Okay so Lauren, Lara, Jacque and I left at 4:00 am to catch the Airlink bus (takes you right to the airport) and on our walk to O'Connell Street, about 7 taxi drivers creepily slowed down and asked if we wanted a ride to the airport for 4 euro. Discount prices from sketchy cab drivers at 4:00 am? Briefly considered it, but re-thought my decision.
So we barely catch the Airlink bus and hurry to the airport where we sit and wait to board the Ryanair flight (my first one!)
Now, Ryanair does not have the reputation for being the classiest airline. We were half expecting to elbow our way to the front of the line and board an "Orville and Wilbur" type aircraft with half a wing and sputtering engine. However, the flight was quite nice (minus the slight turbulence) and they play a little trumpet over the loudspeaker when the flight lands successfully. The flight attendants wear the loudest outfits I've ever seen; cerulean blue trench coats over cerulean blue outfits from head to toe. One woman even had bright blue eyeshadow. Nice :)
Anyway, we arrived safely in London and took the Tube to meet Abbey Vorpagel (goes to school with Lara, Lauren, and Jacque back in Wisconsin). She met us at a Starbucks and from then on it was non-stop touring!
Abbey took us to her "flat" (as Lara loves to say) in Kensington, a very posh part of London.
We purchased 2 euro sandwiches (a steal, especially compared to Dublin prices!) and then were on our way.
Our first stop: the London Eye! We took the tube and as soon as we got off, looked to the right and saw BIG BEN! We all screamed and ran toward it like crazy Americans. 'Twas a beautiful moment :)
We then took a few photos and boarded the London Eye. The view was amazing! You could literally see for miles and miles, and we were higher than Big Ben so we could peer down at all the buildings (and common folk, haha).
Then, Abbey took us to see Big Ben up close, as well as a few other sights. We saw Parliament, Westminster Abbey (beautiful!), took some pictures in a red telephone booth (see f/b), and made our way to Trafalgar Square.
Trafalgar square was lovely and you run smack dab into it. It's great.
Then, we went to Picadilly and took a few jumping photos (a MUST whenever we go somewhere cool) then made our way to a fantastic burrito place famous for their margaritas! Yes people, I had my first margarita and it was delicious!
We then went to our hotel and changed for our first night out!
I ended up bringing a mis-matching outfit, so Lauren let me borrow her black top. I must say, Lauren is a very good friend. In the 2.3 months I have known her, never has she gone back on her word, said anything mean, or done anything a good friend wouldn't do. She is also very loyal and she once traded shoes with Allison when Allison's feet hurt from her high heels. That's what you call a great friend :)
So that night we went to a place called the Green Man. Had cool music, a jukebox (a tad confusing for this place, haha) and a moderately-sized dance floor. Naturally, that was all I needed to have a good time.
So, we set our coats down and danced the night away in our alloted 2 ft X 2 ft dance area. Took lots of pictures, as well!
Next morning we woke up and went to Buckingham! So beautiful, especially with the lighting of mid-morning.
After, we went on a tour of the London Tower. Learned about the scandal of the two princes that died there (very interesting!) and saw the crown jewels. This great, since I've wanted to see them since I was a kid. There were so many of them and they were gorgeous (of course). They also had very ornate silverware and salt and pepper holders.
After, we went to lunch at a place Abbey recommended. SO DELICIOUS. Called the slug and _____? I honestly can't remember but I do remember my chicken wrap, and that's all that really matters. hahaha...
Then, we made our way to the Tate Modern Museum where we spent hours looking at very interesting, sometimes obscure, modern art.
I really enjoyed reading the explanations of the paintings, then imagining exactly what the artist was thinking when they created the work. There was a room full of statements about the Vietnam war, as well as a video showing people engaging in acts with rubber chicken and fish? A little confusing, but you learn as you go! hahaha...
Also, saw my first Claude Monet and Picasso paintings, in real life! I couldn't stop smiling.
There was also a very cool advertising exhibit upstairs, mostly making comments on the consumerism machine, in a very cool way. One involved vaccuums in a display case. There was also an Andy Warhol room, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Never thought I'd see so many great works up close.
Okay, so this is where it gets really cool.
In the Tate Modern, I was hoping to find a piece of work or two by my favorite street artist, Banksy. He's from Liverpool and the street grafitti he crafts is amazing. But, the Tate did not have his works on display, only a Banksy book in the gift shop (which I should have purchased, haha).
So, after thumbing through the book a little, Lara and I started to see places around London where Banksy's work once stood (most of it gets painted over by the city, understandably so).
In a pure moment of genious, we decided to go on a Banksy hunt (at approximately 8:00 pm, mind you) around London to try and find some of his work. We knew it'd be tricky, but we knew it'd be worth it.
We began our adventure with some asian noodles (delicious!) and then asked one of the girls in the London Eye office if she had heard of Oxford Circus (mentioned in the book). She gave us confusing directions, but when we told her we were looking for Banksy art, she knew right where to go! She was an art major, what are the chances?
So we set out, asian noodles in hand, ready to find some Banksy!
We took the Tube to our location (Oxford St. I believe. Sorry, it's been a while, haha) and made our way to what we thought was the correct street.
We were on the hunt for the Postal Delivery Office, but no one seemed to know where it was.
We asked two very friendly bouncers, a string of Starbucks employees (we foolishly thought everyone working there would be from London and very knowledgeable. HA!) and a woman working at the Tube station.
We traipsed around the city for almost four hours, trying to find this particular Banksy art! It was like a treasure hunt!
Finally, after resorting to asking the Garda (the unarmed police), they directed us in the proper direction. Just down some windy streets and behind some trash cans.
After a very confusing 15 minutes, we found our location!
The Banksy art was not there, unfortunately, because it had been painted over by the Postal Delivery Office. However, we could tell the paint was fresh and the trash cans were there, just like the girl from the London Eye told us they'd be!
It was incredible! We were standing where Bansky once stood, under the cover of night, creating a wonderful piece of artwork with stencils and spraypaint.
The guy is amazing, and I hope to do my visual culture presentation on him. I'm a big fan.
Here is a photo of what once stood where we were:
Clever, right?
The next morning we left for Dublin and arrived about 4:00 pm. That night we had a Valentine's Day Wine and Cheese party with all the girls (Allison's mom came, too!) and went to bed at a reasonable hour. We were exhausted!
So that, my friends, was my trip to London and Valentine's Day weekend. Had a blast, and couldn't have spent it with better people! So lucky!
Cheers!
ps: Here's a link to more of Bansky's woork if you're interested:
http://www.banksy.co.uk/outdoors/horizontal_1.htm
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