I went to London!

[leverhelven]

AND IT WAS AWESOME!!! :D :D

 

Those of you who saw my previous post about it know how nervous and anxious I was about it, but it was FANTASTIC!!! I went to the London Eye, Madame Tussaud's, THE HARRY POTTER STUDIOS *faints*, Sherlock Holmes Museum, The Beatles Store, the Disney Store, the M&M's Store, Hyde Park, Piccadilly Circus... SO MUCH STUFF! Aaaaaand I used the tube all by myself!!! I never thought I'd say that, but it's EASY once you get the hang of it!

 

Ooooh, I miss London already! :sad02:

 

Here are some pics, in spoilers because there will probably be many! :P

 

 

 

 

 

Kensington Gardens... SO COLD! And RAVENS! *CAW!*

 

 

Big Ben and a sneak peek of the London Eye! COLD!

 

 

Just when we hopped into the Eye, the sun started shining <3 But don't be fooled, it was still COLD!

 

 

HARRY POTTER!!! *dies* Did I tell you it was freezing cold? 'CAUSE IT WAS :sick02:

 

 

 

 

 

[jellysundae]

Oh I'm really glad you used the tube by yourself!. I know 2 of us told you it would be fine, but the whole world can tell you stuff like that, it's no kind of help really, is it, you'll only know once you've done it yourself. Congrats for being brave enough! Now I'm gonna look at your pics :D

[nousha]

Omg, great! I've been in London a couple ot times and I've never visited most of those places, shame on me! I'll look at you pics and I'm really, really glad you enjoyed yourself :)

[leverhelven]

Here's me, all proud of myself in the tube! Everything is so well-explained, the signs are clear, wow!!! It's much easier to use than Rio's subway, which is basically a straight line (no kidding)... :shiftyeyes_anim:

 

 

 

 

 

My hotel was a mere block away from Queensway Station! <3

 

 

Here's no-sense-of-ridicule me trying to mimic the boy in the poster. It was a movie about Rio!!!

 

 

 

 

ps: for comparison, here's a map of Rio's subway:

 

 

Not kidding.

 

And London Tube <3 <3 <3

 

 

MARRY ME, TUBE! <3

[jellysundae]

Hehe, I'm insanely pleased that you had a good time, and survived your first experience of cold weather. You'll have so much of a better idea of the clothes you'll need if you go somewhere cold again. The underground map is such an iconic image because it's printed on the inside cover of every pocket diary ever, and as those are a typical thing to get for Christmas from more distant relatives, all Brits see that map even if they've never been to London, let alone on the tube xD

 

I'd be really intrested to see what the underground lines actually looked like in an accurate layout, rather than the neat straight short lines of the route map. Let's see what Google's go to offer...

 

Here we go! It's actually not as much of a spider's web as I thought it was going to be.

 

[Shelley]

I am so insanely jealous!! Harry Potter Studios?? :O That is so awesome, I would LOVE to travel overseas (or anywhere out of the states for that matter lol- especially now with all the snow :sad02:) Sounded (and looks) like it was an amazing time!!

[jellysundae]

As a Brit, I'm just thankful that my country didn't dump rain on you the entire time >< And while you didn't get to experience snow, it would have likely been even colder if you had D:

[chelperk]

I'm glad you had such a good time, Patti! I would have gotten so lost...

[rntracy1]

AND IT WAS AWESOME!!! :D :D

 

Those of you who saw my previous post about it know how nervous and anxious I was about it, but it was FANTASTIC!!! I went to the London Eye, Madame Tussaud's, THE HARRY POTTER STUDIOS *faints*, Sherlock Holmes Museum, The Beatles Store, the Disney Store, the M&M's Store, Hyde Park, Piccadilly Circus... SO MUCH STUFF! Aaaaaand I used the tube all by myself!!! I never thought I'd say that, but it's EASY once you get the hang of it!

 

Ooooh, I miss London already! :sad02:

 

Here are some pics, in spoilers because there will probably be many! :P

 

 

 

 

 

Kensington Gardens... SO COLD! And RAVENS! *CAW!*

 

 

Big Ben and a sneak peek of the London Eye! COLD!

 

 

Just when we hopped into the Eye, the sun started shining <3 But don't be fooled, it was still COLD!

 

 

HARRY POTTER!!! *dies* Did I tell you it was freezing cold? 'CAUSE IT WAS :sick02:

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, you look very cold. Nice photoshopping BTW. Hahaha, i am totally joking. I forget who it was (it might have even been you-but like I said, I don't remember who) we were all talking about where a friend had send pictures from Paris and the Eiffel tower that totally looked photoshopped. Anyway, yours don't, I was totally kidding. I do love your naturally curly hair. It is so cute. You look on the taller side. IDK, I am not great judging, but I would guess 5'7", 5'8".

