Lon-Done

A few weekends ago I visited my friend Eduardo in London. I'll start by saying that I much prefer Edinburgh to London. I'm quite content with my tiny little city that requires no public transportation. The Underground (which I rode, even though I wasn't really supposed to... sorry Mom) was gross--every time I went down there I came back outside feeling like I needed a shower. It wasn't so much that it was dirty... it was just sticky and humid, and those of you who know me at all know how I feel about humidity.

Other than that, London was actually pretty cool. I took the train down and there were some pretty incredible views. (Sidenote here, every single time I have been on a train here I have never failed to be seated in a window seat next to an elderly man. What gives?). Arrival at Kings Cross Station, Harry Potter legend, was the first sign of a guaranteed good trip. Eduardo and I hit most of the hotspots including Harrod's, which has a really very creepy shrine (yes, shrine) to Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed. I get the whole Princess Diana thing, but the shrine is creepy. Eduardo asked if I wanted a picture next to it. No.

The big highlight of my London trip was Ben's Cookies. I bought a box of seven cookies with the intent of sharing with my flatmates. Oops. The place delivers in the UK so I have bookmarked the site. It's tempting, but it's also a test of my willpower. So far, I'm winning. But the cookies are really good. Really good. We'll see... I'm keeping my options (and my bookmarks) open.

Buckingham Palace--no sign of the queen. Buzzkill.

10 Downing Street--no sign of David Cameron.

Touristy photo, much? Big Ben with a crowd of other photo-taking tourists around?

London Eye, which we definitely would have gone on if we weren't cheap students.

It only seems appropriate to end with this photo given the fact that Harry Potter is coming out tomorrow. Oddly the UK has no midnight showings (excuse me?) so I am seeing it at 10am tomorrow morning.

Wales was fantastic and there is too much to put in one post so I'll do that at the beginning of next week. I'm heading out for the weekend to my Scottish flatmate's farm for a "shoot." As in hunting. Back on Sunday with what I'm sure will be lurid tales of American ignorance when it comes to a.) farming, b.) Scottish culture, c.) hunting, and d.) life in general.