Finally here in ol Londontown

Trip Start May 13, 2009

Trip End Jun 04, 2009

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Where I stayed

Royal National Hotel London

Flag of United Kingdom London, England, United Kingdom
Thursday, May 14, 2009

Well I arrived at Heathrow early in the morning and got through customs and border control alot easier then I thought it would be, they just asked if I wanted to start my working visa today stamped it and sent me on my way. Got the bus to the hotel, and got to see many cool places in London along the way. Got to the hotel and of course could not check in until 2pm, so after no sleep in more then 2 days I decided to grab a coffee and get a few things done. Sorted out my UK phone number (very easy to do) then went to a prearranged appointment with HSBC bank and open my bank account. After that I found out that I was very close to the Borough Markets (awesome food markets near the London Bridge) so I grabed some lunch then headed for a walk to see the Tower Bridge. Back to the hotel (now I was really tired but refused to sleep, good for jetlag apparently) so met up with some people from the Contiki tour I would be going on. Went to a pub for dinner, where I had my first english pint and pub meal, before heading back to the hotel for some much needed sleep

Andrew and Katie at St Pauls

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Spent the next day wondering around London, discovers a great place called Pret for good food. Saw Big Ben and Westminster Abbey, before meeting Katie and Andrew (Aussies I met the night before who are coming on the tour) to watch changing of the guard. Buckingham Palace was good to see, was hard to see the guards with the crowds, found it funny to hear the band playing Ricky Martian songs. Made out way to St Pauls Cathedral quite an amazing church, went to the top balcony for a good view (first step to overcoming fear of heights). That night met all the other Contiki people, met some guys form Canada who seem really fun, had a few pints at the London pub then off to bed ready for the adventure to begin tomorrow!

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changing of the guards	Big Ben	London Eye	Me at the Tower Bridge
buckingham Palace	Piccadilly Circus	Red Telephone Booth	Saw my first Red Bus
The Underground	The Tube	Westminster Abbey