The Midnight Sun

After not getting very much sleep - from either too much wine or the fact that it never got dark - we arose for some breakfast before hiking in Balestrand. I found that it was hard to sleep because I refused to shut the curtains... and also refused to stop staring at the view over the balcony and onto the fjord. I was just trying to take it all in, because I knew in a few short days I would be back at home and designing/testing/drawing valves for 40 hours a week again. But for a moment, I was in a peaceful setting, and sleep seemed like a poor way to spend my short time there :P Feelings about going home were different than last year... this year I think I was ready to go home after our trip and get back to my life with Andy and the kitties. Last year, everything was uncertain... Andy was still working as a TA and finishing up school, we didn't know if he'd get a job, where he would live... or if we could move in together. And my future was to go home, move in with parents and start my full time job as a hydraulic valve designer for a private company. That's all well and good, but Europe felt like a dream... over 4000 miles away from reality... and on our last day in Vienna, I was so depressed, I never wanted to go back. Because going back actually meant I needed to begin the rest of my life... and that was scary.

Fast forward a year, and Andy and I have a house and two little kitties that we were anxiously ready to get back to :) It is interesting to think about how different things feel at different times of your life. 

Breakfast at the hotel was quaint, nothing fancy. We agreed that this hotel would not have been worth the money if it wasn't for those priceless balcony views. They were worth the extra money that that fjord facing room cost. So after breakfast, we picked up some sandwiches and pastries from town and set out on our hike up the fjord. The weather was gorgeous... not too hot, not too cool. We gave Andy the map and told him to lead the way and not to take any questionable short cuts! 

First step... Find the right trail! By the way, Mom assures that trenchcoats are not usually a part of her hiking attire... when we told her we would be hiking in Norway, we're not sure what she had in mind ;)

This hike is moderate to easy according to my parents (I was huffing and puffing... ) and the views are a great reward for your climbing efforts :) It rained on and off - which I liked because it stayed nice and cool. Half way through the switchbacks, you find yourself on the other side of the fjord looking over emerald colored water. We stopped here to take pictures (and catch our breath). 

This is my new desktop wallpaper at work ;)

So gorgeous! (The fjord, not me!!)

We found a beautiful little picnic spot, but decided to keep going and have our lunch on the way back down. Eventually it started to rain quite hard and Andy was worried (with good reason) that it would be muddy and going down would be treacherous. Sure enough, even though it stopped raining not much later, the way down was a bit slippery. After what seemed like an eternity, we got back to out picnic spot and had our lunch. 

The table we ate at! Hope you're not afraid of heights :)

The view of Balestrand and the Sognefjord

More view!

Well... we can't have funny pictures of JUST mom ;)

Have I convinced you to come here yet?? In case you didn't notice, the rain really does just go on and off all day up here in the mountains. Many of the pictures make it look so beautiful out, when perhaps 5 minutes earlier it was raining... hard! If I lived here, I would always have an umbrella in my purse! According to Rick Steves, the people of Bergen (and probably all of Scandinavia) are very proud of their lousy weather. They say, there is no such thing as bad weather, only incorrect attire! 

Andy has never been one to adhere to the social norm of smiling for pictures (yes that's an apple)

Them trees man... 

After the hike, we had to check out of the hotel and wait for our express boat back to Bergen. We had some time to kill, so we wandered down to the German Bratwurst stand recommended by Rick Steves. Dad had some currywurst and Andy and I had straight up brats. Still not quite the same as in Germany, but very good! I did really enjoy Balestrand, but it does run out of things to do after a few days. It's a really good stop if you're touring around the coast of Norway and fjord land! We would go again if we ever find ourselves there once more. 

Back in Bergen, we wandered the shops in Bryggen and had some dinner at the restaurant that Rick recommends called Bryggeloftet & Stuene. The food was really good! Mom and I had steak and potatos, dad had fish (salmon maybe? can't remember) and Andy had some lasagna... pretty basic stuff, but it tasted good. The only culinary thing that Norway is really known for is the Smörgåsbord and you really have to pay an arm and a leg to experience that. Not this time, we decided. The money is better spent on expensive hotels with breathtaking views ;) On the walk back to the hotel, we stopped for some ice cream (four ice cream cones = $30 lol), mine is dipped in crushed Daim (swedish candy like Heath bar)... look how happy I am!

