London & Wicked

We ran away again the last few weeks but this time a little further than usual— to Europe. I have always wanted to experience the backpacking through Europe kind of adventure and now that I am done with school we finally made it happen! I found a really good deal so that helped :o) We visited London, Paris, and Rome. It is fun to travel with Cody as there are many perks for being a frequent flyer (such as an upgrade to first class on a 9 hr international flight—made my life!—or spending our layover in the Sky Lounge with free food/drinks/etc). We enjoyed this trip together and we always laugh as everyone thinks we are on our honeymoon. It was quite the treat, who ever said you only get 1 honeymoon?

First stop- London. We had to adjust to quite a time change and it took a few days to get used to completely. We arrived at 7am Saturday morning and headed out to see the sights. Our first stop: Big Ben. We thought it would be a little bigger… We rode the London Eye Ferris Wheel for a good view of the city. It never stops so you walk on inside this glass capsule with a 360° view which takes about a ½ hr to go all the way around. We then walked through the east side of the city and took a tour of Westminster Abbey. Then an art museum and some snacks in Trafalgar square by a huge fountain. We had dinner that night at the original Hard Rock Café. It was fun; we were struggling to stay awake at that point so we headed back home early, but stopped for some ice cream on the way.

The London Eye


<--Inside one of the capsules of the London Eye

Westminster Abbey

Sunday morning we decided to find a church we could go to. We rode the subway and found the headquarters for the LDS church in Britain where meetings were being held. The building is a lot like the one in NYC. After we strolled through Hyde park, London’s “Central Park.” There was a ½ Marathon going on. There are huge monuments all over including inside the park that appear to be lost. We went to Buckingham palace to watch the guard change ceremony then back to Harrods- the coolest dept store ever! They sale everything! Food- like a grocery store, TV’s, kitchen appliances, you wouldn’t believe it! One stop shopping~ forget Wal-Mart!

<--- The LDS church in the city of London.

Hyde park-made for a nice Sunday stroll

                                           Buckingham Palace

Monday was our final day in London. We had so much to see still. We started at the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge. We saw the “Crown Jewels” and some huge diamonds/gems and learned all about King Henry VIII. We walked down past the London Bridge to St. Paul’s Cathedral. We climbed to the top of the dome and looked out over the city again. We toured Shakespeare’s Globe before hitting a yummy place for a fancy pizza dinner (for real-the best pizza I have ever had). And finally, we took a bicycle tour along Thames river—SO FUN!— Sounds like a day- but the best part comes next. We got to see WICKED!! I was so excited for this I couldn’t wait. It was amazing too- everything I heard it would be. We both loved it! It is a must see! I love the music and I have been singing the songs ever since!

Tower of London people

Tower of London- walking along the walls. We asked a guy to take our picture in front of the bridge on the water, he somehow cut the bridge out of the picture! We did get someone else to take this birdseye shot through the trees.

Tower Bridge

  The London Eye- We loved our little bike tour

Cody rode his bike on the street structures with a big smile on his face.----->

  We had to ride by Big Ben 1 more time.

St. Pauls Cathedral

London from the top of St. Pauls. Some 500 stairs to the top.. Pretty views made it worth it.

Shakespeares Globe Theater. Our tour here was amazing.

Finally, the perfect way to leave London. Wicked was amazing!!

Our hotel was an Express by Holiday Inn. We really got a steal of a deal on our package (air+hotels) so we were worried about what the hotels would be like. They were fine, but different. All they have are double beds at the hotel but at least we got our own bathroom. We thought their free breakfast was limited but soon found it was the best of all the hotels we stayed in (they had a toaster and frosted flakes). The public transportation in London was my favorite. They have a great underground system and they are easy to use and easy to find on the streets. Overall, I loved London!