On Wednesday (February 4), I took a plane to London, England with two friends (Tori and Colleen). We flew out of Cork, so it was only a bus ride to get to the airport. Our flight was at 10:30am on Wednesday, and it was a really quick flight, only about an hour. We arrived in London Gatwick airport and had to take a train to get to the area our hostel was in. We stayed at St. Christopher's Oasis in the London Bridge area. We dropped off our bags and locked them up and went walking around to get lunch. On the way, we passed by the Borough Market, which is a very well-known fruit and vegetable market. We decided to eat at Jamies Wine Bar and Restaurant of London Bridge Street. I got a chorizo and beef burger with fries; this lunch definitely saved our lives since we were starving by the time we finally got to the London area. We then walked around to find the Tower Bridge and walked all along the River Thames. We were able to see all the big buildings along the water and how city-like this area really looked, which was definitely a change from Cork. We stopped to take pictures at the Tower Bridge. It quickly started to get dark, so we got to see the whole bridge light up for night time. We had dinner at Itsu, a Japanese restaurant, and then went for coffee to sit and relax for a while before we had to go back to our hostel to sleep. Our days were very full days since we stayed out all day and only came back to our hostel strictly to sleep. We walked 9.57 miles on Wednesday. We went to our hostel to go to sleep. The room set up was 8 beds, each bunk beds. The hostel was definitely an experience for us, and the phrase "you get what you pay for" really applied here. However, everything in London was very expensive due to the pound conversion. 1 pound is about $1.50 US dollars, so we really only tried to spend money on food, but just food alone was very pricey. Luckily, the location of our hostel was really good, otherwise we would've had to have taken the tube, which is the underground transit throughout London, which is at least 5 pounds everytime you take it. On Thursday, we woke up at 8:30am to go to the hostel breakfast which was included in our stay. I don't think any of us really slept all the great, so we were still a little tired. The hostel breakfast was nothing too great, so the next two days we decided it wasn't worth waking up for. It basically consisted of toast and fruit cups, so we ended up going to Starbucks for breakfast (we don't have a Starbucks near us in Ireland). After breakfast, we walked over toward the London Eye area, which was past both the London Bridge and the Tower Bridge. The London Eye is basically a big ferris wheel that is all windows where one is able to see 360 degree views all around London. It is near the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben as well. We took some pictures along our long walk into the city. We stopped at The Old Shades for lunch on our way to head toward the Westminster area. I got a fish and chips sandwich. We kept walking to head into Trafalgar Square to do some sight seeing. The architecture on the buildings was really cool to see. We were actually glad we did so much walking because we felt like we saw a lot more things on foot than we would've if we took the underground transportation. It was also a lot colder than I expected in London. It was cloudy most of the time with some cold winds, that Ireland felt a lot milder compared to here. We went on a walking tour at 3 that was a free tour provided by our hostel. We met at Green Park, which leads up to Buckingham Palace. The tour was about two hours and ended right about when it got dark. The tour was actually really helpful, since the tour guide told us things we never would've known otherwise. She told us about how the road leading up to Buckingham Palace is actually red because it simulates a red carpet leading up to the royal palace. She talked about how for a while it technically wasn't illegal to intrude on royal property and break in, until a break in actually happened, and the man who broke in happened to walk right in the Queen's room while she was sleeping, woke her up, and proceeded to ask for a cigarette. It was then made illegal after that. There were only two guards guarding the Palace when we walked by, meaning that the Queen wasn't there. When four guards are present outside, that indicates that the Queen is currently staying at the palace. However, we learned that the Queen really doesn't like staying at Buckingham Palace and isn't there very often. The Palace has over 750 rooms and was so big. There is also a royal flag that will be on the flag post when the Queen is present. Buckingham Palace is actually two colors as well, because one color shows the part that is the original Palace. Right next to the Palace was a big gate with gold paint that was apparently a gift from the Canadians, but it was a really pretty gate that was right outside Green Park. We continued our walk to see the Clarence House, which is where Prince Charles lives, along with his wife Camilla Parker-Bowles. There was a flag on their flag post that indicated they were in fact home when we were there visiting. Our tour guide told us