We started our day very early but not by choice. After going to bed at 11 pm, Ally woke up at 2:30am and was not longer able to sleep. We had fallen asleep at 1am and once Ally came in, then we were all awake for the rest of the morning. I watched the hours click by until my alarm was to go off making sure we didnt miss our train into London. We thought about skipping the trip but since we were all awake and all ready bought out train tickets we decided to go and stay busy for the day and hopefully end jet lag once and for all.
We started out walking down to the bus stop just a few blocks away that will take us to the city center here in Milton Keynes. It was a very interesting ride with all the local residents all carrying on with their day because everyone takes the bus here since they have to pay to park. The city here is similar to Roseville or Rocklin as far as types of residents and amenities and the city center is similar to going to the Galleria. Our Exchange family describes Milton Keynes as one of the most American cities since it is only about 30 years old. For Britian history that is like a young baby.
From the Milton Keynes train station at the City Center, we hop onto a bullet train in to London. These trains go so fast that when one goes through the station without stopping while you are waiting at the platform it takes your breath away. The train was very comfortable and was about 30 minutesinto the London Euston station.
This was a very nice officer from the Metropolitan Police, he was stationed right by us and we joked with him a little regarding the tourists who would play dumb and sneak around barriers to take pictures. There was one elderly lady who, when he told her to stand behind the barrier, she swatted her hand like "you don't understand, I just need to take a quick picture" and she ran by him and did it anyway. He simply walked up behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders and waited for her to turn around and realize he wasn't her husband. Meanwhile the whole crowd was laughing, including her husband who was waiting for her behind the barrier.
After Buckingham Palace we hopped on a Double Decker Hop On Hop Off bus tour. We didn't have too much time to spend in the city today so we just wanted to take the tour to get an introduction to the city and see where we wanted to come back to and visit. It was much colder than we expected today or than what we were prepared for so we weren't able to stay in the open top as much as we would have liked. It was my favorite place though. Above the street level I couldn't see all the crowds on the street and could just focus on all the architecture and monuments and was able to capture some quick shots.
We started out walking down to the bus stop just a few blocks away that will take us to the city center here in Milton Keynes. It was a very interesting ride with all the local residents all carrying on with their day because everyone takes the bus here since they have to pay to park. The city here is similar to Roseville or Rocklin as far as types of residents and amenities and the city center is similar to going to the Galleria. Our Exchange family describes Milton Keynes as one of the most American cities since it is only about 30 years old. For Britian history that is like a young baby.
From the Milton Keynes train station at the City Center, we hop onto a bullet train in to London. These trains go so fast that when one goes through the station without stopping while you are waiting at the platform it takes your breath away. The train was very comfortable and was about 30 minutesinto the London Euston station.
From the London Euston station we took the Underground to the Victoria station. It was a couple blocks walk to Buckingham Palace where we watched the Changing of the Guard.
This was a very nice officer from the Metropolitan Police, he was stationed right by us and we joked with him a little regarding the tourists who would play dumb and sneak around barriers to take pictures. There was one elderly lady who, when he told her to stand behind the barrier, she swatted her hand like "you don't understand, I just need to take a quick picture" and she ran by him and did it anyway. He simply walked up behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders and waited for her to turn around and realize he wasn't her husband. Meanwhile the whole crowd was laughing, including her husband who was waiting for her behind the barrier.
After Buckingham Palace we hopped on a Double Decker Hop On Hop Off bus tour. We didn't have too much time to spend in the city today so we just wanted to take the tour to get an introduction to the city and see where we wanted to come back to and visit. It was much colder than we expected today or than what we were prepared for so we weren't able to stay in the open top as much as we would have liked. It was my favorite place though. Above the street level I couldn't see all the crowds on the street and could just focus on all the architecture and monuments and was able to capture some quick shots.
We made a few stops along the way, mostly to warm up with a cup of soup and hot chocolate at our favorite little cafe called Pret A Manger, which can be found very frequently along with Starbucks. We also took some time to take a few pictures at Trafalgar Square.
The Hop On Hop off bus tour was a bit pricey but was perfect for our little introduction to the city and was also a nice break for jet lagged tourists who are trying to enjoy themselves on 2-3 hours of sleep. Ally is finally learning how to fall asleep anywhere and learned about the wonders of a catnap.
There are several different Hop on Hop off bus companies and we wish we had chosen a different one because we were approached by the less expensive one while we were tired of walking and decided to just go with it, but their busses weren't nearly as often and many times they would stop half a block away from the stop on the map, stop for 2 seconds and take off again. One of the times we could catch them while they got stuck in traffic, but the last time we had already just missed a bus and waited the 15 minutes in the cold and sprinkles and couldn't catch them. So we abandoned the tour and hopped on the Underground nearby and decided to just head back a bit early since we had dinner plans back in Milton Keynes with Ally's penpal that she has had since she was 5. Here is Ally and Amber. We enjoyed a great dinner with her family at La Tasca Tapas restaurant.
Her father Craig was kind enough to take us home so we didn't have to take the bus home in the now pouring rain. We climbed straight into bed to crash for the night. An hour later the doorbell rang. Luckily Eric still had some wits about him to get up and answer the door. It was a drunk bloke about our age who was lost and wanted to use the phone to call a taxi. Eric explained we didnt have a phone since we were visiting from the states. He said, "on behalf of Britian, we , uh, would like to, uh, welcome you!" in his best slurred abilities. Eric directed him to the market down the street that has a payphone. Eric then watched him and his friend who was on the sidewalk stumble down the street. We emailed our friends back at our house and they said they have never had that happen here. Go figure!
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