London For the First Time!

WOW I am behind! So a last week Andrea and I went to London for the first time! Well, technically it was just my first time, she went there when she was a teenager. ANYWAYS, getting there was a nightmare. We got as far as Northampton without any problems but when we went to transfer there we descended into commuter hell. A train further along the route had broken down, blocking other trains from getting by. THEN they managed to clear the tracks enough to get trains by, but there were no train crews available to man them. What was worse was, instead of telling us what was really going on, the people at the station insisted on lying to everyone who was stranded, telling them that trains were coming. I listened in on their conversations to find out what was really happening. Eventually (AFTER TWO HOURS) Andrea and I teamed up and caught a taxi with 3 other women to go to a different train station to get into London. Once we finally arrived we managed to get into London we were only an hour and a half late to when we planned on getting there.

It was around noon and we were really hungry so we stopped at the first pub we found...which was a poor choice. It was not that the food was bad...it was just over priced and such a small portion that we left hungry. After that experience we headed off to THE BRITISH MUSEUM. I have been wanting to go to the British Museum my entire life. It is literally on my bucket list! (Yes I have a bucket list). Central London is really beautiful so the walk there was enjoyable. We were also lucky and got really nice weather!

So once we got to the museum we headed straight for the Egyptian section. There, right when you walk in the door, is The Rosetta Stone. I wanted to cry. The Rosetta Stone is one of the most important archaeological finds in all of history, and definitely one in the world of Egyptology, and it was right in front of me!

The rest of the hall was filled with Egyptian statues, which were all stunning of course, and wall carvings. Andrea and I almost killed this one kid. He LEANED ON the head of a 2,000 year old Horus statue to take a picture. The rage I felt was intense.

Other than that incident there was also the disappointment of the severe lack of statues of Hatsheput. Who is that you ask? Well she was the most powerful female pharaoh to ever rule. The MET in New York City has an entire room dedicated to her, I was hoping for at least one image of her to appear in the museum. There never was.There was, however, plenty of my second favorite pharaoh, Ramses the Great, but none of his wife Nefertari :(. I am kind of an Ancient Egypt nerd....in case you could not tell.

We briefly went through the exhibit on ancient Europe and then went to the rest of the Egyptian rooms before heading out. We decided to walk down to see Big Ben, a roughly 40 minute walk. Along the way I saw a store that was selling 12 postcards for a pound! Score! (I am collecting post cards). Once we got to the Thames it was dark out. We came upon The Eye of London first, which was stunningly lit up in blue with a full moon rising behind it.


Then we walked down and saw Big Ben (yes I am aware Big Ben is the bell, not the tower itself), and parliament. The way they were lit showed the detail on the buildings and it was truly stunning. Unfortunately my fancy camera died and my phone takes crappy night photos, so I could not get a good picture.

After that we walked over to Westminster Abbey (above), which was enormous, and walked around it. I really wanted to inside, but obviously it was closed. We then decided to head back to the train station. On the way back we passed Trafalgar Square. I find it interesting that in all the photos of this place the giant statue of a rooster is somehow excluded. Yes, there is a enormous chicken statue in the middle of London.

Once we got back to the station we had some time to kill before our train, and some severely aching feet, so we ducked into an "American" diner where I had a Nutella milk shake. This thing was so delicious it was almost a religious experience. I fully intend to get another one during my next visit.

We got home almost at midnight, exhausted but extremely happy with our trip! I really cannot wait to go back, there is still so much I have yet to see!