[Marae19]

Yay, I'm so happy for you that you had a good time :D

I just checked the recent weather reports from London, and I saw it was barely below 0 degrees Celcius, and to me, that's not even that cold, but seeing as you are from Brazil, I can see why you would be so cold. I'd probably melt away if I went to Brazil.

Anyway, your pictures look really nice, and I'm glad that you had a good time :D

[FoolishFancy]

Looks like you had a fabulous time :) The London Underground is so complex (to me), nice one on navigating it successfully. There is a game you can play based on it which is a lot of fun - if it's your sense of humour that is! Glad you had a fun holiday.

[leverhelven]

As a Brit, I'm just thankful that my country didn't dump rain on you the entire time >< And while you didn't get to experience snow, it would have likely been even colder if you had D:

 

It actually rained just one day, but we were inside Madame Tussaud's most of the time so it was okay! :P

 

 

Yes, you look very cold. Nice photoshopping BTW. Hahaha, i am totally joking. I forget who it was (it might have even been you-but like I said, I don't remember who) we were all talking about where a friend had send pictures from Paris and the Eiffel tower that totally looked photoshopped. Anyway, yours don't, I was totally kidding. I do love your naturally curly hair. It is so cute. You look on the taller side. IDK, I am not great judging, but I would guess 5'7", 5'8".

 

That was me, yes :P And I had to look for a conversion webpage to check, it says I'm 5 ft 6 9/64 inch, whatever that means hahaha! I'm 1,68 m tall. Is that much? Well, London women were much taller than me, that's for sure! :D And thanks for the hair compliment! When I was a teen I'd blow dry it and straighten it, until I finally learned to love it as it is :)

 

 

Yay, I'm so happy for you that you had a good time :D

I just checked the recent weather reports from London, and I saw it was barely below 0 degrees Celcius, and to me, that's not even that cold, but seeing as you are from Brazil, I can see why you would be so cold. I'd probably melt away if I went to Brazil.

Anyway, your pictures look really nice, and I'm glad that you had a good time :D

 

We missed snow by a week though... When we were there, the temperature would range between 4 and 7 Celsius. Yes, it was a very unique experience! The colder I ever got in my life had been about 15 Celsius! Never knew cold could make your chest hurt so much when you breathe! Still, I'd honestly swap Brazilian summers of 40 to 45 Celsius for London winters ANYTIME! <3

[rntracy1]

 

It actually rained just one day, but we were inside Madame Tussaud's most of the time so it was okay! :P

 

 

 

That was me, yes :P And I had to look for a conversion webpage to check, it says I'm 5 ft 6 9/64 inch, whatever that means hahaha! I'm 1,68 m tall. Is that much? Well, London women were much taller than me, that's for sure! :D And thanks for the hair compliment! When I was a teen I'd blow dry it and straighten it, until I finally learned to love it as it is :)

 

 

 

We missed snow by a week though... When we were there, the temperature would range between 4 and 7 Celsius. Yes, it was a very unique experience! The colder I ever got in my life had been about 15 Celsius! Never knew cold could make your chest hurt so much when you breathe! Still, I'd honestly swap Brazilian summers of 40 to 45 Celsius for London winters ANYTIME! <3

Ok, lol, I thought it was you with the friend's photoshopped pictures (that is why I made the comment). Then I thought, "maybe it wasn't her, oops." But then I remembered, she was still in the conversation and it was way funny. But, anyway, I was right on with 5'7". I guess it is part of being a school nurse and measuring the kids all year long, every year. I have to adjust "the measuring thingy" (called a stadiometer) to their approximate height before they step onto the scale, otherwise it could jab them in between the eyes. LOL. But seriously though, yes, 5'6" and change is tall for a woman in United States standards. Apparently not in English standards, lol. I am 5'4", 1.62m tall. So I would be extremely short to them. But I guess to chinese people we are both tall, LOL.

That is funny that you used to straighten your hair. I LOVE your hair. Mine is straight. POKER straight. Lol. I used to perm it, use a curling iron, anything to add some body or curl. Now, I have come to accept it and love it too. Isn't it funny that we always want what we DON'T have?

