London by Myself

Hi All,

Yesterday, I spent the whole day walking around London by myself.  The weather was not the best as it kept raining on and off (some of which was pretty hard rain & hail)!  I woke up early in the morning and went to get my Italian phone unlocked.  They were able to do it for only £10 - much better than buying a new one for £50!  Now, I can use my phone anywhere in the world with any carrier I want.  This is good because instead of recharging my minutes when I'm in another country and paying money to roam AND to call the US, I can just buy a new sim card and not roam at all.

After I got my phone unlocked, I went to the pharmacy and bought a few odds and ends that I forgot in the States.  Then, I took money out at a Barclays ATM (Barclays has an agreement with Bank of America so I do not get charged any international fees to take money out).

After dropping my stuff off at my hostel, I asked the front desk if they could hook me up with discounted theatre tickets.  I got a ticket to go see Blood Brothers for £23.50 (about $35).

Then, I started my independent walking tour of London.  I walked down to their Soho neighborhood (where all the artsy things are), then I walked down to the Covent Gardens (kind of like a Quincy Market), then down the Strand which is the London version of Park Avenue.  I arrived at Trafalger Square which is a grand piazza with a clock counting down to the start of the London 2012 Olympics.  It is a grand and beautiful square with a lot of people sitting and taking the views in.

Then, I walked down past the Horse Guards to Big Ben.  After taking a few pictures, I crossed the bridge and went on the London Eye.  I paid £15 because I was disabled.  It was quite pricy, but enjoyable.  I was able to see everything in London with a birds eye view.  Since it was raining off and on, I tried my best to time my ascent when the skies were sunny.  I shared my capsule with a few Italian tourists, so it was nice to practice my Italian a bit before I head to Rome.  Apparently, my Italian is "benissimo" or "very good" - who knew?

Then, I walked down to Waterloo Station because it looked like it was going to pour.  I almost made it, but was about a minute too late.  I got a tiny bit wet and the hail was big, but I survived.  I made it back to my hostel in about a half hour and relaxed for a bit.

After an hour, I left to go see the show, Blood Brothers.  It was a very good show, probably one of the better shows I've seen, and had quite a bit of the British humor I enjoy quite a bit.  The show was about a mother who had too many children and was going to have twins.  She gave one of the babies to a woman who's house she cleaned.  The twins were never supposed to know each other and it should have been easy because the families belonged in different circles, but they were drawn together by fate.  It was a really good and somewhat sad show.

After the show, I went back to my hostel and did laundry.  I'm now all set for another week of traveling around Europe.

This morning, I checked out of my hostel and caught a cab to my hotel where I will hook up with my graduation tour.  The hotel is quite nice, but is in an alley off an alley which makes it very difficult to find.  It is in a very good area, though.  I would equate it to the Upper East Side.  I walked around the area a bit, got very lost, and found my way back.  Then, I was able to check into my room.  My roommate was already there - he's also from Penn State.  He was trying to catch up on sleep, but he said that there are quite a bit Penn State folks on the tour - a nice surprise!

I'll update you soon on my final day and a half in London, but thanks for reading!

Michael