The Land of Ipods, Cigarettes, Mercedes, and Men in Suits

London is definitely on my list of amazing cities! I think I love it as much as I love Dallas, TX! Everyone here listens to an Ipod all day as they walk around, they all have a cigarette in their mouth, and if they drive, they drive a Mercedes. Even the buses and taxi's are Mercedes.

Roomster, I think you would LOVE it here!!

All the women wear layered clothes..dresses over pants, coats over dresses, and awesome flats and boots. EVERY man here wears a suit...it's hot. And then add an English accent...whoa!!

I love it because it has the hype of NYC, but without the annoying aspects. There are alot of people, but not too many...there seems to be just the right amount. The transportation seems much more reasonable, and it's just a classy place! I mean, there are palaces spready about the city...how can it not be wonderful?

Things that are Different

They say ''take away'', we say ''take out''

They use military time, we use normal time

They spell ''organised'', we spell ''organized''

Their stoplights change from red to yellow, then green...we go straight from red to green

Mistakes

Mistake #1 was going to the wrong hotel to meet our group. We were supposed to be at the Ibis hotel at 6pm to meet up with the NCSU people. When we arrived (after traveling an hour from where we were), we realized that there are TWO Ibis hotels in London, and we were at the wrong one. So, we had to turn right back around, retrace our steps exactly (WITH ALL OUR LUGGAGE) and go back to the correct hotel. Long story short, we only needed to travel about 5 minutes down the road, but we traveled an hour. So, double taxi rides, double taxi fares, double Underground train rides, double time......but we finally made it. We missed the group orientation.

Day 3: London, England

I left Scotland and took a short flight into London's Heathrow airport. We took a bus called the ''Dot to Dot'' (see pic above) to our hotel (about an hour away) in downtown London. We stayed at the St. Giles, and it was perfect! We loved the location, the room was decent, and it wasn't too expensive!! After staying in a Hostel, it was nice to have a bellboy and a real reception desk.

After getting settled in the Hotel, we walked around the entire city of London...twice!! Alot of time was spent on Oxford Street, which is known for fabulous shopping. There is an H&M on every block, Zara, Dorthy Perkins, French Connection, and Top Shop....as tempting as it was, I was mostly a window shopper (I know you're smiling, Dad). Later that first night in London, we went to Picadilly Circus to get a glimpse of the nightlife. This city surely NEVER sleeps, but I really dig all the lights, hustle and bustle!

Our second day in London was jam packed. We checked out of our hotel and left our luggage there so we could spend the day exploring the city a little bit more (we knew we had to meet up with our group at 6pm). We bought an all day ticket to the Underground (aka subway train) and found our way around quite nicely (say that with an accent, please).


Our first stop in London that day was St. Pauls Cathedral. This is where Princess Di got married . Next, we took a train to Kensington Palace and walked around the palace and gardens. Then, of course, we had to stop by Harrods just to experience it. For those of you that don't know...Harrod's is a department store with 36 restaurants, designer everything, and they sell everything. You can buy a designer gown for $6,000 or a designer Gucci bag or sunglasses, or even a pet lion cub. It was unbelievable! The owner of Harrods is Princess Di's lover, Dodi. On the bottom floor of Harrods, there is a memorial to Princess Di and Dodi that includes the engagement ring he had bought her but never gave her, as well as the last wine glass they ever drank from. Then, of course, we went back to Oxford Street for lunch and a little more shopping before heading out to meet the group.

One down...Six to go

We're done with Scotland...I'm in the Edinburgh airport waiting on my flight to London.
We will have today and most to tomorrow in London by ourselves, then we will meet up with our group tomorrow night at 6pm!

Although this has been fun, I am looking forward to being with the group. It is just alot of work to figure out which bus to catch, which taxi to ride, and how to spend my time, etc. Em has been a great travel partner, but we're looking forward to having an itenerary and a tour guide!!

This flight will only be an hour and a half...thank goodness!

Please note....

Hostels do not have blankets or towels.
You can pay to use towels, but no blankets are available.

Thank goodness I a blanket...it is the size of a paper towel, but it's better than what Em Nance is workin with!!

For more stories and pictures, visit Emily Nance's blog at
http://www.esn-in-europe.blogspot.com/


I have seen 4 dogs here...they have all been pit bulls...maybe it's a sign that Cole and I belong here!!

Day 2: Edinburgh, Scotland

The first night in the Hostel....sleepless. My jet lag killed me and I was awake all night, and finally fell asleep as the sun was coming up....needless to say, our day got off to a later start.