[Marae19]

We missed snow by a week though... When we were there, the temperature would range between 4 and 7 Celsius. Yes, it was a very unique experience! The colder I ever got in my life had been about 15 Celsius! Never knew cold could make your chest hurt so much when you breathe! Still, I'd honestly swap Brazilian summers of 40 to 45 Celsius for London winters ANYTIME! <3

Oh, deer god. I would much rather have Dutch (basically the same as London) winters than Brazillian summers. Sure, as soon as one snowflake hits the ground no trains or roads are able to function properly, but I already melt at 30 degrees Celcius, I don't think I could stand 40 to 45. Respect... O.o

[leverhelven]

That is funny that you used to straighten your hair. I LOVE your hair. Mine is straight. POKER straight. Lol. I used to perm it, use a curling iron, anything to add some body or curl. Now, I have come to accept it and love it too. Isn't it funny that we always want what we DON'T have?

 

That's exactly how it is for everybody, right?! We're never fully satisfied :P

 

Since you like me hair, here are a couple more pics with my hair showing:

 

 

Me and the Victorian-style policeman from the Sherlock museum. I had just left the museum store on the right, that's why I have no gloves/scarf/hat on. I was FREEZING while taking this pic!

 

 

At Madame Tussaud's. Who cares about Shrek when you can have GINGY?! <3 <3 <3

(Tussaud's was the only place on our trip where it was quite hot - so many people at the same time!)

[jellysundae]

Your hair is super cute :D Well, you are cute as a whole, congrats ;D That Madame Tussaud's pic is great xD Gingy's adorable, but WTF is going on with Shrek's face xD Huge eyes and...lipstick? He looks like he's in drag :laughingsmiley:

 

I see your I <3 London bag, how much did you end up spending on souvenirs <.< >.> And what did you end up eating while you were here? How does London compare to Rio for noise? Was your hotel decent, or did you lie awake listening to traffic and drunk people every night? :shiftyeyes_anim:

 

In a way I'm glad you got some rain, wouldn't have been a proper England experience without at least a bit of rain ;D

[Kute]

Oh my gosh ahah thank you for putting the spoiler, because I just have to see HP studios for myself. Yay im so happy you had a good time though. Sooooo jealous :)

[leverhelven]

Your hair is super cute :D Well, you are cute as a whole, congrats ;D That Madame Tussaud's pic is great xD Gingy's adorable, but WTF is going on with Shrek's face xD Huge eyes and...lipstick? He looks like he's in drag :laughingsmiley:

 

I see your I <3 London bag, how much did you end up spending on souvenirs <.< >.> And what did you end up eating while you were here? How does London compare to Rio for noise? Was your hotel decent, or did you lie awake listening to traffic and drunk people every night? :shiftyeyes_anim:

 

In a way I'm glad you got some rain, wouldn't have been a proper England experience without at least a bit of rain ;D

 

Shrek is indeed weird hahaha not sure what's going on there! It's funny how they get the human statues perfect, but the cartoon statues (which were supposed to be easier) are weird! :P

 

I spent... much more than I'm willing to admit on souvenirs D: I actually bought a lot of gifts for everybody I know hahaha! I think I bought more stuff for other people than for me, but I treated myself to nice things too, like this big Elsa doll <3

 

 

(yes, I'm 24 and I bought an Elsa doll, JUDGE ME :shiftyeyes_anim: )

 

My hotel was a 3-star one, and it was pretty decent, yes! The bed was soooo comfy and soft! The sheets too! And for the first time I saw a heater thingy :D It was pretty silent, except the walls were kinda thin, so I sometimes would hear people walking and/or talking... But London is so silent! One of my cousins noticed the fact that we didn't hear car honks any time on the streets! And the evenings were so quiet... We actually walked from Oxford Street to our hotel (in front of Kensington Gardens) at about 9:00pm... Everything was so silent and calm, and yet we had such a sense of security! Ordinary people were still out on the streets.

 

I loved the fact that I could walk by myself safely on the streets, even while carrying shopping bags and such... It's absolutely GREAT to feel safe when you're so used to a violent city like me... I saw people actually talking on their iPhones in the streets, using their iPads and Kindles on the bus/subway... That'd be impossible in Rio!

[jellysundae]

Wow, it's so interesting to hear first hand about the differences between the two cities! As someone who's lived in a small country town (population of less than 20,000) for the last 30 years, London seems mega busy and crowded and a little scary to me. But for you, coming from somewhere that's way more crowded and scary, it seems like my town, I'll bet! xD

 

Hey, no judgement here about the Elsa doll, if I had money to spare I'd buy myself all kinds of cute stuff, (particularly Totoro things <.< >.>) so you enjoy your dolly!

[rntracy1]

Wow, it's so interesting to hear first hand about the differences between the two cities! As someone who's lived in a small country town (population of less than 20,000) for the last 30 years, London seems mega busy and crowded and a little scary to me. But for you, coming from somewhere that's way more crowded and scary, it seems like my town, I'll bet! xD

 

Hey, no judgement here about the Elsa doll, if I had money to spare I'd buy myself all kinds of cute stuff, (particularly Totoro things <.< >.>) so you enjoy your dolly!