about the changing of the guards ceremony as well. Every three hours, the guards are changed, but the actual formal ceremony takes place every other day. The guards are all part of the British Army, and we were told how prestigous of an honor it is to be selected to guard the Royal Family. The tour guide told us how Prince Charles has waited longer than anyone for the throne, since the Queen has been alive and in charge for so long. We also learned that he may not actually get the throne because of his age when the opportunity may arise. We continued our walk and saw the Horse Guard's Parade, where police continued to guard the area. Since the attacks in Paris, security has been even more so in London, and the police walked around with large guns and were actually really intimidating to be around. We then got to see Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament Building, which were really pretty. Big Ben is actually just the name of the Bell inside the clock tower, not the whole building even though people refer to it this way. The bell would actually be a lot louder than it was, however, it is cracked, just like the Liberty Bell in the U.S.; both bells were made by the same people. For dinner, we went to Yo Sushi, where sushi came around by each table on a conveyer belt, which was very different than anything I've seen. Our walk home was pretty long and it got really cold at night, so we were happy to get back into warmth. We walked a total of 11 miles on Thursday. On Friday, we woke up a little bit later than we would've for the hostel breakfast, and went to Starbucks to eat. We walked over toward the London Eye again, since we were going to buy tickets to go on it. We chose Friday since it was a much more clear and sunny day. The views were really cool from it and we were so high up. The security here was also really strict. We had to get scanned before we went on, and then as we exited, employees got on to check each cart with what looked like a metal detector. The London Eye is located on the South Bank in the Jubilee Gardens. It took about 30 minutes for the wheel to go around once. From it we could see The Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace, and St. Paul's Cathedral. When it's clear out, you can see up to 25 miles out. We also met up with my roommate Hannah who was in London visiting her roommate from Quinnipiac, who came on the London Eye with us. We stopped at The Gourmet Pizza Company for lunch. I got a pizza with chorizo, onions and peppers that was really good. We also ordered sodas, which I actually haven't had since we got here. In the UK, the soda companies have a lot more bans on different ingredients, chemicals, and preservatives that they are allowed to put in foods, so the soda actually tastes different. It doesn't have all the corn syrups in it that we do in the U.S., but instead real sugar. Not that this was the most healthy option, but it was so much better than it was in the U.S., and it came in the glass bottle so I couldn't refuse it. We then took a long trek over to see Harrod's, the department store. The size of this shop was unbelievable, and it was on the street with so many expensive stores. There was a Ferrari and Porsche shop, as well as Burberry and clothing stores like it. Harrod's is a huge department store on the Brompton Road in Knightsbridge. It occupies a 5 acre area and has over 1 million square feet in over 330 departments, making it the largest department store in Europe. We headed back to our hostel area for dinner, since we knew we had a long walk back in the dark and it was getting a lot colder. We went to Zizzi's Restaurant for dinner. I got a pasta dish with a creamy sauce and chicken, and a chocolate cake for dessert. We were treating ourself to dessert since it was our last night in London. We went back to our hostel a little later to try to get a good night sleep. We walked a total of 11.97 miles on Friday. On Saturday morning, we woke up and had to check out. We locked our bags up in our hostel's common area and got breakfast. We then tried to find St. Paul's Cathedral before we had to head out to catch our flight home. It took us a little while to find it, but all in all in terms of navigation, we did a pretty good job at finding everything we were looking for. We saw the Cathedral and then walked back to get lunch before we had to take the train to the airport. We stopped at Nando's for lunch, which is a popular chicken place in London, and got salads with chicken. We then picked our bags up at our hostel and headed to the train station. We walked a total of 6.93 miles. Our flight was at 4:30pm, but we had to be there in advance and the train ride to the airport was about an hour. We were all really looking forward to having our rooms to ourselves back in Cork with our clean showers and comfortable beds, so it made us appreciate our rooms here. I'm really glad I got to see London and felt that we stayed the perfect amount of time to see what we wanted to see. The city life is much different than I am used to, so it was a really fun and enjoyable trip. Throughout the whole trip, we walked 39.47 miles, which is more than I have been walking in a week in Ireland.