London

(7/7/15) After a long trip out from Amsterdam, and a short visit to Belgium (in which I am sorry to say I was far too hungover to appreciate in all its glory: I didn't even get waffles!!!) we made our way to LOVELY LONDON! By the time we made it to our fabulous hotel (Strand Palace Hotel) we were so tired we got a bite to eat at the Indian restaurant in the hotel and then went straight up to bed. A sleep in was definitely on the cards for the next morning, to try and gain some much needed strength back after the whirlwind European tour. 

(8/7/15) After a big English breakfast at the hotel we caught the tube to a place I have been LONGING to visit since I was a child (I used to spend nights sitting in bed reading the guide that Dad brought back from a trip he once took) MADAME TUSSAUDS!!!! I could hardly contain my excitement. It wasn't just all the awesome wax figures, but also the cool 4D experience, and then there was this really creepy/funny "London Ride" which I loved. Totally just as cool as I expected it was going to be!!!

After that we took a short walk through the park, and then went to get some dinner (yummy pizza) and then we went to visit a cocktail bar and met up with some of our lovelies from the trip! It was good to see them again before saying an official goodbye, as they were off to the Greek Islands and we would be off to America in a couple of days. 

(9/7/15) After another leisurely lie in and breakfast we made our way to the London Eye - I honestly didn't even know what it was until I saw it, but man you can see this thing from all over, and the view from the top was spectacular! We even took little Gnomie along for the ride. After the ride we went to visit the London Dungeon: wow, that was so cool! It was like a ghost train crossed with a walking tour of London through the ages crossed with a dramatic theatre performance!! Hearing about Jack the Ripper, the Plague, and other interesting stories and eras in London's past - and it was super entertaining! They even had a "drop" ride at the end, which was apparently supposed to simulate the feeling of being hanged (a bit morbid, yes, but it was fun!) 

That evening we treated ourselves to a theatre performance: Miss Saigon. Wow. I didn't know what to expect - I didn't know the synopsis, and all we were told at the ticket office was that it was the same people who put on Les Mis, and that it would be "just as epic". We were definitely not disappointed. Not only was the narrative moving and engaging, but it had historical content set from Vietnam, and the performers were all absolutely stellar! So ridiculously glad we went to this show, and it was totally by chance!

(10/7/15) This was the day we decided to use our "hop on hop off" ticket - the big red busses which are EVERYWHERE in London, stopping at various sites around the city and outside the city, with live tour guides on the open roof of the bus. We spent a good couple of hours with one guide; we saw a fly over by the Royal Air Force, and we were even told that the Queen would be on her balcony at Buckingham Palace to watch the air show herself. We didn't see her majesty herself, but we did see a parade of soldiers from the RAF marching through the streets. After a few more sights (we even saw a Yin Yang sculpture yay!! Wedding reference...) we "hopped off" the bus to visit the Borough Markets. 

Locally made ciders, mushroom pate, delicious fudge, flowers, olives, and all kinds other delicious London delicacies. I would definitely been frequenting that market if I were a local! We were there for a short while before deciding to jump back on the bus to head back to the hotel and freshen up for dinner. 

We went to a cool little place called Byron Burgers and had burgers and milkshakes (adults only milkshakes) for dinner - which we decided was a very fitting pre-meal for our travels to America the following day. Thank you, London, you've done very well - we shall hope to visit again someday.