But, we hopped a bus and made it down to the center of town to do a Bus Tour of the city! My genius friend, Sarah, suggested Rick Steve's book, and I am SO GLAD we have it with us...we have used it a million times and it is so helpful (thanks Dad). Rick Steve's and Charlotte both suggested to do a hop-on hop-off bus tour, and we did! We got to see the city...the Castle, the Queen's Garden, The Royal Mile, and much so much more. Rick Steve's suggested a great place for lunch, The Filling Station...more mozzarella, basil, and tomato stuff.

We're headed back to the Hostel and then off to experience the nightlife....catching a flight to London in the morning! We pretty much conquered Scotland!

A Day of Firsts

Two Things I've NEVER done before:

1. Toured Scotland

2. Not been with my Mom on Mother's Day

Bittersweet? I think so.

Mom,
I love you and miss you and wish I was there to celebrate YOU today!

Please Note.....

First of all, pardon the lack of pictures. I have taken some, but haven't found a place yet where I can download them. This computer I'm using is in the lobby of the Hostel, and I had to pay 3 pounds for one hour.

Speaking of pounds....they really get on my nerves. Why not all just use the dollar? Everytime I give a clerk or bus driver money, I always say ''dollar'' and they get annoyed and correct me everytime.

Other things that get on my nerves:
Driving on the left side of the road. Seriously, why not keep these things universal? I have used ''my brake'' so many time when riding on the buses because it always looks like we're about to get into a head-on collision.

Men that use hankerchiefs. I've been in pretty close quarters since I left RDU, and I've just decided that the disposable tissue works best. There is no need to whip out your USED hankerchief and sneeze into it and then put it back in your pocket.

People in the New York airport. They keep the airport too hot (probably about 97 degrees)...Dad, you wouldn't have made it. This one kid in the airport had on a T-shirt that said ''Sin is In''....he's krank!

DAY 1: Edinburgh, Scotland

The plane landed a little ahead of schedule, and it was daybreak in Scotland. Customs went by fairly quickly and then we hopped a bus to take us to our Hostel. With ALL luggage in hand, we still had to do about a 1/2 mile walk, but thankfully it was downhill. We got to our Hostel about 10am (I was running on zero sleep) and we couldn't check in until 3pm. Since we had our luggage, we couldn't really go far, so we slept on the couches in the lobby of the Hostel until check-in.

Our room is perfect for us....it has 2 sets of bunkbeds and a bathroom...this is a really nice Hostel...not like the ones you see on the movies. Since there are technically 4 beds in our room, we are paranoid that we're going to get roommates, but so far, so good!

Once we settled in, we walked down to grab a bite to eat....fresh pannini bread with mozzarella, basil, and tomatoes...delicious! Then took the bus to the center of the city to do a little shopping!

The Flight

I promised details..here they are! First things first, that flight is painfully long, but allow me to paint the scene for you.

Basically, a 7 hour flight is simply a challenge to fit as many people as possible into an uncomfortable aircraft and then see who can conquer the feat of actually sleeping. I failed...here's why.

Last year during NCSU football season, Cortney and I decided that 80% of people in the world are stupid. In 2009, he changed the statistic from 80% to 85%, and I agree. All 85% of those stupid people were on my flight. From uncontrollable gas to extremely awkward sleeping habits, these people kept me as uncomfortable as possible. I never realized how ridiculous a grown man looks in an eye mask until this one man wore his during the entire flight....while he was sleeping and when he was walking around the plane to go to the restroom.

The temperature on the plane was a cozy 86 degrees and those little things that are supposed to blow air on you were just not doing the trick. Everytime the drink car rolled by, I intentionally let it rub my arm just because it was cold.

The closest that I ever came to actually drifting into a little slumber was the ONE moment during the 7 hour flight when the Captain decided to make the unneccesary reminder to buckle our seatbelts over the PA system.

And then they served dinner and breakfast...I think it was just left over hostpital food. The smell alone made me want to jump out my little window, but watching the 85% eat it just made it worse.

In the heat of our frustration, and as we adjusted positions every 3 seconds to try to accomplish some sort of comfort, I told Emily (my travel partner) to put in her earplugs...maybe they would help. Her response...unless those earplugs unfold into a bed, they won't help. Point taken!

We Made It

We arrived in Scotland this morning at 8am.
I promise more details very soon....I guess this is mostly so my sweet parents know I'm safe and on foreign soil!

Packing

Packing and saying goodbye are bound to be the worst parts of this trip! I got to spend some wonderful quality time with Megan and Sarah last night...and of course they flowered me with adorable travel gifts. Charlotte (the professional European traveler) took the time to send me a personalized tour of every city that I am visiting based on her past experiences! I have all the scoop and inside information now, thanks to my exclusive tour guide! A few last minute things today....lunch with Penny, graduation party for Emily, brunch with the fam tomorrow, then I'm off!!

It's Almost time

9 days and counting.....I'll miss her