Well... that's about it. The next morning it rained and rained... as I ran back down to Bryggen to pick up some last minute souvenirs. All I could think of was how the weather wasn't bad and my flip flops were just incorrect attire... as I slid dangerously all over the slick cobblestone. Once I got back, I showered and packed up just in time to make the bus to the airport for our flight home :( 

The next adventures to sate my wanderlust will not require our passports :) 2015 will be planned with beautiful trips within our national border as I realize that I've seen Europe more than I've seen my own country. Each one of our states has a special culture that I can't wait to be a part of (ok, some more than others...). So for now... it's farewell Europe... you live on in my memories, in my pictures, and in my gut and thighs from eating so much of your food :D

I'm PINING for the Fjords!!

Okay so let's finish this blog so I can post all the pictures! And also before I'm a full two weeks out and the details start getting fuzzy. When you think about visiting Norway, what pops into your mind first? Cross country skiing? Snow shoeing? Riding a sled with a bunch of huskies and yelling "MUSH"? I feel like Norway is Europe's Alaska... this kind of far out, hidden treasure, that has so much to offer if you know where to look.

To be honest, I had never heard of the fjords in Norway until I watched a Monty Python skit about a dead parrot (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4O0BA6mkk7k) who Michael Palin claims is not dead... but pining for the fjords! PINING FOR THE FJORDS?! That's what I was doing... Last year we cut out Norway from our trip due to budget and time constraints... at that time, I didn't know that I would get to go as soon as the following year... but I am SO glad I just happened to be so lucky.

We read Rick Steves' book on Scandinavia (I love Rick... if you haven't read his travel books, definitely do so. I owe a lot of my inspiration and outlook on travel to him) and we decided to skip Oslo and fly from Stockholm to Bergen. Then we would take a boat from Bergen to Balestrand for a night and then back to Bergen for one more night before going home. We did this because we were in Norway strictly for nature, and this seemed to be our best option within our time constraint.

Norway offers a lovely DIY tour system called "Norway in a Nutshell" that involves trains, boats, and buses to multiple cities around the country to really get a feel for the culture and the nature. When I say DIY, I just mean that there isn't a strict structure to the tour... you can just book your tickets and take the trains/buses/boats (depending on where you are) when you see fit. You can stay longer in one place, shorter in others and just structure the tour in a way that suits you. It requires a little more forethought than just hopping on a bus with a tour guide, but it's well worth it. We actually didn't have time to do Norway in a Nutshell, but we took the basic idea of it and applied it to our plans.

So flying into Bergen, there is no subway that will take you into the city from the airport. You have to take the bus and it costs about $15 per person one way. MUCH cheaper than a taxi. Andy and I are staying at Rica Hotel Bergen and my parents stayed at the Clarion Hotel Havnekontoret (or the Haver-kanoot, as I read it the first time). We couldn't afford that one... lol... it's Bergen's really high end hotel along the water. It'll run you about $350 per night, but it's very swanky and includes breakfast, dinner and a snack (which turned out to be pancakes or something). Given how expensive Bergen is (and the difficulty of finding a restaurant worth eating at), this might actually be worth the money. However, I generally don't go for things like that... although maybe I should have, because Rick recommended it... and Andy and I had a few expensive and extremely mediocre meals in Bergen.

If you googled Bergen right now... this is about what you would see. That group of colorful wooden buildings is called Bryggen and it's a mix of a shopping area and restaurants. We got all our souvenirs there!

Bergen has an interesting feel to it. After walking around, you'll notice a large Spanish population - after looking into it, Norway is an attractive destination for Spaniards (the ones who can handle the winter!) looking to relocate for working opportunities, as Spain has one of the highest unemployment rates in Europe and Norway has the lowest. Particularly the fish market... the workers there will likely speak to you in Spanish before they try English or Norwegian. Especially if you're like me and you carry around a bag that says Barcelona on it :P The fish market is located along the water and I don't recommend eating there during a busy time. Go there when it's quieter and enjoy some fresh seafood and a beer. When it's busy... it seems that the wait is long, and the fish is under cooked :( Dad didn't seem to mind though.

