Monday 15th July saw Louis, Joe & myself shoot off to experience our first taste of a European summer, with Jack & Doug to meet us within the first few days. After brief stopovers in Hong Kong & Zurich we arrived at our first stop of the journey; ye ol' London town. Two words: Loved it. After a lazy night to shrug off the jet lag the rest of the days were busy, so much packed into 5 short days. 2pound all-day bike hire and unlimited access to the world famous Tube made exploring this great city easy. From London Eye & Big Ben, to St Pauls Cathedral & Tower Bridge, the days were filled with ticking the boxes of the stereotypical tourist attractions.

The second morning saw the State of Origin decider take place. An 11am kick off for the game and a 10am kick off for the beers at the Walkabout Aussie Bar in Shepperds Bush. Well, to be honest, the less said about the final result the better, but the atmosphere in the bar was another level, better than anything i've experienced watching in Sydney over the years. It was there we met up with JT, who played the role of our tour guide for the rest of the day. Onto the bicycles it was, and off to Abbey Road, Lords and Hyde Park, stopping for a beverage break to recharge with a pint of strawberry beer. A busy day with a big night to follow; welcoming Jack upon his arrival from America. An Irish Pub with shots and old school music classics. Needless to say, the night ended with Jack & I sitting on the London Bridge with a cider at 6am watching the sunrise before riding a bicycle half way across town back to our hostel. And when I say 'a' bike, I mean just one. Two blokes, 1 bicycle. A huge struggle and few odd looks for the awkward positioning of our bodies.

The rest of London saw the boys scalp a few tickets to day 2 of the Lords Ashes Test (its fair to say Joe doesn't have a career in any sort of bargaining). Nonetheless it was a box ticked off their bucket list, and they had a blast, 13 wickets in one day. I used this opportunity to catch up with a few London-based soccer mates for ciders in Green Park, seems like the thing to do during a London summer. Our final night we were taken out by a couple of Perth girls to a funky nightclub called Koko, which took the shape of an old theatre. Another large night and a good way to cap off our London experience.