I have officially returned from my first weekend trip in Europe!!! I went to London to meet Melissa and visit Jackie. My trip started out by taking two metro lines to the Arc de Triomf station and then transfering to an airport bus since I was flying out of the Barcelona-Girona airport (which by the way is in its own city about 75 miutes away and has no claim to be named Barcelona). After I bought my ticket, en espanol, I went down to the gate and ran into several different groups of IES students waiting for the same bus!
My flight was 5 euros each way (plus about 20 in fees) on a discount airline called RyanAir which is based out of Ireland. It was kind of an experience flying with them, but definitely worth it in the end. They are very strict about luggage and allow you only one small backpack weighing less than 10kg, so it is very important to pack lightly. Any checked bags cost extra. Check-in was very easy as was security. People began to line up before our plane had even arrived, as there is no assigned seating on this and most airlines in Spain. I happened to be walking by at the time, so I jumped in line and was about the 15th person to board out of 150 which was nice. When boarding the plane the flight attendant kept announcing, "Please choose any seat except for the first and last 6 rows." I thought that was kind of strange, but being a cheap airline I suppose they were trying to be as fuel efficient as possible. The flight attentand (who was speaking in English since it was an Irish airline) was struggling to get everyone's attention for the safety briefing, so she started yelled over the intercom. She was clearly not pleased and with a most fierce tone bellowed, "This is a FEDERAL REGULATION WITH WHICH YOU MUST ALL COMPLY. We WILL NOT move this aircraft further until everyone is giving us their FULL ATTENITION." They did stop the aircraft right there as we were taxiing for take-off. One thing that is for sure the Spanish are a loud bunch. We ended up leaving about half an hour late, but somehow arrived only about 5 minutes late. Not too bad.
First thing I saw after filling out a quick form and clearing the UK border? Two British police officers waling throught the Stansted airport with assault rifles. Yeah that's right; just on a stroll around the airport with enough bullets for about 200 rounds. Welcome to the UK! Still not to London yet though, we had to take the Stansted Express train from the airport to Liverpool Street. I loved the train it was fast and highly efficient.
When we finally arrived in London it was midnight and we were all starving. So Melissa, some of her friends from the University of Portland program, and I walked straight out of the station into a restaurant and had an English Breakfast. Most delicious!!! They don't really do breakfast in Spain, so I've really been missing it. Also they have American sized coffee which is amazing since in Spain there is only one size (small).
After dinner/breakfast we headed outside and took a taxi to our hostel in South Kensington since the underground had already closed. It was a very nice place for a hostel and they had breakfast included which is nice (though I only made it to breakfast one morning since the hours were very limited).
On Friday we took the metro to the Thames and began walking around at Big Ben and Parliament. I saw the House of Commons and the House of Lords before crossing to the other side to see the Eye of London and the Globe Theatre. There is a really awesome footbridge across the river called the Millenium Bridge, though it felt a bit wobbly as we crossed. We were going to go to the London Bridge which apparently is not the bridge I was expecting. We walked out of the underground and saw a sign that said "London Bridge," so I looked down the river and the next one was the "Tower Bridge" which has the elevated pathway you can walk across. So we called that good and went to lunch. Well...yeah...I had English breakfast again except it was more authentic this time and included an egg sunny side up, chips (fries), beans, and a tomato.
After lunch/breakfast we visited Buckingham Palace and I snapped a few pictures of the traditional guards. After that we went back to the hostel for a rest. After that we met Jackie and the UP friends and ate dinner at a delicious Indian food restaurant. Garlic Naan. Chicken Tikka Masala, of course. After that we went back to our neighborhood to an Irish Pub and I enjoyed a Guiness (naturally).
On Saturday I was really tired and our flights left that evening because they are very much cheaper. We made sure to visit the BBC briefly and Platform 9 3/4 at the King's Cross station as an homage to Harry Potter! Before getting on the train to the airport we had a quick bite to eat at an Irish restaurant on Liverpool St. Fish and Chips=delicious!
This time my flight left about 15 minutes early because the airline hustles the process along. About half of the plane was empty which was incredible for me because I had an entire row to myself. It's a pretty bare bones airline...I mean the service is great but nothing is included. If you want a snack or refreshment you have to buy it a la carte. Also about half way through the flight they sell scratch tickets for 2 euros or 2 pounds. After we landed (about 20 minutes early) they played da-da dun da-da dun da-da dun dun da-dun da-dun....CHAAAAARRRRGE! You've just landed on another on-time flight with RyanAir. The Spaniards started clapping and I started cracking up.
It was pouring all the way home from Girona to Barcelona, but all in all the trip was a great success! London is my favorite city ever! Oh and yesterday it snowed almost a foot paralyzing the entire city, so I was lucky that I got out when I did. My roommate was there and flew out yesterday morning. All flights were cancelled in London shortly after that (lucky). I always thought snow was common in London...apparently that's not the case.