After having some noms at the fish market, we went out separate ways. And after a much needed nap, Andy and I wandered up to a residential area, where the homes are located on a pretty steep incline... offering some fantastic views.

View of the rooftops above the city!

This adorable little kitty followed us for an inordinate amount of time while we were walking. 

The next day, we met up with my parents again for a trip up Fløibanen, which is a funicular (also known as an inclined plane or cliff railway, is a cable railway in which a cable attached to a pair of tram-like vehicles on rails moves them up and down a steep slope; the ascending and descending vehicles counterbalance each other --Source: Wiki) that takes you up Mount Fløyen - most definitely a "must do" when in Bergen. The tram drops you off at the top with a breath taking view of the city and the water. There's also an adorable gift shop and cafe up there! Very touristy... we broke away from all those tourists and went wandering through the woods...

View from the top!!

The water. 

The woods! Andy is so happy.

♫ Ten years we've been on our own and moss grows fat on a rolling stone... ♫

Dad :)

That afternoon, we met by the harbor at 4:30 to take our "express boat" to Balestrand... a tiny little town (population 2,000... and that number probably goes down to 20 in the winter). Here is a VERY ROUGH sketch of the route the boat took to get us there! The arrow head is where Balestrand is -- it is also outlined with the red dashed line. We were staying right on the water at Hotel Balestrand!!

This ride takes 4 hours and is absolutely gorgeous! Norway is NOT very warm... we all liked to brave the very windy outside to look at the scenery and gape at the houses along the fjords... oh to have a house on the fjords! In Bergen, Dad had gone to a liquor store to pick up some beer and wine to enjoy on our balcony with fjord views in Balestrand. Norway has pretty strict liquor laws... you can only get 3.5% and lower in grocery stores (so companies like Budweiser actually cater to this) and everything else has to be purchased in government owned alcohol retailers called Vinmonopolet, which actually translates to Wine Monopoly! Lol. 

When we arrived in Balestrand, the owner's daughter of our little hotel was waiting at the harbor for our luggage. She was about my age... and most definitely American. We found later that they spend 3 months out of every year in Balestrand running this hotel, and they live in San Francisco for the rest of the year! She grabbed our luggage and we wandered into a local restaurant for some noms. It was good but expensive and nothing to write home about (welcome to eating in Norway... you know it can't be all that if I'm not writing extensive paragraphs reviewing the food). Turns out we can buy bottles of wine at the hotel front desk!! So we got even more wine... and partied on our balconies to watch the sunset.... except the sun never set.... 

Okay, here is our GORGEOUS view of the Sognefjord in the evening... lets say about 10PM plus or minus 30 minutes.

Here's the same view at 12:30AM.... WHAT. Is this real life? 

After quite a bit of wine, we decide that we should probably go to bed because we have a lot of hiking that we wanted to do the next day. But seriously.... it's so hard to go to bed when 1) you never want to stop looking at that view... and 2) The view never goes away because the sun barely goes down at all!!

One more post to go :)

Pannkakor, Fjäderholmarna, and Vasa

Continuing right from where I left off... in the afternoon, on our last day in London, we met up with Mom and Dad, Auntie Maria, Lauren and Uncle Mario in the airport. London City Airport is so small and easy to deal with! If this is an option for you flying in or out of London - definitely do it. Heathrow is big like O'Hare... it's nice to not have to walk 2 miles to your gate every once and a while. The flight to stockholm is close to 2.5 hours and we were due to arrive at 10:30PM. After landing, we hopped in a taxi to Auntie Gloria's and Uncle Raj's apartment in a north east Stockholm neighborhood called Lidingö. We had a delicious, Malaysian style chicken and rice dinner and stayed up drinking wine and chatting (and watching soccer) until past 1AM! Finally, exhausted, Andy and I take a cab to Gamla Stan, which is the "Old Town" neighborhod of Stockholm. Our hostel is on such a small road that the taxi can't get us all the way there! Thank goodness the streets are well lit and we're up north close to land with a midnight sun, and outside was just "dusky" and not pitch black - because when we got out of that cab, we weren't exactly sure of where we were.

