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Back To London
And we're off. With nothing but a day pack and my bigger hiking pack, our first stop was where it all started, London, England. I will admit, I was a little worried about finding a hostel upon arrival, especially because we were getting into London later than expected. Luckily, Paul and I were able to book a room at the small, yet well-rated White Ferry in Victoria. Little did we know our stay in London was going to be the best time we've had all year. I can't even begin to describe how amazing the White Ferry is! The staff was awesome, the rooms were cozy, it has a great location, and the locals are unbelievable. Orignally a bar, the White Ferry had to turn into a hostel to stay open. This be said, the locals are dedicated to this place. Every day the same faces come in and stay into the night. These guys were hilarious. Always drinking and having a good time. It was the exact atmosphere Paul and I were looking for. I don't remember any of their names, but I had the pleasure to hang out with them every night and talk about anything from my travels and studies to why I'm so attracted to English accents. It was such a great time of the day for relaxing after my travels that I plan on returning there when I'm on my way back to the U.S. for atleast a night. In addition to the locals, the staff was so helpful and welcoming that it set a high standard for hostels at the beginning of my travels. An ever important part of all hostels is the room conditions. To save money, I picked one of the 10 bed mixed gendered rooms. Needless to say, it was everything had expected. And thats a good thing. The beds were more than comfortable for my standards and all the other 9 people in the room were quiet and friendly. Finally, (yet there is so much more to tell about it, but I feel I need to start talking about what we did) it is located a short walk from both the Victoria Coach Station and Victoria Train/Underground Station. This was extremely helpful in terms of the day trips and excursions around central London. 
Right, so I guess I'll explain what Paul and I actually did because as awesome as the White Ferry was, we did leave it. After our late arrival and goodnight sleep, we woke up to a free breakfast and quickly took off to the the locations of landmarks we had yet to visit. The first stop was at Hyde Park, where we paid our respects at the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain. Just so you know, it looks nothing like any fountain I've ever seen, but it was still nice. There was however another reason we made the trek to Hyde Park, and that was the Christmas Market! This was impressive. Probably around 100 different shops lined the entry and lead to the carnival rides which consist
ed of haunted houuses, roller coasters, tea cups, and a fairly large ferris wheel. Although I didn'y buy anything or go on any rides, the fact that Christmas music was playing made me feel right at home. Now I don't mean to brag, but I've gotten pretty good at this whoel Underground scene. In fact, even Paul was impressed at how easily we made it to the opposite side of London to the Tower of London and the London Bridge. I didn't go in the Tower of London, but it was cool to look at (atleast from the front). Paul was afraid the bridge was going fall so we didn't walk on that either. I didn't mind though, the fact that I can say I've seen them is enough. After another entertaining night with the locals, it was time to get ready for our first day trip to Canterbury, the inspiration for my 8th favorite book (the first 7 being Harry Potter of course), Canterbury Tales, By Geoffrey Chaucer. 
Getting to Canterbury was easier than expected. Paul and I rolled out of bed around 6:45am and got to Victoria Coach Station by 7:30am. With literally no line for the ticket booths, we got out ticket in seconds and waited at our gate. It was so nice to finally get our into the country side. Sadly, Canterbury must have been a little more spectacular place back in the day when the masses would travel for religous pilgrimage. Don't get me wrong, the Canterbury Cathedral was amazing and the Ruins of St. Augustine's Abby (Not Merrimack's St. Augustine). The one who presumably brought Christianity to England) left me speechless, but personally, thats about it for historic value. The city has been built up significantly with shops and discount shopping malls for tourists and once outside this area, the city quickly turns for the worse. Its was probably the closest thing to slums I've seen in England. Ok, maybe slums is a harsh term, but it was crappy. However, there is an upside to all this focus on tourism.....MANY COPIES OF CANTERBURY TALES!!!!!! It was heaven. After I apparently drooled all over the book shelves, Paul and I returned to the hostel to get ready for the next day trip to Bath. 
