I didn't have too much trouble getting up this morning. I suppose it was all the sleep I'd gotten the night before. We took our time showering and getting ready. Unfortunately, today the weather wasn't quite as nice as it was yesterday. The sun was out off and on, but it was very very windy. Anthony walked down the street to a pastry shop to pick up breakfast. This place was amazing! Merengues shaped like roses and sprinkled with red sugar, so beautiful. Pan au chocolat, almond croissants, carrot cake, cheese cakes, tarts-everything looked so beautiful.
We were expecting a visit from one of Gianluca's Italian friends. She would be staying the night with us and we were all anticipating a very crowded house. She arrived around noon and we headed out for some sight-seeing. On the bus, Anthony made a point to ask us very loudly where in Mexico we'd transferred planes before heading to the UK. He thinks it's hilarious, Londoners do not. We got lots of worried looks, this swine flu thing has people very wary of foreigners, especially Mexicans.
We stopped in at a deli type place for some lunch. Then we headed to Soho. The place was so busy. There are so many theatres. There's a big advertisement for Michael Jackson's upcoming tour, Anthony's going and I'm totally jealous. We then walked towards Big Ben (that's the name of the actual bell, not the tower itself), walked past the Prime Minister's home where we stopped to pose with a guard, then checked out West Minster Abbey. It's very beautiful from the outside, decorated in the gothic architectural style. It cost 12 pounds to go inside, so we chose not to. Then we walked across the Waterloo bridge to head towards the London Eye. This was one of the most spectacular views of London! The bridge crosses over the Thames. And you get a wonderful view of the London Eye from here. I took tons of pictures. We walked along Waterloo Pier which is right near the Eye. There were all kinds of things going on there. There were a few really cool Dali' sculptures outside that I got some photos of. There were street performers, cement painters, even a really neat looking merry-go-round.
Walking past the London Eye we came upon the Globe Theatre, it's a replica of the theatre where Shakespeare put on a lot of his plays. We didn't get to go inside because they only do performances in the summer as well. We also passed by a skate park that was heavily graffitied. It made for some good photos. Then we walked by the Tate Museum. We planned on going there the next day (but didn't make it). Then we made our way to the Millennium Bridge. I wish I'd taken more pictures of it. It's such a cool structure. From the end that opens on Waterloo Pier, you walk towards St. Paul's Cathedral. It's a very cool view. The view from the Bell Tower at St. Paul's is supposed to rival the view from the London Eye, only you have to trek up 500 or so steps to get it. It was too late for us to take the tour today, so we headed back to the apartment to change up before heading out to dinner.
I was looking forward to a good Indian dinner, since I'd heard so much about Indian food in London. A cab picked us up and Anthony again mentioned that we were Mexicans to the driver. He freaked out and asked if we had the swine flu. After assuring him that we did not, he eased up. Our destination was Brick Lane. Indian restaurants are lined up here, and the custom is to walk up and down the street looking for the best bargain. Door guys will try to get you to come in by offering up a round of drinks (beer and wine included) and a percentage discount. We settled on a place called Sheba where we got our first round of drinks free and a 30% discount. Score! I wanted to order the Chicken Vindaloo but the menu said it wasn't spicy, and I wanted heat. So I settled for the Chicken Ceylon, which the menu said was 'fairly' spicy. Well, fairly spicy to them nearly burned my tastebuds off. I was sweating the food was so hot! I couldn't handle it so I had to pick at my friend's dishes instead.
The next day was a working holiday in London so the natives were out in full force ready to party. Brick Lane was really rowdy and we headed to a bar for some drinks. The had caipirinhas for cheap, so I bought a round for the gang. We only stayed there for one drink, though, 'cause Maria and I were in the mood for some dancing. We headed out and ended up walking for a good thirty minutes before making it to our destination! It was cold and our feet were tired, so Maria ordered tequila shots for the gang! The bar was kinda boring, but we made the best of it before heading back home. Another crazy night in Londontown. I'm surprised how well I held up today considering Saturday night's illness.
Monday, May 11, 2009
European Vacation: Day 1
Friday, May 2nd, kind of crept up on me. I had so many things left to do before the big vacay and my nerves were slowly unravelling. I knew that I wouldn't be able to relax until I got on that plane to Dallas. Luckily, I made up lists for what I needed to take with me. They helped keep me sane in the days leading up to take-off. I got my lists checked off in time to make it to the airport with 2 hours to spare.
I boarded the plane to Dallas and was unfortunately seated next to a very opinionated Republican from Iowa. He was an Obama hater, I was exhausted, so I let him rave for a while without combatting anything he had to say.
Once in Dallas, I was still feeling good. Not too tired, nerves in check and very excited about the upcoming flight. I met up with Maria and we chatted a bit before boarding. We weren't sitting together but the man who was sitting next to her was nice enough to give up his seat so that we could sit together. Little did we know what was a head of us.
