A bit of a doomsday scenario happened this morning; our hotel was too far from the train station to walk, and it was way too close for a taxi to want to take us (they're big on not doing short trips). To be truthful, it really only was a 15 minute walk, but we did have to go via Daniel's new accommodation for the next two nights, and the station was on the other side of town, which meant walking through the city centre fully laden! I could already imagine the natives staring, judging, as we carted them through there. I promise I'm not a hippie. Look, I wear good clothes, I present myself well, I smell like I had a shower today (because I did, stop drooling), I even wear aftershave! I'm clearly not a backpacker, I'm just carting a pack! We had to do all that today because it was moving day. Dad and I were off to London, and we were leaving Daniel, the intrepid traveller, the free spirit (pfft yeah right, more like the obsessed Liverpool fan), all alone in Liverpool to stay around and watch the Champions League game at Anfield on Tuesday night. After breakfast we hung around the room until check-out at 11am, as our train didn't leave till 12:47 and there was no point leaving early, it just meant we'd have our packs on our backs for longer, and you all know my feelings on that! Once we left, our first stop was checking Daniel into his new hotel for the next couple of nights. It was just up the road, and luckily he could get in his room straight away to dump his bags. The place was pretty modest, but I reckon if you'd told Daniel a few days ago he had the chance to go to a Champions League game to see Liverpool play, he'd have happily slept outside! Following this, we made our way towards the station, but had to go via the bank. Unbelievably, we walked past the Liverpool shop and didn't go in. Daniel did say he had two more days to be in there though. God help him! We had to go via the bank because that long lost woman on the other side of the world, otherwise known as Mum, gave us bad bank notes! No doubt some little old lady came in to Mum's bank to swap some foreign currency, saw Mum was the trusting type, and found a way of getting rid of her ancient pounds! It turns out that basically all the £50 and £20 notes were old - in the case of the £50s, thy hadn't been in circulation for years! I love you Mum (please don't stop doing the cooking, cleaning, ironing, general taking care of me), but old people, just don't trust them. Just look at Dad! Anyway, it wasn't too big a deal, because the bank swapped them for us. And they had free wifi, so while they were, I was connecting to friends. Maybe I should thank you Mum. From there, we were straight to the station. As we arrived about an hour before our train was due to go, we found a cafe for a coffee, and more importantly a place to sit and get our packs off, and even more importantly free wifi too! With about 10 minutes before our train was due to leave, we said our goodbyes to Daniel, unsure if we'd ever see him again. Granted that's a bit extreme, but if anybody could all of a sudden find themselves halfway around the world in the opposite direction, with no idea how he did it (and not because of alcohol), it'd be him. Besides, as this blog is behind, we all know that clearly didn't happen, so it's not that extreme I guess. Good luck these next couple of days Daniel, God knows you'll need it. We boarded the train, and made our way to 2nd class. Oh the indignity of it all! I saved face a little bit by ordering a cheese platter for lunch to show my class though. Yum! And the trip was only a few hours long anyway, so it wasn't too big a deal to sit amongst the plebs. When we arrived at London Euston, we got a little lost in the search for the taxi rank, but with two bright minds between us (it's ok Dad, you can borrow one of mine sometime), it didn't take us too long to locate it, jump in the taxi, and head towards our accommodation. We were in London! Even the 20 minute taxi ride was exciting! All of a sudden the old buildings gave way to Trafalgar Square, and then we were on an avenue with Buckingham Palace in the distance coming towards us - world famous sights right there in front of us! It was a bit of a wow moment! Five minutes after passing the gates of Buckingham Palace, we'd reached our accommodation in a gorgeous quiet street in Westminster. We checked in and dumped our bags in the room. The room was small but clean, and would do quite easily for the next few nights, although it was lucky Daniel wasn't coming till the last night, as we had a double bed to share again! Dad quickly decided to be 'generous', offering me the double bed to stretch out in while he took the single. He knew that bed hog would be here soon! Well played Dad, you really are generous. After doing the essential things, like connecting to the wifi and letting loved ones know we'd arrived safely in London, Dad and I decided to go for a little walk before dinner, to at least get our bearings before having a big day tomorrow. We headed out in the general direction of the River Thames, with the aim of following it for a bit before returning to the hotel and going out for dinner. Once we'd gotten to the river and wandered through a park, we could see the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, and Big Ben all looming, seemingly just a stone's throw away. Being so close to such historic and famous landmarks, we couldn't not go see them, so our short walk turned into something a little more, although I was surprised to see everything so close to each other, and to where we were staying! A few minutes later, we were right out the front of some of the most well known buildings in the world. Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament were so intricate in their detail, but similar in feel to the historic sites in Paris, the aura of being in front of them was pretty special - these places have seen so much history! After we'd soaked it all in, we decided to make our way back towards our hotel. Dad was keen for a beer and suggested we find a little pub for a refreshing ale. I think it's pretty obvious where his sons get their beer loving ways from! We found that pub, had a round, before completing our journey back to the hotel. On the way back I saw a little kid even more excited than Daniel at Liverpool and me at Christmas combined - he'd found a penny! We were only back at the hotel to freshen up a little bit and get some warmer clothes before we hit the streets again seeking some dinner. We found a classic English corner pub, enjoyed a meal and a couple of pints, before deciding to call it a night. Once back at the hotel we were able to contact Daniel, so he was still alive (miracles do happen!), and on that note, we could rest easy and hit the sack - a pretty good day (despite the 2nd class fiasco) done!