 Super narrow streets!

The entrance to our hostel: Old Town Lodge. I really recommend this place - it was extremely cheap for Stockholm, the facilities were clean and the staff was super friendly 

By the way, in case you're wondering, I'm currently on a boat heading from Balestrand, back to Bergen. It's a four hour boat ride, so I have plenty of time to yap about Stockholm ;) I'll post about Norway later! 

In the morning, we asked the lady who runs our hostel if she knows of any good places to get Swedish pancakes... and she DIDN'T. Can you believe that? I mean, who doesn't scope out somewhere to get Swedish pancakes the very minute they're in Stockholm? Anyway, all attempts at googling were inconclusive, so we just set out in search for some. It took a while.... in fact... we almost gave up and had some meatballs for lunch (it was past noon)... then Andy found it! Cafe Kladdkaken (I learned later, that Kladdkaken means some kind of chocolate cake that they also had at the cafe) had a sign for pancakes (actually the sign said "pannkakor"... good thing our Swedish is so well tuned that we knew what that meant... right...)

This is legitimately one of my happiest moments on this trip. Just... so... happy...

I could literally eat these every morning for the rest of my life and be the happiest person ever. They come with whipped cream (not too sweet... it's more buttery than sweet... SO GOOD) and Lingonberry jam (also not too sweet, but sweeter than the cream). Those two mixed together on those pancakes is literally heaven in a breakfast. (Fun fact, you can get these in Rockford, IL at the Stockholm Inn... the Lingonberry jam is not nearly as good, and they come with butter and not whipped cream... but otherwise, they're quite good for it being Rockford and all.) If it hadn't been for Alec and Amanda taking us to Stockholm Inn, we probably would not have sought out these pancakes as aggressively as we did. SO WORTH IT. Anyway, Grandpa says I talk about food too much in this blog... so I'll get on with it now. Food is arguably the best part about travelling though...

After breakfast, we covered a lot of Stockholm on foot! We saw the Royal Palace and tried to go to the National Museum, but it was closed for renovations :( Gamla Stan is so small that it's hard to believe that that used to be all of Stockholm back in the day. Stockholm is an island city consisting of over 30,000 islands if you include the Archipelago. As you can imagine, the vast majority of these islands are not inhabited by humans... but the city is growing by about 20,000 people every year... pretty soon they'll have to start shuffling the new movers to the more remote islands. The taxes are extremely high in Sweden (and in all of Scandinavia), and there is a large wealth gap between the richest and the poorest (sounds familiar).

After lot of exploring and poking in random shops (yes, Andy found the Games Workshop), we had dinner in the square by the Nobel Museum at Restarang Stortorgskallaren. Looks like I'm back on food already... well... it was really good! I had the meatballs with mashed potatoes :D We ate outside and there was a guy playing the clarinet in the square... so it was quite nice.

We were staying at a hostel called Old Town Lodge and it was 20 times nicer than the one in London! The bathrooms were clean, we had a room to ourselves, it was quiet... no pub attached though. No matter... we can't afford to drink in Scandinavia anyway. Actually, now that I'm on that topic, let's talk money for a second here. Sweden is not within the Euro Zone and uses the Swedish Krona. The ratio from krona to USD is 6.8:1... which is hard to get used to at first! Don't be fooled by this, everything is ridiculously expensive here. My meatballs at dinner were 178 kr ($26) and my glass of wine was 105 kr ($15.44). We booked the budget room in the hostel with no window! It was a little box - thank goodness it had good ventilation and wasn't hot at all. We were very comfortable! If you have a lot of money, Europe can offer you every luxury you could want... but if you're trying to stretch your money, you have to be really careful while booking! Read LOTS of reviews, look carefully at the negative comments and decide if those are dealbreakers for you. 

