MIND THE GAP!!!!

Well guys, we're coming to the end of our European travels. We're very sad to leave and come back to the reality of school and chores, but we must say that it will be very nice to come back home! I mean let's be honest...a whole month away from home, on our own, in foreign countries with foreign languages, is quite exhausting! But this trip has been absolutely the most amazing experience of our lives and we are so thankful we were able to have this opportunity...an opportunity that many people will never be fortunate enough to experience. Thanks parents!! We really appreciate everything you do for us! And to all of our other family and friends for all the support...we love you all!

Okay so enough sappy stuff, time for stories about London!

1. Travels from Berlin to London: Obviously we successfully made it from Berlin to London on Monday, and we have to say we were pretty proud of ourselves. Especially since the guy at the hostel gave us the WRONG bus directions to get to the airport, so the bus ended up dropping us off in the middle of the city and we had to figure out where we were and how to get to the airport from there, and to make things better, the bus driver couldn't speak English and was a complete asshole so he wasn't any help. BUT we finally made it and got here to London safely.

2. First day in London: We caught a bus from the airport to our hotel in London and were so confused when we got into the bus because it was the WRONG SIDE!! haha and then driving down the road was so scary because we kept thinking the bus driver was going to hit someone because they drive on the wrong sides of the road...it was so confusing and we decided that we could NEVER drive over here ourselves without killing ourselves along with everyone else on the road. It's really funny because all of the crosswalks have in big bold letters "LOOK TO THE RIGHT" so that us Americans don't look the wrong way and walk out in the road and get hit! Pretty crazy to say the least. So we got to our hotel, which is SO cute. We have the most amazing continental breakfast every morning, and our room is just adorable. We have a tiny double bed for us to share, so it ends up being Jenna hogging the bed and Alli stealing all the covers! Our hotel is in prime location as well, right in the center of the Bayswater district with tons of shopping, restaurants, and pubs all around. Hyde Park is just a block away and we walked around on the first day. It is over 150 acres of park which is huge! But it was beautiful and we got tons of pictures of the birds and the fountains and the swans. We also went to Kensington Palace the first day, which is where Princess Diana lived, and it was amazing. We got to see the special exhibit of 7 dresses that she actually wore to events during her life, which was so lovely. We also learned how to properly walk with good English etiquette, waltz, curtsey, and set a table. It was really cool. Oh and another thing about our hotel that we almost forgot to tell you. They have a happy hour in the restaurant from 4-7 that has buy one bottle of wine get one free, which as we all know, makes Jenna and Alli very happy!! So we have been milking that deal as much as we possibly can :)

3. It's a small world after all!!! - So the first day in London we ate at this really cute sandwhich shop right down from our hotel and had the most incredible English style fish and chips you could ever imagine, with a cappuccino (they put yummy chocolate sprinkles on top here!). As we were eating, 3 boys about our age walked in to eat as well and we were the only ones in the cafe. One of the boys had on a U of W sweatshirt and a Mariners hat, so we asked them if they were from Washington State by chance...and they were!!! And get this, one of their grandparents LIVES in Lewiston, ID and his dad went to Lewiston High School! And one of the other guys is from the Gig Harbor area! We couldn't believe it...what a small world!

4. Jenna's Family Day: On Tuesday we took a trip across London to the Sussix area to meet up with Jenna's mom's cousin and other family members. They took us to their houses and out to lunch and it was a nice relaxing day! Jenna was able to meet a bunch of family that she has never met before, and we were both schooled in how to properly speak the English language. Like when you want to go to the bathroom, it's called the "Lew" and it's only called a bathroom when you want to take a bath. A vacation is called a holiday, so until we figured that out we were pretty confused when they kept talking about all the "holidays" they have been on in the past! haha. We also tried this English dessert called a "Banoffee" pie, which is banana and toffee, and it was probably the best thing we have ever tried in our lives. We also tried real English tea and bisquits! It was a great cultural/family day :)

5. Tourist Day: So yesterday we had a little tourist day. We went to the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, the London Bridge, and climbed up the Tower of London. We can't even explain to you how BIG Big Ben really is! We walked out of the underground station and looked up, and up, and up, and up, and couldn't even see the whole of Big Ben because we were right under it! OMG it is HUGGEEE!! Daddy Bill - we were sure to go tell Big Ben hi for you, haha. So we walked across the bridge to get a good look at it and took a bunch of pictures. The London Bridge wasn't too impressive, but the Tower of London was incredible. That is the one that opens up in the center to let big boats through. We went to the top and could see an incredible view of the area. We were going to go on the London Eye, but it was really expensive and kind of an overcast/rainy day so we figured we saw just as much from the ground as we could have up there since it was so foggy and icky. Oh and then, get this (another small world experience), as we were walking to the Tower of London, we randomly ran into the other 4 Whitworth students who came to London too! WOW...in the middle of London, we were randomly in the same spot at the same time! So we went to lunch with them and met up with them later on as well for some drinks at Piccadilly Circus, which is like the Times Square of London. SO cool! After drinks with them, we went to the theater showing of Grease! Which was probably one of our most favorite experiences of this whole trip. We all know how much we LOVE Grease in the first place, but then to see it on Broadway, in London...it was amazing!!!! Be ready for a 50's themed party once we get back home because we were quite inspired.

6. Mind the Gap: So I'm guessing you all are wondering why this post is entitled "MIND THE GAP." So the undergound train system, also know as the Tube, is actually very very nice and self explanatory here in London. But when each train stops to let people off/pick people up, this voice comes over the loud speaker that says "Mind the gap!" to let people know to watch their step as they are getting off the train. It's hilarious because it says it over and over and over again haha.

7. The rest of the trip: Today we're going to meet up with the other 4 Whitworth students again and go to the Waffle House and get some Cornish ice cream, probably get a Kebab, and then just hang out for the rest of the afternoon. If we have time we are going to go to Buckingham Palace as well, but if not, we're going to first thing in the morning. Today we are also going to the big huge shopping department store called Harrods, as well as some other shopping around the area. Then tomorrow our plane leaves for Berlin at 7:20pm, we're staying in the hostel again tomorrow night, then we fly out of Berlin for home on Saturday around noon! We're so excited to get back home and see everyone!! We probably won't blog again so this is the last of it! We hope you all have enjoyed our blogging, and once we get back we will be sure to start a page with all of our pictures from the trip! Take care and see you all soon! Cheers!