England

I arrived in London around 7:30 in the morning after an overnight bus ride...not the best sleep I've ever had, but not the worst, either. I met Sarah at our hotel/hostel (after grabbing myself a much needed cappuccino) and we decided to explore. We went to Nero's for coffee close to Paddington Station then walked through Hyde Park for the rest of the afternoon.

 

We put our feet in the water at Princess Diana's Memorial Fountain in Hyde Park 

The squirrels at Hyde Park walk right up to you and beg for food...they aren't as fat as Washington, DC squirrels, but they are definitely more bold

 Me & the Peter Pan statue in Hyde Park. We saw Kensington Palace, too, but it wasn't much to look at :( 

That night we went to a couchsurfing event at a pub in London and met some pretty cool people...we even made plans for the next evening!

The next day we decided to do the bus tour around the city (see above). You can hop-on & off wherever you want for 24 hours and you get a Thames river cruise included! Our first hop-off was Baker Street, to see Sherlock Holmes...D.U.H.

 Not only did we find Sherlock Holmes, but we also found the London Beatles Store! I loved it!

We hopped back on the bus, hopped off for some shopping, then stayed on until we got to the Tower of London.

 The Tower Bridge

 

Big Ben & Parliament from the Thames River. We got a free river cruise with our bus tour!  

The next day Sarah & I took a tour of Salisbury, Stonehenge & Bath. It was incredible! Salisbury is a super cute little town. Stonehenge is literally right next to the highway...you would expect it to be in the middle of nowhere, but you seriously have to walk underneath the road through a tunnel to get to it. Bath was amazing! And apparently Johnny Depp & Nicholas Cage live there...JEALOUS! My camera ran out of batteries there, though, so 

 Super cool fountain at Salisbury Cathedral.

 Fish & Chips at lunch in Salisbury

Stonehenge! 

In Bath we threw coins into the cool baths with our new friends we met on our tour! We found some kids on a school tour to be our photographers. (Special thanks to Sarah Harding for the picture!)

The next few days we spent taking in as much of London as possible.

 Sarah & I and the group of crazy Welsh guys we met at dinner one night. They all liked country music, so we had a little sing along, ending the evening with American Pie. Every year they come to London to celebrate their best friend's memory...very sweet.

 St. Paul's Cathedral at night from the Millennium Bridge.

 Sarah & I at Westminster Cathedral after the church service we went to. We sat right next to the all male choir and it was such an incredible experience!

 I found a Chihuly in London!

This was at the tower of London...these guns shoot Swarovski Crystals! The crown jewels were beautiful, but you aren't allowed to take pictures of them.

  We spent a day in Oxford. It was fantastic!

This is where Harry Potter eats dinner.

 Stained glass window at Christ Church in Oxford. We happened to be there when a choir from Texas A&M had a performance...I actually knew some of the songs!

 Sarah & I at the Eagle and Child Pub in the Rabbit Room where JRR Tolkien & CS Lewis used to hang out!

 

 This is where CS Lewis went to school. I wish I went to school in Oxford.

More of CS Lewis's alma mater. So Pretty!

When we got back to London, Sarah & I headed to the Globe Theatre to see one of "The Bard's" plays. In case you are not a major dork, The Bard is William Shakespeare. We didn't realize it until after, but the dad in the play was played by Geoffrey the butler from Fresh Prince of Bel Air! 

 Our last morning, Sarah & I went our separate ways, she wanted to relax in the park & I wanted to go to Abbey Rd. I realize that you are supposed to be ON the crosswalk when you take the picture...but that's what you get when you get a random bystander to take your picture and there are about a thousand other people trying to get their pictures, too.

 When we met up we went to St. Paul's and climbed a million stairs to get to the top, but boy was it worth it!

 

Us at the top.

After St. Paul's, Sarah & I crossed the courtyard for tea at our favorite little tea shop.

That evening we split up again to see shows on West End. We couldn't find one that we both hadn't seen, so we just went to different ones. I saw Wicked, which was amazing, and Sarah saw Les Miserables, which she said was incredible!

 

The next morning it was goodbye Europe, hello cicadas, heat, and humidity!