Final Days of Bliss

 

Arriving in London was an unnecessary hassle. I was stopped at the passport control office because of my lengthy travels and my “’denied entry” stamp (see previous post). The length of time shouldn’t have been a problem because I had a 6 month UK visa but apparently it’s suspicious. The “denied entry” stamp also shouldn’t be a problem again because of the 6 month UK visa but apparently it’s suspicious. The boarder folks wanted a print out of my return ticket back to Canada to prove I was planning on leaving the UK before my 6 month visa was up. I hadn’t printed it out yet as I still had 4 days in London before leaving for Canada. This was an issue for them, apparently it's suspicious. I had it electronically but without wifi, I couldn’t prove to them I had a flight out. But I “should have known” to print off the ticket according to grumpy passport lady (Beverly). Another issue was that I couldn’t prove I had a hostel booking in London. I had it electronically but again, without wifi, I couldn’t prove it. Lots of questioning, waiting, searching through my expertly over stuffed backpack, more waiting, more questioning, and phone calls to the airline to confirm my booking to Canada. After an extra hour and a half in Gatwick airport and a lecture from the boarder guards about printing off all my bookings (ie waste unnecessary paper), I was free go.Thanks Bev!

My first visit to London back in September wasn’t that great. I mean, it was great being in London but I was tired from the flight over, switching time zones, then I got sick. So up until this point “London” in my eyes was not a great city but I was determined to change that this time around.

Shopping! Hello Oxford street! Ok, I had held off on shopping for my entire trip... 6 whole months of zero shopping... so I had a small budget (whatever I had left on my visa, read: not much) to blow in London. Don't get me wrong, this shopping experience had been carefully planned: mapped out a route, made a prioritized list of necessary items, snacks were packed, breaks scheduled (kidding!)... but I had been thinking about this day for a little while but I am not kidding about the prioritized list. 


To quote Lisa..."in Lahndan... let the shopping commence!!! Whoop!". Starting at the Marble Arch end, I worked my way past Primark, Marks and Spencer, WHSmith, TopShop (Lisa: "go to topshop in London!!! Its the BEST!!"... and it is, I just stood in one spot for a couple of minutes just taking in the expanse of options), H&M (not at all like the ones in North America aka: better), Debenhams, House of Frasier... the list goes on! 

1) Perfect Dark Brown Leather Boots (PDBLB). Check! But only after 2 full days of searching.

 

 

 

In such an amazing mood after finding PDBLB, I was feeling creative so snapped this one. The people in the mini cars stopped at the light here probably thought I was a little nuts: crazy smile on my face carrying a large amount of shopping bags snapping a photo of a couple bikes...

 

End of a long day (read: mega tired and hungry) and you probably can't tell by the look on my face but I am extremely excited to have found PDBLB. I snapped a photo (after trying on a ton of dresses in one of the stores) to eventually txt to my sister and show her my great find but apparently I was too excited to actually send this photo to her... sorry sis.

 Look closely and you will find the reason I took this photo. Made me smile. Oh those Brits and their sense of humor.

Feeling a little homesick? Maybe. Trilled to find a familiar brand? Yep! 

 After stumbling upon Chinatown, I stumbled upon the theater district of London! Could these 4 days in London get any better??? -Palace Theater

 And looky-look whats playing! Singin' In The Rain!

Back to Marble Arch where I sat and ate my packed lunch. I am still a backpacker on a limited budget people : )

Inside Covent Garden Market, London

More market! Lovely little shops and a lady singing some opera. 

Tea on the promenade anyone? 

 Where I retired to after a long day in London. This is the Phoenix Hostel/Bar. More like the Second-worst-place-I-stayed-at-during-6-months-of-traveling Hostel. It was stuffy, small, crammed us into the rooms like sardines, over charged for beer (though this might be a little biased having just come from Croatia/Eastern Europe), not enough bathrooms... ya, it wasn't a good one to end on though surprisingly on par with other hostel prices in London. Please don't base your opinion of hostels on one you may have stayed at in London. They are 100x better in every other city in the Europe. 

 

How much do I love history? Enough to go back to the British Museum a second time and spend another whole day there exploring! Isn't he gorgeous?! Those Greeks knew what art was.  

 

Fight sequence: Grab ear, choke, wrap legs around each other, fight to the death.  

 

Please tell me I am not the only one creeped out  by this.

 

Thought this little fella was pretty darn adorable. 

 

Looks like he likes peanut butter just as much if not more than me.

I got lost in this room. Its beauty, sculptural prowess of the artists... that, and I actually got lost in this room. I couldn't find my way out and was starting to get flustered. 

So that concludes my first couple of AMAZING days in London. I had a few more to go but that will be in another post. Ice cream, meeting up with a travel buddy, pictures of strangers, night walk... still to come! 

K