London (Jan. 9, 10, 11)

Arrived in London on the 9th. It was pretty late once we got there, had to take a ferry over from Dublin then a few train connections. Once we got to our hostel in the Victoria district of London, we threw our bags down then went and tried to find a place to relax. We ended up choosing a pub near by, appropriate considering we had been only out of Dublin for no longer than half a day. We all couldnt believe how quickly everything shut down at night. Everything in our area shut down around 10:30 pm, much different than what we were accustomed to in Dublin. I think it was good for us though. The first day we took a cab to Buckingham Palace and made it just in time for the changing of the gaurd. After taking some pictures around the palace, we headed to Big Ben and Westminster Abbey. We didnt get to tour the inside of Westminster Abbey becuase it was sunday, but just seeing the detail of the exterior of the cathedral was worth the walk itself. We closed out the rest of the afternoon by going to the national gallery (seeing a few original pieces by Van Gogh, Picasso, and michelangelo) and the national museum (rosetta stone, pieces of the parthenon, the flood tablet, as well as numerous egyptian artifacts, some of which dated back 5000+ years). That night Chris and I rode the subway a ways out of the heart of london and met a family friend of his (Katie) and her husband (Mike). We went to a small pub near their home. Chris and I both had some authentic fish and chips for the first time and its a safe bet to say that both of us were satisfied. Overall, the night was packed with a good atmosphere, good food and good conversation. In addition, Mike and Katie suggested an american sports bar in the city which showed NFL games and other american sporting events. Chris and I met Alex and Eric at this place after dinner to watch the packers playoff game. The place was literally called "Sports Cafe", and I was surprised to see that there were a decent amount of packer fans there. I wish the outcome of the game would have turned out differently, but it was a fun experience and green bay's fight made us stay all the way until 2 am (Sports Cafe's extended closing time that night). The next day we hopped across the water and went to Tate Modern. We saw a bunch of "interesting" pieces and exhibits, some of which we didnt understand but we all did enjoy the massive Andy Warhol exhibit...pretty cool. After Tate Modern we walked to the London Tower Bridge, which was awesome -- probably my favorite sight in London. Right next to the Tower Bridge is the actual London Tower, which is appropriate given the titles...it was another favorite amongst the group. Overall, London was another great city. More proper than Dublin, and less of a nightlife but another great city. I hate to sound cliche or repetative, but the "coolest thing" about London for me was seeing in real life all of the mainstream "London" sights which I've read about, seen in movies, and so on. All of those things can be linked directly with how much history is in the city itself -- too much to take in with only two days here. I wish we would have had more time but thats part of the deal.