Hey there everyone.

Thought i best get this started as mum is already on my back about it....
So here i am in London. The flight here wasn't too bad, pretty long and i didn't get much sleep at all. Stopped over in Singapore for 3 hours and realised very quickly the reason everything is so orderly (and clean) there could be attributed to the size of the weapons the security guys carry... with their finger on the trigger. Also managed to squeeze in some duty free shopping and brought myself a new phone.

My first night here was uneventful mainly because i fell asleep so early but i did meet Erin a fellow aussie from Brisvegas.

Friday Erin and i went shopping at Camden markets where i found myself some bargains. We saw a sign for London zoo and even though we knew it would be out of our budgets we decided to go exploring around it. After we decided our money was better spent else where we decided to have a wonder around Regents park and Queen Marys gardens. About a hundred metres down the road we knew we'd made the right decision as you could see through the fence to the giraffes and zebras which was all i'd wanted to see anyway.. Score!!

Saturday Erin, Natalie (from Sydney) and i went on a Royal London walking tour. We checked out all the essential royal tourist stuff. Buckingham palace, Westminster abbey, St James' park and palace, the Queen victoria monument, 10 Downing street, Trafalgar square, Wellington arch, The houses of parliment and of course Big Ben. The tour guide Eleanor was really good and all it cost was a tip to her at the end.. Bargain! There were a few places i'd go back and check out again on my own later but it was a great overview and i found out a few things i wouldn't have otherwise known. After i went for a wander down the Thames past the London eye, the Tate modern, Shakesperes globe theatre, the Royal national theatre and Queen Elizabeth hall where there was an exibition of artists impressions of architecture which was amusing. There was one that had four 'rooms' that were fountains of water that would turn on and off so the rooms would appear and disappear that you could run through. Another has a clear inflated plastic ball that had a kind of platform halfway up that you could lay on so it appeared you were floating and another that made an oversized lounge room with fake grass. They were all pretty impressive. There were lots of street performers and even some sand sculpters. There was also a very cute little area called Gabriels wharf that had a lot of boutique shops and a lot of the outdoor eating area had chairs and tables carved out of wood and carved rocking horses. That night i Erin, Nicole (also from Brisvegas) and i were too tired to go out but went to the bar in the hostel for a few drinks and then went and found Burger king later where i ordered a whopper and got a triple whopper by mistake... 3 meat patties is just too much.

Sunday i went shopping on Oxford street with Natalie and to a pub for dinner that night.

Monday Erin, Natalie and i went to Notting Hill Carnival where we watched some of the parades with their amazing costumes and steel drum bands. We ate jerk chicken and spent most of the day dancing and watching random people strip or do impromptu performances on their balconies. We had to leave early though cos all the smoke was killing my eyes :-(