I arrived in Rome late at night on April 3rd and took the bus with Amy, Grace, and Anisha to their friend's apartment. After figuring out how to call a taxi in Italian for the next morning, we all went to sleep. I woke up early the next morning, caught my taxi and went to the airport. Between the bus ride to the apartment, and the taxi ride to the airport, that was about all I got to see of Rome. But I was excited to fly to London to see my parents. The flight landed at London Stansted Airport, and I had to catch a bus to London. The bus was supposed to take an hour, but with all the traffic, it ended up taking two. However, I finally made it to Victoria station, and I caught the tube to meet up with Molly and my family.
It was nice to see everyone, and after catching up at the restaurant near the hotel, we set off to explore London. We saw the Tower Bridge and then walked along the Thames river towards Globe Theatre. We made our way back to the hotel and then went out for dinner. We went back to the restaurant near the hotel, but unfortunately no one under 18 was allowed to eat their after 8pm... so Pat went back to the hotel, and Molly, my parents, Keely, and I had dinner. After dinner Keely and I went into London and met up with Alana at a pub down town. We hung out there for a little while before heading back to the hotel.
Sunday morning we woke up and got ready to go into London. We had breakfast at the hotel before going to the Tower of London. It was day one with our London Passes. We took a tour of the Tower of London and then explored some of the buildings on our own. We saw the crown jewels and a few other exhibits before taking a ferry to Westminster Abby. We had lunch at a pub near the Abby, which was pretty amusing as our waitress was... very rushed you could say. Anyways after lunch we walked back to Westminster but unfortunately since it was Sunday, Westminster was closed. We took a few pictures of Big Ben, and then headed over to Trafalgar Square.
In Trafalgar Square, Pat, Keely, and I attempted to take our picture on the lions, but Keely and I had a few issues climbing up... We then headed into the London Brass Rubber Center at St Martins-in-the-Fields Church. Molly, Mom, and Keely each picked out a brass rubbing to work on, while Pat and Dad went off to explore. We met back up and had a second attempt at pictures with the lions, this one more successful. We walked over to Piccadilly Circus and explore the Lilywhites sports shop for about two hours. After shopping, we went to the restaurant, Adam's Rib for dinner. We called it a night after dinner, and went back to the hotel.
Monday morning we woke up early again took the subway to Buckingham Palace to watch the changing of the Guards. The ceremony was alot longer then I expected, but it was pretty cool. After the ceremony we walked through St. James Park back towards Westminster Abby. The line was long, so we decided to head over to St. Paul's Cathedral. We explored the cathedral and then climbed to the top and had a great view of London. After exploring, we had lunch in the cafe at the Cathedral, and then Dad, Pat, Keely, and I went to Globe Theatre. We took a tour of theatre which was really cool... it would actually be nice to see a show there some time! After the theatre we met up with Molly and Mom in Covent Gardens. We split off to shop and Dad took Keely and I to a pub for a drink. We then walked around a while before having dinner at Maxwells.
Tuesday morning we were off to Edinburgh via the train. The train was about four hours long, and we arrived in Edinburgh around noon. We checked into our hotel and then went out to eat at the Elephant Cafe. The Elephant Cafe is where J.K. Rowling wrote most of Harry Potter... Anyways after lunch we walked through the shops on the royal mile. Dad, Pat, Keely, and I went off to see the new Parliament building and the National Monument. On the walk back to the hotel, we stopped for the best milkshakes EVER from Wannaburger. That evening we had dinner at the hotel, and then watched the football match on T.V.
Wednesday morning Keely and I got up early and took the bus to Glasgow. We dropped my luggage off at my room and started laundry before meeting Molly, Mom, Dad, and Pat at the Glasgow Cathedral. We explored the Glasgow Cathedral and the Necropolis and then headed to the Willow Tea Room for lunch. After lunch we spent a little time shopping on Buchanan Street, before Keely and I went back to my dorm for an interview. We met up with everyone an hour later, and walked through the campus at the University of Glasgow. We made our way back to my dorm to relax a little bit while I finished packing for the rest of the trip. We left my room and went out to dinner at Firebird. The pasta was amazing as well as the brownie! That night we took the bus back to Edinburgh and went to sleep.
Thursday morning, Keely and I got up and went to Top Shop for a little shopping. She bought another pair of sneakers (she bought the first pair in London). We met up with everyone at noon and went back to the Elephant cafe for lunch. After lunch we made our way up to Edinburgh Castle for a tour. Molly stayed behind to do some shopping since she had already seen the castle. The castle was fun, although after refusing to take a tour, Dad and Keely still managed to join part of one for a few minutes. We saw the crown jewels of Scotland and then made our way back towards the royal mile for a little more shopping. We made our way back to the hotel to relax a bit, and then when out to a pub for dinner.
Friday morning we headed to Edinburgh airport for our flight to Heathrow. It was a quick flight which was nice, and breakfast was served on the plane. When we arrived in London, we took our luggage to our third and final Premiere Inn. We had lunch at the pub across the street and then headed in to London for our last day of exploring. We went back to Lilywhites and then made our way to Covent Gardens to browse the shops one last time. We had dinner that night at Pizza Express which I was really excited about! The pizza there was so good!
Saturday morning we woke up and packed up our luggage. I left my luggage at the hotel, while Molly, Mom, Dad, Keely, and Pat, brought theirs on the tube one last time while they made there way to the airport. I said goodbye to everyone and then headed into the city to meet up with my friend Jamie, for lunch, since my flight wasn't til later that night. It was definitely a great trip though!
Keely, Pat, and I infront of Big Ben
Mom and Molly walking in London
Keely, Pat and I attempting to climb the lions
Keely and I infront of Buckingham Palace
Dad, Keely, and Pat on top of St. Paul's Cathedral
Keely, Pat, and I in Globes Theatre
Keely, Pat, and I at the National Monument in Edinburgh
Inside Edinburgh Castle
Dad and Keely joining a tour group that was not ours...
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