The following morning, we were up bright and early to meet my parents and my Auntie Gloria at the harbor for the "Good Morning Stockholm" boat tour! The Swedes like to start their morning with coffee and a special pastry that is very similar to a cinnamon bun. So while you're walking through the city, you can smell the delicious buns being baked (am I already talking about food again?). Okay, so, we board the boat - it's a pretty small tour... I guess not a lot of people opt for the 8:30AM tour group! The boat takes us through the city as the guide points out a few building of interest along the away... like the Vasa museum (we'll go to that later) and a theme park right on the water with carnival-like roller coasters. The destination for this tour is Fjäderholmarna (Fee-eh-der-hole-mar-na) or "Feather Island", which is an island in the Archipelago that is now set up for visitors to come and enjoy the nature, shop at small shops, and eat at a few cafes. There is also a whiskey distillery on the island! 

The size here makes it hard to read, but the sign says the island's name: Fjäderholmarna

Pike heads hung up like trophies!

We're all in a circle listening to our tour guide... and this duck... just waddles up and into our circle and starts quacking at us. 

After our tour, Mom and Dad got to experience some Swedish pannkakor on the island while we got to know our tour guide, Frida, a little. She taught us how to pronounce some Swedish words and politely giggled at our miserable attempts at her language. Somehow we got on the topic of how when you visit a city, you tend to only see the nice parts of it... and that not everyone in Stockholm is rolling in dough. In fact, she was the one who told us about the wealth gap, and how the mega-high taxes really wipe out those who have very little. This kind of perspective is always interesting, because sometimes you put places on such a high pedestal and you just assume that everyone who lives there is living a perfectly comfortable life because their country is so well run... but there is good and bad to all situations. High taxes mean great health care benefits, access to higher education for all (without thousands in student loans), excellent care for the sick and the old... These are all topics that Americans argue about all the time, but I bet you that if Americans were told to fork out the percentages of taxes that the Swedes and the Norwegians do... they'd be singing a different tune, grabbing their guns and calling for impeachment (oh wait... they're doing that anyway). 

We hit up Skansen, the cultural village, after Feather Island, but the weather wasn't cooperating and we didn't last long. Naturally, we managed to find the bakery and stuff ourselves on previously mentioned cinnamon buns and Swedish versions of "elephant ears". We also saw some glass blowers and an old school machine shop. After paying a visit to some very chatty cows (moooo), we left to go to the Vasa Museum.

This is Stockholm's second most famous museum (second to the Abba museum of course... LOL totally kidding. Vasa is the number one most famous... there really is an Abba museum though... Mom begged me to go... embarrassing. We didn't have time ;) ) The Vasa is a huge vessel commissioned by the King of Sweden at the time (Gustavus) and designed to strike fear into the enemy. However, the ship was too tall and too narrow... and she sank after firing celebratory cannons on the beginning of her first voyage. She lay at the bottom of the Baltic for 300 years, until they brought her up in the 1950's. The concentrations of salt water and fresh water that mix together to form the Baltic Sea, was just the right conditions to keep the Vasa extremely well preserved. In fact, this Brackish water (as it's called) create the perfect conditions to view many well preserved ship wrecks off the coast of Sweden. If you're a diver, you can actually take tours that'll take you scuba-ing around ship wrecks! 

The Vasa was then brought back to life and the museum was built. She is still 98% original! This was definitely one of the coolest things we did in Stockholm. I highly recommend it if you visit! Dad didn't want to go because he claimed it was glorifying an engineering failure... hehe. This may be true, but the museum itself, showcases engineering mastery just in bringing the ship out of the water and restoring it so well!

This about sums up our two days in Stockholm! After the Vasa Museum, we took the train back to Auntie Gloria's and had delicious, homemade chicken satay! Who knew we'd have so much great Malaysian food in Sweden! After another late night nomming and drinking (also the night the US lost to Belguim... boooo), Andy and I sleepily rode back to hostel to spend our last night before heading to Norway in the morning. 

This is the Jubilee Line Towards Cockfoster

London is fast-paced, hustle and bustle type city. Really, the more cities of the world you visit, the more they start mushing together in your brain. London is huge... in a way, it's just like Paris (the main differences being people are nicer, the food is not as good, and the road signs are in English), it takes forever to get from Point A to Point B, and distances that look "not that far from here" on a map, will leave you huffing and puffing 45 minutes later and wondering where your map led you astray.  

