Thursday, January 19, 2012

Running thru life... UK Recap

UK was truly a blast and a wonderful trip with so many good memories
especially because we were with friends.
That being said here are some of our likes/dislikes:

Likes:
1) The TUBE
There system is so advanced and you can get anywhere!  AMAZING

2) Pubs
It is completely different than eating out in the states, it is an experience!

3) Cider 
Not the crappy Woodchuck that makes me breakout but real cider!

4) CatchPrase-
Totally asking for this for a present!

5) Tea 
Joe and I are now on a major tea kick.  He purchased some vanilla tea while we were there and I am loving it!

6) The history. 
I love English history!

7)Friends
Being with Friends on Holiday!!!

8) The ease of it all
I did not have 1 crisis moment!!!!  Not 1. 


Dislikes: 
1) $  Maybe because we live in DC where most things are free but it is amazing what you are charged for over in the UK.  You are charged to park at a MALL!!! OMG I would order everything on Amazon.


Joe's favorite was high tea!
While mine was definitely either New Years Eve or the Tower. 


Happy Traveling!!!!
Where too next?

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Running thru life... UK London

So I totally posted out of order and just realized it... sorry!
Back to our UK trip....

Thursday December  29th-  London
Our London day was a long one but a good one.
We started off by waking up early to catch the train into London to the Paddington Station at 8 am.
Train tickets were pricey- however this was the only splurge of the trip $90 total round trip.
The total train ride was over an hour long. 
The train was super nice equipped with a snack cart and the views thru the countryside were fantastic. 

Upon arriving at the Paddington station we took the Lube and so our London adventures started. 
A day pass on the lube cost was 12 pounds total for both of us- so under $20.
Totally worth it since we rode around on it all day!

First Stop-  The British Museum
Cost:  Free
This was one of the places I wanted to visit because when we were in Athens in May parts of the Parathon were in the British Museum.  So we got to see the remaining pieces which was kind of cool since it was in the same year.  We also saw an exhibit on Egyptian Mummy's.  The Rosetta Stone!
Plus we got to see the Olympic Metals for the upcoming 2012 Olympics. 


Second Stop-  Lunch
We stopped after the museum to catch up with one of my friend's friend. 
We stopped at a Turkish restaurant. 
Unfortunately by this point, I had a cold and did not want anything but soup. 
Everything looked delicious that other people ordered
Lunch- Under 20$

Third Stop-  The Tower of London
Cost: 51.80
Yeap big price tag!
Things in London are not cheap!
Fortunately, Joe has his student ID which they honored which saved up about 5-10 dollars. 
This was by far the coolest place because you really could spend all day there. 
We got to see where the be-headings took place and the story of them. 
We visited the mini towers. 
We watched the changing of the guard. 
Shannon and I even spoke with one of the funny men in a hat- which was awesome! 
Primarily because they are not suppose to talk to people. 
But the best part was the Crown Jewels- they are so big that they almost look fake. 
They had one diamond that was 3,000 carats.  OMG!!!!
We could not take pictures which was totally a bummer!

Fourth Stop: Harrods
I needed to get some gifts for people so we thought we would swing by Harrods on the TUBE.
BIG MISTAKE. 
So apparently people in the UK love their after Christmas shopping even more than Americans. 
We could not even move from one room to another while in Harrods. 
So we rode up the Egyptian escalator and rode down. 
That was our visit to Harrods. 
It was actually quite comical!

Fifth Stop:
Back on the tube to head to Paddington Station to pick up the Train.
This is where Paddington Bear is from. 

Sixth Stop:  The Pub
For Pizza night and cider- delicious after a day of walking. 

Our London day was by far our most expensive day but it truly was the only $$ we spent because the dinners at the pubs were cheap.