An American Geekchik in London

My trip to Europe was amazing! I saw as much in a week as one could possibly see in that short period of time and I am exhausted, but it was well worth it.

The night I arrived, Heidi had arranged for us to go to the theatre to see One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest with Christian Slater. We had incredible seats (second row!) and the show was great--very entertaining.

We were on the go the entire next day, visiting Windsor Castle, Stonehenge and the Roman Baths. We drove by the Eton school and saw the very elite students all dressed in coat and tails (yes, they wear that every day), had lunch in a quaint English tea room and finished off with dinner at an old English pub. That was a lot to pack into a day, but no slowing down--the next morning, we took the Eurostar to Paris.

After checking in to our hotel room and taking a brief nap, we hit the streets of Paris. We found the Moulin Rouge, then off to the Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower and finally shopping at the Champs d'Elyssee. I managed to find the perfect souvenier for Xan--a bright yellow Tour de France hat! After dinner at the oh-so-American Planet Hollywood, we went back to our hotel and crashed.

The next morning, we visited Notre Dame and did an express tour of The Louvre (Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo, and not much else) before catching our train back to London.

Saturday, we decided to catch up on a bit of rest, mostly just hanging around Heidi's flat. We managed to get off the couch in the evening and went to a showing of Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (yes, a chick flick!) with some of Heidi's English friends. Funny, I didn't think the Brits liked the fact that an American was playing Bridget Jones, but the movie is quite a hit in London.

We were back at it Sunday, returning to Piccadilly Circus and central London so I could get pictures of Big Ben and Parliament. We did a tour of the Tower of London, which was amazing! From there, you could see the Tower Bridge up close and it is truly beautiful.

Monday was the long flight home. They were "trialing" a new x-ray machine for security at the Heathrow airport. Fortunately, I wasn't asked to participate. It seemed a bit intrusive.

I left with memories that will stay with me for a lifetime. The architecture in Europe is simply incredible. If I come across another deal like the last one in the future, Xan and I will definitely take advantage of it.

Will try to have my pictures posted in the next day or so...

Mind the gap!

Posted by geekchik at November 9, 2004 04:25 PM