Spring Break: Days 10 & 11 – London

I arrived in London late on Saturday night and took a taxi to my hostel. The taxi was so cool – a very old looking black car that was not old at all. The ride to my hostel lasted less than five minutes.

My hostel, Clink 78, was an old courthouse that was converted into a youth hostel – a very cool concept. If you want, you can pay extra for a room inside an old jail cell.  The Internet cafe was in an old courtroom that still had all the traditional courtroom furniture. You could literally access the Internet from the judge’s stand!   Another courtroom was converted into a movie theater.

Internet Cafe

One of my favorite quotes

My hostel

On Sunday morning, I woke up early and walked back to Kings Cross Station where the inner nerd in me came out!  I found Platform 9 3/4 and took my picture with a cart going through the wall. For those of you who aren’t complete dorks like me, Platform 9 3/4 is the secret entrance that all the students use to get onto the Hogwarts Express in all the Harry Potter books.

King’s Cross Station

Platform 9 3/4

Afterwards, I started to walk back to my hostel when I saw something that made me feel like i was back home in New York – a Starbucks next to a Pret A Manger next to a McDonalds across the street from a KFC and a Subway Sandwich Shop. I went into Pret to grab a breakfast sandwich before heading back to my hostel to meet my Dad’s cousin, David.

A taste of America in London

Prior to this Sunday morning I had never met David or his wife, Joan. When I decided to come to London my Dad asked them to give me the grand tour of London, the city they’ve lived in or around for the majority of their lives.

I met up with David first and we walked down to the Covent Garden – a shopping area that used to be an fruit and vegetable market. It was in the middle of London’s theater district, so it was quite a busy place. We then walked down to a Starbucks for a cup of coffee and to wait for Joan to meet up with us.

When Joan met up with us we headed for a hop-on, hop-off tour bus they arranged for me. Since my time in London was so limited, they felt that was the best way to see London. We saw Big Ben, the House of Parliament, the London Eye, the Tower of London, the Tower Bridge, London Bridge, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Baker Street, Hyde Park, and many other places that I can’t remember.

Tower Bridge

London Tower

London Tower Bridge

Big Ben

London Eye

I really like this picture of Big Ben with the London Eye in the background. Please excuse the random person’s head!

After our bus tour, we took a boat cruise from the London Tower to Big Ben. Then, I took the cliche picture in front of Big Ben and another inside of a Telephone Booth.

After dinner we went back to Joan and David’s house for a cup of tea and some cake. We took a look at some pictures from our family reunion a few years ago which was pretty cool. Then, we all went to bed and I “crashed out” or quickly fell asleep. This morning, David took me for a quick tour of his town – Epsom. It is the home of the world famous Epsom Salt and the well known