 

Wow, your whole town was less than 20,000 people? There is more than that in my NEIGHBORHOOD!! LOL. I live in Springfield MA. As of a couple of years ago, there was almost 155,000 people in my city!! Mostly black and hispanic, although where I live is a nice, upper middle class neighborhood, we still can't walk around with tablets and IPads.

 

That's exactly how it is for everybody, right?! We're never fully satisfied :P

 

Since you like me hair, here are a couple more pics with my hair showing:

 

 

Me and the Victorian-style policeman from the Sherlock museum. I had just left the museum store on the right, that's why I have no gloves/scarf/hat on. I was FREEZING while taking this pic!

 

 

At Madame Tussaud's. Who cares about Shrek when you can have GINGY?! <3 <3 <3

(Tussaud's was the only place on our trip where it was quite hot - so many people at the same time!)

I LOVE the first picture. You don't look cold at all. Your hair does look super cute. I really do like it. Mine is so long and stringy. LOL

[jellysundae]

Tracy yeah, comparatively, the UK is really tiny/the USA is really HUGE, whichever way you look at it xD These two nations might share a language so we can generally communicate easily, and I think that makes a lot of people forget that we are actually very different places, the language is one of the very few things that are mainly the same.

 

One of the girls I work with on the site I admin on (she's a park ranger in Corpus Christi) during a similar kind of conversation told us what a friend of hers had said, and it's so true!

 

"Brits think 100 miles is a long way, Americans think 100 years is a long time"

 

That sums a lot of the big differences up really well, I think! Working on a site that's staffed by people from different countries is super interesting for me, you find out so many things about different cultures, maybe more than you would just chatting as users on a forum because you form a closer bond after working together for months/years.

 

And now we're all learning stuff about Rio from Patty :D Though it's mainly kind of scary stuff, I think. All a matter of what you're used to, yeah?

[Marae19]

"Brits think 100 miles is a long way, Americans think 100 years is a long time"

 

 

To be honest, I don't think the 100 miles thing is just Brits though, I'm Dutch myself, and all of my family lives at least an hour away, and in Dutch terms that is far away. My cousins live about 90 away, and if I see them three times a year that's a lot. I always trouble believing that people in America drive a four hour drive back and forth in a day.

[leverhelven]

 

Wow, your whole town was less than 20,000 people? There is more than that in my NEIGHBORHOOD!! LOL. I live in Springfield MA. As of a couple of years ago, there was almost 155,000 people in my city!! Mostly black and hispanic, although where I live is a nice, upper middle class neighborhood, we still can't walk around with tablets and IPads.

 

I hope you're not making any correlation between black/hispanic people and violence. I'm Latina myself ;)

 

 

 

 

To be honest, I don't think the 100 miles thing is just Brits though, I'm Dutch myself, and all of my family lives at least an hour away, and in Dutch terms that is far away. My cousins live about 90 away, and if I see them three times a year that's a lot. I always trouble believing that people in America drive a four hour drive back and forth in a day.

 

Hahahaha, that's so funny! It takes me 1:30hr just to get to university! :D Brazil is just like America when it comes to distances. Two really large countries...

 

enjoyed looking at your pictures, and that going to London wasnt all bad. i am usually scared to travel or do something new- but usually, afterwards, im like, that wasnt that scary, and i get a little more confidant. i will prolly never go overseas such as you did, but kudos to you, leverhelven!

 

I was scared of such a long flight. Returning was worse, because I was SUPER alert and didn't sleep at all during all 12 hours! It was like my internal organs were actually floating inside my body... And then when the plane finally landed, they all went back to their right places :P

[deboratibi]

Oooh, I wish I can visit London someday too! What was your favourite place (that is, if you can pick one! lol)? Could you tell us more about the HP Studios? I'd kill to go there!

 

PS: I love your expression in the Shrek photo! It's like you can't handle Gingy's cuteness! lol

[Marae19]

Hahahaha, that's so funny! It takes me 1:30hr just to get to university! :D Brazil is just like America when it comes to distances. Two really large countries...

But don't you have to get up ridiculously early in the mornings then? O.o

I'm going to study in Amsteram next year, which is about an hour away with pubic transport, and I'm really hoping I'm getting a room in Amsterdam, because even though it's doable (one of my best friends does it daily), I'd really rather not and just let it be a fifteen minute bike ride. (Yes, that cliche is true. EVERYONE RIDES BIKES HERE)