The next morning was followed by the same routine except this time, after a 3 hour bus ride, Paul and I found ourselves in the lightly snow covered Bath. Yet again, from the moment I walked off the bus, I noticed how built up for tourists this place had become, but this did not affect the main reason for going, the Roman Baths. However, just when I thought we were on our own, Paul and I ran into Korey Williams and XT from Hertford College Oxford study abroad also taking in the sights. Random is an understatement. After a brief catch up on what we'd been up to since leaving Oxford, we all headed out to the main baths. Still intact, the baths steamed so much that one couldn't see across to the other side of the room. After exploring the different baths, water canals, and heating systems, it was time for us part ways again as I had was headed to the Cathedral and Korey and XT were headed to Jane Austin's house. It still makes me laugh when I think about the chances of us running into each other like that. Too funny. Anyways, the Bath Cathedral was, well, another Cathedral. Nothing really too special. After the Cathedral, Paul and I headed over the Victorian art Gallery and then to Jane Austin's house. Both were very interesting, but the best part by far, was the Victorian Age impersonator at the Jane Austin center. He was loving life. Such a jolly ol' fella. However, as happens everday over here, the sun went down and it got bitterly cold so we decided to confide
in the bus' warmth as we headed back to London. On our last full day in London Paul and I just two more things to do. Although it would be a confusing route, we had to make it up to Abby Road and we had to visit Kings Cross Station to take a picture at platform 9 3/4. Yet again, we left after a quick bowl of cereal. It took acouple transfers on the Underground, but we finally made it. Surprisingly, it wasn't the tourist hot spot we had expected. Of course there were people, but only a few families and couples. In fact, the road itself is a busy one. I have a feeling drivers are use to all the hold up by now as almost every minute, someone tried to get the perfect crossing picture. And I'm not going to lie, I was one of those tourists that took mutliple shots at it. Finally, after I had gotten a good one, and Paul got it on his first attempt (still brags about it), we walked just down the road to Abby Road Studios to sign the wall. With nothing left to do, we felt we had pissed off enough drivers to head over King's Cross Station for our final destination of the day. 
However, much to our dismay, because of the Olympics in London this upcoming 2012, the station is undergoing extensive renovations. With all the arches boarded up and piping showing throughout, the station lost the granduer we had been hoping for, but we didn't let that stop us in finding platform 9 3/4. Although we ended up asking a worker of its location because it's not numerically where it should be, we found it. Just as Paul and I had hoped, they had left the arch open with the platform sign and trolly halfway in the wall. This was a much quicker process than at Abby road. First off, there weren't many people there, and second, there was really no way to mess up the pictures. It may not have been the magical experience I had hoped for, but the fact that I was walking where the cast of Harry Potter walked was still fulfilling. As we were leaving I saw a billboard of what King's Cross Station is going to look like after the rebuilding is done. I must say, I wasn't impressed. Personally, it looked way too modern, but I guess they feel it's necessary. With everything I wanted to do in London complete, Paul and I went back to the hostel and started packing for another early morning in which we'd be heading for France. If I've learned one thing from this stay in London, it's that Australians love to travel. I'm serious, everyday I would meet a new aussie. I don't get it, why would one travel from an Australian summer to a London winter?
And we're off. With nothing but a day pack and my bigger hiking pack, our first stop was where it all started, London, England. I will admit, I was a little worried about finding a hostel upon arrival, especially because we were getting into London later than expected. Luckily, Paul and I were able to book a room at the small, yet well-rated White Ferry in Victoria. Little did we know our stay in London was going to be the best time we've had all year. I can't even begin to describe how amazing the White Ferry is! The staff was awesome, the rooms were cozy, it has a great location, and the locals are unbelievable. Orignally a bar, the White Ferry had to turn into a hostel to stay open. This be said, the locals are dedicated to this place. Every day the same faces come in and stay into the night. These guys were hilarious. Always drinking and having a good time. It was the exact atmosphere Paul and I were looking for. I don't remember any of their names, but I had the pleasure to hang out with them every night and talk about anything from my travels and studies to why I'm so attracted to English accents. It was such a great time of the day for relaxing after my travels that I plan on returning there when I'm on my way back to the U.S. for atleast a night. In addition to the locals, the staff was so helpful and welcoming that it set a high standard for hostels at the beginning of my travels. An ever important part of all hostels is the room conditions. To save money, I picked one of the 10 bed mixed gendered rooms. Needless to say, it was everything had expected. And thats a good thing. The beds were more than comfortable for my standards and all the other 9 people in the room were quiet and friendly. Finally, (yet there is so much more to tell about it, but I feel I need to start talking about what we did) it is located a short walk from both the Victoria Coach Station and Victoria Train/Underground Station. This was extremely helpful in terms of the day trips and excursions around central London. 
