discovering that there was one last connection to Hull 30 minutes later. Hopping the train, we made it home in time to catch the final bus home. For an hour at least, luck was back on our side.
I feel like there is so much I forgot or left out, but oh well. I will spare you all. But Manchester United hammered AC Milan last night 4-0 and are into the final 8 for Champions League. They're gonna win it all. I guarantee it.
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