European Adventure

Well I was back in London where it all started, and still my favourite city in Europe. I decided to spend my last few days checking out a few shows and seeing a bit more of England while I was at it.

I saw two more shows in the West End. The absolutely fabulous Avenue Q 'The internet is for Porn' and the astonishing 'Jump'. But I didnt have much time left and I still hadn't been to Wales. So it was off on a bus for the day to Cardiff. Well Cardiff is great. Not too big, not too small but just right as Goldilocks might say. The streets are bustling with friendly people and their outrageous accents, and to top it off the city has a castle which is as cheesy as it is historic but great nonetheless. But before long I was back on the bus to London.

I hadn't seen London's musuems last time I was there and I'm glad I had time to see them as they are perfect musuems. the Musuem of London has some great pieces and the British Musuem was very informative. Before spending the afternoon wandering along South Bank taking in all of London.

I had one day left and I wanted to see Bath. The Roman Baths were interesting if not pungent, and on an interesting side note they also have a costume museum which isn't too bad either. But I had to be back in London for an early flight the next morning. I had to be up at 3:30 to catch a 4:00 bus to the main Bus area to catch a 4:30 bus to the Airport to catch a 6:30am flight to Dubai - boy was I tired when I finally got on the plane, not just from the early start but from 14 weeks traversing across Europe on a trip of a lifetime.

Well the last couple of days have been busy and pretty full. I have seen the London Aquarium and Zoo with its singing Gibbons (one word = awesome). I checked out Buckingham and Kengiston Palaces. I walked through Hyde Park and window shopped at Harrods. I climbed the dome at St Paul's and went to the Sherlock Holmes Museum for a laugh. I saw some great art at the National Portrait Gallery. I ice skated for the first time ever and did a little souvenier shopping. That was pretty much London for me - tomorrow I head off the Ireland for green green grass, guiness and leprechauns or so i'm told!

Today I headed off towards the London Bridge area. I checked out the Britain at War experience-interesting but way overpriced. I then went to Shakespeare's Globe Theatre and did a tour which was interesting. I walked the banks of the Thames and checked out the Tate Modern - i really wanted to use the slide but a group of school kids were there! I kept walking up to the London Eye and booked a 'flight'. It was good for about five minutes but after that its like i've seen the view so what else? I walked up to check out Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament and then up to Trafalgar Square. I headed up to Leicester Square again and couldn't help but by tickets for Spamalot. Unfortunately as a relatively poor backpacker the only seat i could afford was way up the back in the nose bleed section - talk about dizzy! The show was good but Wicked was much better

Today I headed out and checked out a few of the more iconic tourist attractions London has to offer. I caught the tube to the Tower of London where i had a very cheesy tour with a beefeater or Yeoman warder named phillip -he couldn't look more English if he tried! From there i walked along the river to Tower Bridge and climbed the killer stairs! The view of London is great but the Thames has to be the only river dirtier than the Yarra. I decided to do one of those cruises down the Thames - it took forever - almost 2.5 hours. I headed out to Leicester Square to see what shows were playing in the West End. I splurged and booked a ticket to 'Wicked' after hearing great things about it. I had a bit of a nana nap back at the hostel - jet lag kicking in - and then headed out to see the show. It was absolutely amazing and see it if it comes to a theatre near you. It was then back to a noisy dorm room for attempted sleep after a hectic day

Left home (Melbourne) today for a 8:30pm flight to London. The flight left a little late due to rain and thunder but we were soon off in the air for 26 longs hours of bad food, crap movies and horrible babies crying -the usual. I arrived in London around lunchtime and hopped on the Tube for the first time- dont know what people really complain about - compare it to Melbourne and you'll see whats better. Got a few things then went to my hostel - Smart Hyde Park Inn - in bayswater. I wandered around the local area for a while to get my bearings but was in bed at 4pm exhausted and probably somewhat jetlagged.