Karissa's European Adventure: My amazing day with Holly doing the Bus Bus Tour :)

Hey everyone,

Well I'm almost up to date with documenting my adventures on this blog. I have had a lazy day at the hostel watching tv with the fam as I now call them!lol Chris, Christina and Colin and I are always hanging out in the tv room and it feels nice to be able to come home from sight seeing and hang out like we have known each other for years. Chris had a job interview the other day and we have our fingers crossed that he gets the job!Chris and Christina are moving into their own apartment this week which is very exciting for them after house hunting and living at the hostel for two months. Colin is applying for jobs everyday and trying his best to find a good job and set himself up here in London. I feel so comfortable around these guys and I will definitely catch up with them when I get back into London after my Contiki tour.

I have got to know and enjoy the company of the tv common room regulars including the middle aged French man called Guy. He actually has turned out to be a wonderful man who makes me laugh everytime I talk to him and is an amazing cook!He lets me try lots of his meals and he actually reminds me of dad in his cooking ability. He is able to whip up beautiful tasting dishes from scratch. Guy has taught me alot about London and seems to know where everything is and how to get there. He always gives me good advice on things to do while I'm here.

I have got to know a man called Tony who was once the trainer of a famous English boxer called Chris Eubank and is living here while he rents his house out in Brighton until he goes back to living in Bangkok. He is a nice and friendly man who I often have conversations with and he has given me some tips on things to do whilst in England also. I met some really nice guys today and they were quite funny and thought alot of the people here were weirdos too lol One of the guys was a kiwi and moved here all alone trying to find work and change up his life. He worked on P & O cruise ships in the entertainment sides of things. He was soo funny and gay so of course we clicked immediately lol The other was a chef looking for somewhere to live in London and the other guy was Canadian and tried to help me unlock my mobile phone. We have become friends on facebook and I might meet up with the kiwi guy for drinks when I get back into London. Anyway onto my amazing day with Holly!

Big Bus Tour with Holly:

I was in contact with Holly since arriving in London and we decided to catch up and do the Big Bus Tour together where you can hop on and off at famous sites and stops along the way. Holly organised the tickets and we met at Earls Court station before heading for some breakfast before the tour. We were both a little hungover so it was just what we needed!lol We ate breakfast at a little place called EAT. which is a franchise in London. Holly had been in London for almost 18 months and hadn't done or seen too much of the tourist stuff as she is living here near Notting Hill and has all the time in the world to see these things lol

We organised to get onto the bus and Holly showed the man our tickets. We decided to do the red tour that has the live tour guide commentary alone the way. We jumped on and the tour guide told us lots of interesting facts along the way. Holly and I had been to some of the stops along the way before but knew the main stops that we wanted to get off at. When you get off at stops to look at things once you have finished you simply wait at the stop you got off at for the next bus to arrive. There are around 16 buses that travel around on the same route daily. We chatted lots about what we have been up to in between listening attentively to the tour guide as heaps of the information was so interesting! We got to see lots of famous landmarks in London such as Big Ben, Tower Bridge, Buckingham Palace, The London Eye, St Paul's Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, Tower of London and many other interesting sights along the way. At each stop we got off and looked around and took lots of photos as memories!I love taking photos and it was nice to see so many of the sights of London with a good friend. I can't choose a favourite part of the tour as they were all amazing! It was great being able to see all of the city at once and drive over all of the bridges that are over the River Thames. I loved the tour :))) After we had finished the tour we decided to have lunch at a place called Spaghetti house which was lovely Italian food. I had salmon pasta and soup which was delicous!I was so full after it.

Here are some facts that I found interesting about some of the sights I visited. I could go on and on about the things I learned but I'll give you the main facts.

St Paul's Cathedral:

Was built by London's architect Christopher Wren between 1675-1710 sooo old. It was were Princess Diana and Prince Charles were married. It avoided being bombed in the World War 2 bombings.

Holly and I at St Paul's Cathedral

Buckingham Palace:

Is one of the many homes of the Queen. She apparently doesn't like staying here and would rather stay at he other house being Windsor Castle. You can tell if the Queen is home when the royal flag is flying above the palace. The changing of the guard ceremony is held from 11.30am almost everyday.

Holly outside Buckingham Palace

Holly and I with your umbrellas near a beautiful pond outside the Queens Buckingham Palace

Westminster Abbey:
This is were monarchs have been crowned since 1066. This is where Price William and Kate were married.

Westminster Abbey

Houses of Parliament and Big Ben:
It was built in 1840 and the palaces most famous feature is the clock tower Big Ben-actually the name of the 13 ton bell inside the tower.

Holly and I with the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben behind us

The London Eye:

Was originally designed to be a temporary structure to celebrate the millennium the eye is 135m tall. Slowly moving pods offer 25 mile views on a clear day and takes around 30 minutes to rotate.