Katie & Kylie's Travels

This morning we spent most of the running around Russell Square checking out of our hostel and then trying to check into the Contiki Hotel. We were unable to check into the hotel directly and since check-in was at 1.00pm we stored our bags in the Contiki Office and then headed down to St. Pauls Cathederal.

St. Pauls is an amazing place and alot of money has been spent on the Cathederal to restore it to its former glory, although this makes it quite expensive to enter and we decided that we would not go inside as we would be seeing so many Cathederals during our travels through Europe.

We then headed down to the Tower of London which has had many uses throughout its history and still houses many employees (called Beefeaters) who operate tours through the complex exploring its deep history. The tour lasted just over an hour after which we went to see the Crown Jewels which were amazing. We were very lucky that there was not a big crowd so we were able to view the Jewels quite easily and linger over them which was quite an experience.

After the Tower of London and a quick bite to eat we headed down to Westminster Abbey. The Abbey was absolutely beautiful and a very humbling experience. We were able to walk through most of the Abbey and see some historical sites including where Queen Elizabeth I is buried and also Poet Corner which includes such literary icons as John Dryden, Tennyson, Robert Browning and John Masefield. Many writers, including William Camden, Dr. Samuel Johnson, Charles Dickens, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, Rudyard Kipling and Thomas Hardy are also buried here. The Abbey is also where every monarch since William the Conqueror, with the exception of Edward V and Edward VIII who were never crowned, has been crowned in the Abbey. It was an amazing experience.

After the Abbey we quickly rushed back to check into the Hotel and get ready for our Contiki Meeting. After the meeting we almost ran to the closest laundry to do some much needed washing as we were informed that laundry services would be in short supply. After spending an enormous amount of time, and half of our yearly savings (laundry in London is expensive!) we checked our emails and had some dinner before retiring to bed for an early start the next morning.

Again this morning we boarded the Orginial Bus Tour of London as we had a two day ticket and we headed down to the London Dungeon. It was extremely scary but very entertaining. We were both scared out of our wits for the duration of the show with poor Katie covering under her jacket for some of it. After the frightful experience at the London Dungeon, we drove over Tower Bridge and past the Tower of London, St Pauls Cathedral, the Bank of England, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament before hoping off at west end. We had a quick dinner at a lovely Thai restraint before going to see The Phantom of the Opera. It was an amazing show!

This morning we decided to do an Original Bus Tour of London to see all the sights. We boarded the bus and saw such sights as the Marble Arch and Hyde Park before we went into Madame Tussand’s Wax Museum. We later boarded the bus again and drove through the West End and saw all the amazing Theater Productions that were available and when we arrived at Trafalgar Square we had a bite to eat before we went to see Buckingham Palace. We returned to the hostel to freshen up before we went back to West End to see the Theater Production, Les Miserables. It was a fanstastic show. Katie had grown up on the show so it was a very special treat for her while Kylie had never seem the show before so she had her eyes wide open through the entire experience.

This morning Annika introduced us to the wonderful world of Apple pancakes for breakfast before we quickly packed out bags and drove to Frankfurt where we caught our plane to London. It was a sad farewell as we had a wonderful time with Annika and her family. It was great to get to know them all and we really appreciate being able to spend time with them. After arriving in London we caught the train into London and then made our way to our hostel. When we first checked into our hostel, we open our room and honestly, we couldn’t move! Another person had pretty much set up home in the room and she had her belongings spread over every inch of the room, including all the lockers. We seriously had nowhere to put our bags so we quickly ran back down stairs to inform them before we were moved to another room which thankfully was a lot better. After settling into our hostel we strolled around the streets of the neighbourhood before deciding on some Chinese for dinner.

After breakfast Annika took us on a tour of Hunsfeld which included such things as Annika’s favourite shop, The Gummy Bear Shop, her brother Patrick’s Office building and the Town Hall. We returned after our tour for some more traditional German food for lunch, this time Jagerschnitzel and Spatzle (Schnitzel with mushroom sauce and noodles). As Kylie was feeling a little unwell she had a sleep while Katie and Annika went shopping in Fulda for the afternoon. After arriving home from shopping we had some raultaschensuppe (Soup with parcels of spinach and minced meat) before we drove to Fula in Patrick’s veru nice BMW Series 5 for some cocktails with Annika and a friend of hers who was also a gap student in Australia and ironically worked at the Rockhampton Grammar School. What a coincidence!