The second day in London, we knew we wanted to hit up the Borough Market and Hyde Park, so we set out on the 30-40 minute walk along the Thames to get to the open air market near the London Bridge. I really love markets like these - always look for them when you're travelling - it's such a great place to people watch and get a cheap and interesting meal. Anyone who read this from last year, might remember that Naschmarkt in Vienna and La Boqueria in Barcelona are very similar to this one. It started to rain while we were standing around eating some sandwiches; fortunately, the market is 98% under a roof, so if you're cool with wall to wall people fighting over French pastries and German pretzle buns, you'll love it. Eventually, you turn a corner and think that you smell a combination of vomit and stinky feet... then you realize you're next to the gourmet cheese stand.

 Nom nom nom

 The cheese!

GIANT meringue pastries

After the market, we hopped on the Tube to Hyde Park to walk around and see where Kate and William supposedly are constructing a new apartment within Kensington Palace. There is also a memorial for Princess Diana here. Other than that... there is not much in this area until you like scoping out seemingly un-affordable homes and apartments, or walking down a high end shopping district (believe it or not, I'm  NOT in a point in my travelling life where I can buy designer clothes and purses while abroad ;) I couldn't fit them in my backpack to bring home anyway).

After taking the Tube (by the way the title of this blog is a Tube line that I thought was funny) back to the Trafalgar Square area, we had dinner at a Mexican place that was recommended on our Hostel map. Food was delicious, service was awful... and I've been around Europe quite a bit now - so I like to think that I can understand the different between typical European restaurant service... and flat out BAD service. The place was called, Lupita, and I don't recommend it unless you're not very hungry, because by the time you get some service, you will be! 

On the final morning in London, we took the train out to the Natural History Museum (I may have mentioned that all the museums are free). It was fairly interesting; we definitely enjoyed it, but I'm not sure I would call it a "must see" or anything like that. The outside of it was beautiful and the surrounding area is very nice - lots of outdoor cafes and coffee shops (you know I like those). 

My overall opinion of London is that it's just OK. Before you London lovers get all up in arms at me, let me just say that it's a really cool city, and if you really enjoy the hustle and bustle of big cities, than you'll probably enjoy it. I'll admit, I love the pub culture and the way people drink beer in the streets at happy hour after work. I also love their accents! Part of traveling is figuring out what kind of traveler you are, and I think Andy and I are beginning to figure out that we place a lot of value in culture and getting the real local experience. In bigger cities, it's more difficult to do that. Should I find myself in London again, I'll be staying at a bed and breakfast (or something like that) in a smaller neighborhood outside the busy center. For reference, it's like going to Chicago and staying in a high rise off Michigan avenue. While the experience is cool, you won't experience much local flavor or really get to do what Chicagoans actually do. Major cities of the world have something for everyone... the hard part is figuring out what experience is right for you. 

You Sound like you're from London!

Wow... so it has been over a year since the last blog post. Regretfully, I have not been keeping up with this blog the way I hoped I would for this trip... but nevertheless, better late than never. It's currently about 11:00pm in Bergen, Norway... but I'll start from the beginning and write about London tonight.

First and foremost, this trip is very different than last year. Now that we're full-time-hard-working-American-professionals (in other words, we have very little vacation time), we can't possibly stay away for as long. Which seems to be working out, as we're out of shape and the tendinitis and shin splints set in pretty quickly on this trip :P So anyway, the itinerary is 3 nights in London, 3 nights in Stockholm and 3 nights scooting around in Norway from Bergen to Balestrand and back to Bergen. Also, my parents are with us, as we're visiting my Auntie (dad's sister, Maria) the UK and my other Auntie (dad's sister, Gloria) in Stockholm. My parents are staying with family, while Andy and I had decided to continue the hostel tradition and stay in the cities.

