Part One: London.

Hey everyone! I was going to email out... and probably still will... but thought that I would make a blog to chronicle my adventures overseas.

As most of you know, I flew out on the 20th of January to the fair land of England. The flight was actually bearable... except that my video on demand broke during the final third of the trip, so I was stuck between watching "Wall Street 2" on a loop or tracking my plane on that little moving map. But, I managed to sleep alright, and other than getting questioned at the security entrance in Bangkok about the little tin of Milo in my hand luggage, it was fairly smooth flying.

I landed in Heathrow at about 5.38am English time, and after pulling on my coat and some thermals, I got through Customs (surprisingly easily) pretty quickly, and then caught the train from the airport to Paddington. When I'd thought about timing, I'd bargained on getting to Paddington at about 8.30... but because it was so early, I ended up at the station at 7.30. It was alright, I managed to get my cup of coffee and ham and cheese melt to last the hour and the half before I could go to the bag storage. People in London were really lovely - a few people helped me carry my enormous suitcase up and down stairs, which was a massive help.

After checking in my bag, I went for a walk through central London. It was freezing cold, but the sun was out and the skies were blue. I wandered from Charing Cross through Trafalgar Square, up to Leicester Square and then up Regent Street (for those of you well accustomed with the Monopoly board, that one's in the green section!) to Oxford Circus. I wandered around, looking in John Lewis, Urban Outfitters, Bhs, Carphone Warehouse, Accessorize and Topshop (!!!). I even went to Caffe Nero and got myself a Tuna Melt, and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Eventually, I went back and grabbed my suitcase and checked into my accommodation. The room was tiny - it said ensuite, but what they meant was that there was a shower at one end of the room. It was quiet though, and clean, so I was pretty happy. After that, I just had a quiet night in, and succumbed to sleep at about 8.3o.

The next morning (Saturday), I woke up super early (jet lag is such a bitch) and so went for a wander around The Strand/Charing Cross Road area. I met my friend from Gap Year, James, in Covent Garden at midday, and after lunch at a creperie called Creme de la Crepe, where I had one that was called "Cheap Date". I mostly got it because it was fun to order, but it was actually really nice - filled with Bailey's and chopped up Mars bar that had melted. Awesome.

From there, we went to Portobello Road markets, and had a wander looking at all the stalls. We stopped for a pint about halfway through, and I could have spent so much money (but didn't. Another time, maybe). Eventually, after a cup of tea and a lot of incessant chatting, we went to a pub in Camden to meet up with James's flatmate and a couple of his friends. Had a couple of drinks (and watched the bartender make whiskey sours. Did anyone else know that they have egg whites in them?) - I was keeping my eye out for Amy Winehouse or Kate Moss, but didn't see either of them, unfortunately.

Sunday, I was running really late because I was reading Melina Marchetta's The Piper's Son - if you haven't read it, DO IT. But read Saving Francesca first. Please. Anyway, I was due to meet Jack at Topshop at 10, but didn't get there til about half past. We went and found a little Australian cafe in Soho called Flat White, where we both got a coffee and something to have for brunch. Jack got the Eggs Benedict, and I got scrambled eggs with bacon and avocado. It was awesome - one of the best breakfasts ever! From there, we looked at a couple of shops then went to Camden Markets, where we spent maybe an hour and a half trawling through the stalls - and covered only maybe a third of the total market. We'll have to go back sometime and see the rest! After that, we went back to my hotel, and Jack very nicely grabbed my suitcase to take back to LGE while I went to Paris. I escorted him to St Pancras Station, and then caught the Tube back to Leicester Square, where I was meeting one of my Gaps, Ben, for dinner.

We went to TGI Friday's, where we both had a couple of drinks and a burger each, before sharing a hot brownie and caramel popcorn sundae. Not even joking, it was amazing. It was really good that I got to catch up with Ben actually - he was just finishing his Exchange, as I was about to start mine, and that was the only time that we crossed over. It was great.

Monday, I spent by myself. I checked out Waterstone's bookshop, and then went to the National Gallery, where I was enthralled by some really old, relatively new and very brilliant art, including works by da Vinci, Bridget Riley, Seurat, Van Gogh, Degas, Botticelli, and Jan van Eyck. It was awesome. I followed this up by going to the National Portrait Gallery, and traversing through centuries of British portraiture, including paintings of the Tudors, Jane Austen, the Brontes, Elizabeth Gaskell, Lord Byron, the Shelleys, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, Blur, Kate Winslet and the Queen. Unfortunately, the one painted portrait of Shakespeare in existence was on loan for the first time in about 125 years... but it's going back in April, so I guess I'll just have to go back.

After that, I went and bought a couple of books, and then went to Pizza Express for dinner. Because I was by myself, the Maitre D' was really nice, and made sure everything went really quickly. I had an amazing pizza, with goat's cheese, caramelised and normal onion, and spinach. Awesome. Then I went back to my hotel (where the concierge said that I was the only guest who always looked happy to see him!) and turned in early so I could get ready for the next stage of my trip... Paris.