The guys sitting behind us were pretty happy before take-off. They were chatting up the flight attendant which led me to believe they were already tipsy. They proceeded to order two or three vodkas at a time. The attendant kept brining them their drinks with no questions asked. They were loud and shouting. It seems like we had the trifecta of terrible passengers seated all around us. Next to me was a very sick woman who kept coughing, I assumed it was the swine flu. Next to her was her cranky toddler who kept crying. And then there were the drunks. To top it off the audio system for the plane's entertainment system did not work so we had no audio for the movies that were played.
The attendants eventually cut off the guys sitting behind us which upset one of them. He started banging his drink tray up against the back of Maria's seat and then started patting her head. I went and told the attendants and they led us straight into first class! So awesome, we were actually able to sleep a good four hours in comfort.
We arrived in London at around noon. Walking through the airport we passed by a currency exchange place and noticed that the exchange rate was 1.49:1. Yikes! We were kind of freaked out about how hard it was going to be to stretch our dollars on this vacation. After picking up our bags we made our way onto the tube. There were lots of stairs and escalators to deal with. Not so easy with two bags a piece. But we made it and Anthony picked us up at the Angel Metro station. We walked quite a ways back to his apartment and were exhausted. But we didn't want to waste any time so we headed to lunch. We went to a really cute Mediterranean place, had some wine and food and Gianluca met up with us. It was nice catching up with those two. I feel like Anthony and I can just swing back into our friendship so easily! Anthony has nicknamed Maria, Prima, because he says that in all my e-mails to him I never mentioned her name.
After lunch, we headed out for some sight-seeing. First stop, Buckingham Palace! What a sight. The gardens surrounding the palace were gorgeous and beautifully manicured. It's so strange to think that the idea of royalty still exists in this world. And that someone gets to live in such a place of grandeur. We didn't get to take a tour, though, they only do those in the summer. On the bus ride back, I fell asleep. The jet lag had really hit me and my exhaustion felt like a ton of bricks on my chest.
The jet lag only got worse. Anthony made a booking at a nice bar and hurried us out the door but I was nauseous the whole way over there. And despite my best attempts at perking up via sparkling water, I had to take a cab back home. I spent the night taking naps and waking up to Londoners in other flats partying to cumbia music (surprising here in London), "Welcome to the Jungle," Lady Gaga and "Ice Ice Baby". The group didn't come home til after 2 in the am and I was feeling better at that point so I got up to hear stories from their night out.
I boarded the plane to Dallas and was unfortunately seated next to a very opinionated Republican from Iowa. He was an Obama hater, I was exhausted, so I let him rave for a while without combatting anything he had to say.
Once in Dallas, I was still feeling good. Not too tired, nerves in check and very excited about the upcoming flight. I met up with Maria and we chatted a bit before boarding. We weren't sitting together but the man who was sitting next to her was nice enough to give up his seat so that we could sit together. Little did we know what was a head of us.
The guys sitting behind us were pretty happy before take-off. They were chatting up the flight attendant which led me to believe they were already tipsy. They proceeded to order two or three vodkas at a time. The attendant kept brining them their drinks with no questions asked. They were loud and shouting. It seems like we had the trifecta of terrible passengers seated all around us. Next to me was a very sick woman who kept coughing, I assumed it was the swine flu. Next to her was her cranky toddler who kept crying. And then there were the drunks. To top it off the audio system for the plane's entertainment system did not work so we had no audio for the movies that were played.
The attendants eventually cut off the guys sitting behind us which upset one of them. He started banging his drink tray up against the back of Maria's seat and then started patting her head. I went and told the attendants and they led us straight into first class! So awesome, we were actually able to sleep a good four hours in comfort.
We arrived in London at around noon. Walking through the airport we passed by a currency exchange place and noticed that the exchange rate was 1.49:1. Yikes! We were kind of freaked out about how hard it was going to be to stretch our dollars on this vacation. After picking up our bags we made our way onto the tube. There were lots of stairs and escalators to deal with. Not so easy with two bags a piece. But we made it and Anthony picked us up at the Angel Metro station. We walked quite a ways back to his apartment and were exhausted. But we didn't want to waste any time so we headed to lunch. We went to a really cute Mediterranean place, had some wine and food and Gianluca met up with us. It was nice catching up with those two. I feel like Anthony and I can just swing back into our friendship so easily! Anthony has nicknamed Maria, Prima, because he says that in all my e-mails to him I never mentioned her name.
After lunch, we headed out for some sight-seeing. First stop, Buckingham Palace! What a sight. The gardens surrounding the palace were gorgeous and beautifully manicured. It's so strange to think that the idea of royalty still exists in this world. And that someone gets to live in such a place of grandeur. We didn't get to take a tour, though, they only do those in the summer. On the bus ride back, I fell asleep. The jet lag had really hit me and my exhaustion felt like a ton of bricks on my chest.
The jet lag only got worse. Anthony made a booking at a nice bar and hurried us out the door but I was nauseous the whole way over there. And despite my best attempts at perking up via sparkling water, I had to take a cab back home. I spent the night taking naps and waking up to Londoners in other flats partying to cumbia music (surprising here in London), "Welcome to the Jungle," Lady Gaga and "Ice Ice Baby". The group didn't come home til after 2 in the am and I was feeling better at that point so I got up to hear stories from their night out.
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