Right, so I guess I'll explain what Paul and I actually did because as awesome as the White Ferry was, we did leave it. After our late arrival and goodnight sleep, we woke up to a free breakfast and quickly took off to the the locations of landmarks we had yet to visit. The first stop was at Hyde Park, where we paid our respects at the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain. Just so you know, it looks nothing like any fountain I've ever seen, but it was still nice. There was however another reason we made the trek to Hyde Park, and that was the Christmas Market! This was impressive. Probably around 100 different shops lined the entry and lead to the carnival rides which consist
ed of haunted houuses, roller coasters, tea cups, and a fairly large ferris wheel. Although I didn'y buy anything or go on any rides, the fact that Christmas music was playing made me feel right at home. Now I don't mean to brag, but I've gotten pretty good at this whoel Underground scene. In fact, even Paul was impressed at how easily we made it to the opposite side of London to the Tower of London and the London Bridge. I didn't go in the Tower of London, but it was cool to look at (atleast from the front). Paul was afraid the bridge was going fall so we didn't walk on that either. I didn't mind though, the fact that I can say I've seen them is enough. After another entertaining night with the locals, it was time to get ready for our first day trip to Canterbury, the inspiration for my 8th favorite book (the first 7 being Harry Potter of course), Canterbury Tales, By Geoffrey Chaucer. 
in the bus' warmth as we headed back to London. On our last full day in London Paul and I just two more things to do. Although it would be a confusing route, we had to make it up to Abby Road and we had to visit Kings Cross Station to take a picture at platform 9 3/4. Yet again, we left after a quick bowl of cereal. It took acouple transfers on the Underground, but we finally made it. Surprisingly, it wasn't the tourist hot spot we had expected. Of course there were people, but only a few families and couples. In fact, the road itself is a busy one. I have a feeling drivers are use to all the hold up by now as almost every minute, someone tried to get the perfect crossing picture. And I'm not going to lie, I was one of those tourists that took mutliple shots at it. Finally, after I had gotten a good one, and Paul got it on his first attempt (still brags about it), we walked just down the road to Abby Road Studios to sign the wall. With nothing left to do, we felt we had pissed off enough drivers to head over King's Cross Station for our final destination of the day. 
However, much to our dismay, because of the Olympics in London this upcoming 2012, the station is undergoing extensive renovations. With all the arches boarded up and piping showing throughout, the station lost the granduer we had been hoping for, but we didn't let that stop us in finding platform 9 3/4. Although we ended up asking a worker of its location because it's not numerically where it should be, we found it. Just as Paul and I had hoped, they had left the arch open with the platform sign and trolly halfway in the wall. This was a much quicker process than at Abby road. First off, there weren't many people there, and second, there was really no way to mess up the pictures. It may not have been the magical experience I had hoped for, but the fact that I was walking where the cast of Harry Potter walked was still fulfilling. As we were leaving I saw a billboard of what King's Cross Station is going to look like after the rebuilding is done. I must say, I wasn't impressed. Personally, it looked way too modern, but I guess they feel it's necessary. With everything I wanted to do in London complete, Paul and I went back to the hostel and started packing for another early morning in which we'd be heading for France. If I've learned one thing from this stay in London, it's that Australians love to travel. I'm serious, everyday I would meet a new aussie. I don't get it, why would one travel from an Australian summer to a London winter?
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