calling from some city...

Well this is several days late, but I just wanted to complete the blog with how our final day in Europe went (Saturday, August 14th). In the next couple days I’ll have some wrap up thoughts on the trip as a whole, plus thoughts on my favorites places. I’ll also post a link to an account with all my pictures- I think final tally was about 4500.

So we had arrived on Friday night in London and immediately went to bed, as our dorm mates were already asleep and we were exhausted. Sleep should have come early, but it didn’t since the beds were the absolute worst I’ve ever slept it. Easily the most uncomfortable bed we slept on for the entire trip. The mattresses were extremely flimsy, and mine sloped significantly in the middle. It also didn’t really fit on the bed frame. I managed to fall asleep though, while Scott didn’t get much sleep. Total exhaustion overcame how uncomfortable the bed was.

I woke up at 8:30 and took a quick shower. Luckily, since we never unpacked the night before, we it didn’t take long to pack up for the last day. We were both tired and anxious to return home. I wished we could have immediately gone to the airport and flown home, but our flight didn’t leave until 6:05 pm. It was cold and drizzling outside as well, which only added to our bad moods. But despite my desire to get home, I wanted to make the most of the day. We put our bags into the luggage room and set out to walk around London for a couple hours. I didn’t really have anything I wanted to see (I definitely have tons of sights to see in London someday, but didn’t feel the need to see anything in 3 hours- not worth it) but I supposed walking around was better than just sitting at the hotel.

It was a bit chilly out, and for the first time during the trip I was wearing my jeans. It was overcast but luckily the rain held out for most of the day. Scott and I walked to Westminster Abbey, possibly the most famous church in the English-speaking world. It was very pretty from the outside, but we didn’t pay to go in. From the church you could also see Big Ben in the background. After, we walked to Buckingham Palace, which is enormous and beautiful. It was nearly noon so we were planning on seeing the changing of the guards ceremony. We stood at the gate for about 10 minutes, watching the guards in their funny outfits (their hats are really tall) and I swear, we saw them move and twitch a bit. Anyways, we then saw the sign that said the ceremony was canceled that day. So, we decided it was time to eat lunch. A British kid we met in Zagreb had recommended a cheap pub for us to eat at while in London that was in Victoria train station. Since we knew where that was, we headed there. The station was huge so it took us a little time to find it but we did, and had huge burgers and fries for lunch.

We went back to the hostel to get our bags and then headed right back to the train station so we could head to the airport. The station is confusing, however, because it’s both a train station and a tube/subway station. We knew we could take the tube straight to Heathrow, but it was really hard figuring out how to buy a ticket. The machines were very hard to understand, and there was no option for just buying a single ticket. Also you had to select which zone to travel in, and we didn’t know what to pick. So, we got in the very long ticket line, in hopes we could purchase a ticket from them. The line was moving a little slowly, and we were both getting anxious we would not get to the airport in time. But luckily we could purchase tickets from the ticket window (one single ride on the tube is 4.50 pounds, which is ridiculously expensive. How do people in London afford to ride public transport on a regular basis?) and ran to catch the tube. We found the line we needed to take, rode it one stop, and then got off and ran to catch the Picadilly Line, which runs straight to Heathrow. Luckily, the tube was there when we arrived so we didn’t have to wait. It was packed, though, but we squished in.

It was hot and uncomfortable, but luckily most people got off this one particular stop so we were able to sit down for the 45 minute ride to Heathrow. Once we got to the airport, it was a bit confusing but we found where we needed to check in. We quickly discovered that the British are serious about airport security. Of course, Heathrow is the third busiest airport in the world so that makes sense. But before we even got to the counter to check-in, we needed to give our passports to a security officer, who then questioned us for 5 minutes about our trip, why we were in London, and what we had in our bags or if others could have put stuff into it. We also needed to show receipt of our hostel stay. After, we were able to check in successfully and headed to security. Before we even went into line, we had to show our passports and boarding passes again. We went through the check no problems, but then had to present passports and boarding passes immediately after as well.

Our gate number wasn’t posted yet, so we each bought a book and drinks and sat down to read. The airport was absolutely mobbed, so it was nice we managed to find two seats together. Once the gate number was posted, we walked over there, where we had to present our boarding passes and passports again just to get into the lounge. We boarded the plane on time, and Scott and I once again had the emergency exit seats- so we had extra leg room! I think this happened 4-5 times on the trip overall. We were getting ready to taxi out to the runway when the pilot unexpectedly came on to say bad weather was moving through the area, and he was not allowed to take off for an hour. I was not happy to hear this news, because it meant another hour sitting on the plane, and I was already ready to be home.

We finally got in the air. The ride was a little bumpy, but we arrived 7 hours later with no major problems. It also did not feel as long as I expected- the in flight entertainment was surprisingly good and kept me entertained as Scott slept. But finally, at 8:50 pm, we landed in Boston. Eurotrip had officially come to an end. 

First stop: Dunkin Donuts!