Adventures in England: Last Days in London

Hello everyone! Tooley and her sister Katie arrived back in Stratford yesterday after a fun trip to Italy and Stonehenge. Last night, the three of us hung out with some girls that I go to school with, and today Tooley took Katie sightseeing around town. They just headed back to London tonight so that Katie can fly out in the morning. Then, Tooley will take the train back here!

Our last days in London: After we got off of the Eurostar Monday night, we headed to our hotel in the Bayswater area, which is very close to Notting Hill. Our hotel was great...this time, all five of us shared a room, and the manager was really nice about five of us being in a four person room. I was trying to be thrifty when I booked the hotel rooms and save money by booking four-person rooms for five people, and just splitting the cost five ways instead of four, but the Europeans are VERY strict about how many people sleep in each room. Tooley tried to do the same thing with her family and ran into similar problems. In Paris, Ash had to sneak into the hotel five minutes before the rest of us, plus wear a "disguise," but the management eventually caught on. It's so weird, because it's not a big deal AT ALL in the U.S.! On Tuesday, we woke up and went to Notting Hill, which is really cute area of London and home to the famous Portobello Road...there's even a Disney song about Portobello Road (from "Bedknobs and Broomsticks"). We saw where parts of the movie "Notting Hill" were filmed, and went in lots of cute stores. I love Portobello Road, and one of my favorite places is the Hummingbird Bakery, which specializes in "American cupcakes." Isn't that funny? I've had tea there before with Jeannie, but this time Emily Cole and I tried a cupcake, and they were great! I also saw Jiff peanut butter on the shelves, and immediately asked where they bought it, because they don't sell it anywhere in England! The Bakery has to get it shipped from the U.S., and it's pretty expensive. We ate lunch at a cute Mediterranean restaurant, and then headed to the half priced ticket booth in Leicester Square to buy theater tickets for "Les Miserables." Then, we headed to Oxford Circus, which is probably THE best shopping district in London. After shopping, we ate dinner at Pizza Express (a really popular chain in England) and went to see the West End (London equivalent to Broadway) production of "Les Mis." I think it may be my favorite musical of all time! The music was fantastic, and we laughed and cried the whole way through. I HIGHLY recommend seeing it - it's incredible! After the musical, we got coffee at Costa and called it a night. The next morning, we woke up early and went to the Tower of London. You get a tour of the castle and tower by a Beefeater, and it's really neat to see where such famous people lived, were kept in prison, and even beheaded. After the tour, we went to St. Paul's Cathedral, which is gorgeous, and also where Princess Di and Charles were married. Next, we went to Kensington Palace and "took" high tea at The Orangery. It was so fun! I've been there once before, and it's neat to have tea, scones, and cakes in the back yard of Kensington Palace! After tea, we went to Harrod's, one of the most famous department stores in the world. It's absolutely exquisite...everything in that place is top of the line. The building itself is just beautiful! While we were on the escalators, we saw none other than...Mohammad al Fayed, the OWNER, and his bodyguards! It was so cool! I recognized him from all of my magazines :), and told the girls who he was. He must have overheard me or noticed us staring, because he definitely smiled at us and waved! It made me feel very important. :) We saw the memorials that he had put up for Princess Di and Dodi. (His son, Dodi al Fayed, was Princess Di's boyfriend who died in the car accident with her). The memorials are amazing...one of them even has the engagement ring that Dodi bought for Di the day before they died. It's HUGE and very gaudy. Intersting fact: Mohammad al Fayed has kept Dodi's flat in London just as he left it before he died; a maid comes every day to clean it! There are still magazines and newspapers from 1997 in the flat. After Harrod's, we went back to the hotel to get our luggage and Ash and I had to say goodbye to Emily, Emily, and Jessica so that they could head to the airport. It was SO sad! I was so spoiled getting to have some of my best friends with me for a week! I had an AMAZING time, and I miss them! Ash and I caught the train to Stratford, and crashed for the night as soon as we got back to my house. I'll write more about Ash's adventures in Stratford tomorrow. :) I'll post the pictures from London today, and post the rest of the Paris pictures soon - they're great!