We packed in the same blue backpacks as last year... believe it or not, I actually brought MORE clothes this year! Last year we packed ultra light and I only had enough clothes for about 5 or 6 days. We did laundry multiple times on that trip... either by hand in the sink or at a laundromat in town. This time we had no intentions of doing laundry... so 10 days worth of clothes were shoved into our backpacks. Not much room for souvenirs!!

So we landed in London at noon on Thursday June 26th and the first thing that happens to us is that we overpaid for a fancy express train to Paddington Station. I think we could have just taken the Tube but it would have taken a bit longer. Our hostel is on Westminster Ave called Horse and Stables. It's super close to the Westminster Bridge, Big Ben and Parliament; also, it's a short distance from Westminster abbey, Trafalgar square and all that good stuff. The hostel is laid out on three levels: the first is full pub with drinks, tvs, full menus, etc... the second and third floors are for the hostel and apartment for one of the guys who works at the hostel and lives there. We're sharing a room with two girls from Slovania and two guys from Vancouver

We soon found out that there wasn't enough bathrooms for the amount of people staying there... plus they were SO SMALL that they ended up getting pretty gross being shared by so many people... even though they were cleaned every day. So this isn't the nicest hostel we've been in... but we don't care too much at first because we're just excited to be in London.

The next day, my parents, Auntie Maria, Uncle Mario, and cousin Lauren, tell us to "meet them at Victoria Memorial at 11am for the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace". We wander over there in typical fashion around 11:10... only to realize that there are 100's, maybe 1000's, of people flooded this entire area... and the Victoria Memorial is basically an island in the middle of the streets that police have since blocked off because of incoming marching bands (so no one can get to or leave the island memorial at this point). It's beginning to drizzle as we start to fight through the crowds trying not to get pickpocketed (meanwhile, we barely see any of the changing of the guard... I'm pretty sure they were wearing some cool hats). Finally, just as we were about to give up all hope of finding them, the police let us go to the memorial and we met up with them away from all the crowd (they couldn't see any of the guard either, lol).

The rest of the day was jam packed with phenomenal site seeing. My parents were to head back to Wales with my family, so we were really doing a "London in One Day" style tour. Honestly, I loved that. The thing about London is that it's humongous and all the sites cost an arm and a leg to get into. So just moseying along the outside of sites like Westminster Abbey (£18 entry), St Paul's Cathedral (£15 entry), Tower of London (£21+ entry - forgot the exact price), etc, was good enough for me. There is so much to do in London that it's completely overwhelming... but we do decide that we want to see the Tower Bridge and do that "DIY" guided tour... it only cost £9, so it sounds like a bargain to me :P keep in mind the exchange rate is about 1.8:1 USD to Pound - practically 2 to 1. The tour of the bridge takes you through a museum about how the bridge was lifted when it was first designed (talk about old school hydraulic valves). Then you get to go up to the top of the bridge, read about other famous bridges in the world, take a green screen photo that costs like £50 to buy, you know... all the good tourist stuff.

We had some lunch at a pub called Sherlock Holmes... fish n' chips = delicious. Andy had some bangers and yorkshire pudding.  All over London, you can find "real ale" or cask ale - this particular type of beer is brewed using traditional methods. I'm no expert, but it has something to do with the yeast not actually being dead (the beer is alive when you drink it!) and it's naturally carbonated (no added nitrogen for bubbles). The flavor is good, but the low carbonation and the fact that it's served close to room temperature takes some getting used to. Don't worry, the lagers are still bubbly and cold.

Later, after we split from the family, Andy and I wandered around and had dinner in a Spanish style cafe (leave it to me to not have Paella until I'm in London... sorry Barcelona, but my bad Ramblas eating experience made me not actually eat Spanish food at all last year). That night, we had quite a few drinks and made some new friends at the sister hostel down the street from us. Their pub was a lot more lively! We met a couple from the Liverpool area that were just having a getaway in the big city. We also met some Americans from St. Louis and Carbondale area just travelling around the UK for vacation. All in all, this is why I love hostels - you never know who you're going to meet and who you'll get along with so well that you'll be buying each other rounds (until you've had a few rounds too many) until last call.

Finally, around 2am, we clamored into our hostel bunks... it was a very successful first real night back in Europe :)