London Bridges Falling Down

Today was our second day in London. And by far the worst. It started with an early wake up at 8 to prepare ourselves for the day. We got ready, through on our sacks and went to the subway ( or tube as its called in london) Fortunatly the "tubes" are set up alot like they are in NYC, so I didnt have alot of trouble finding our way around. From there our GPS, affectionatly named Garmin lead us straight to our orientation at BUNAC. Thanks mom and dad!!! Its already become a nesscaity. Then it was off to london bridge to set up our banks......or so we though. Originally we had set up UK bank accounts from Canada so all we would have to do it go to HSBC and pick up our debit cards. Well, before we left only stefs was open and ready and me and christie were still waiting on ours. O well, we transferred the money before we went into Stefs account. At least we had funds in London. However when we got there, it turned out that HSBC has stefs debit card, internet stick....but no PIN NUMBER! So she cant access our funds from a debit machine. My account has been opened but no pin number or debit card. And there is no knowledge of christies account all together. Very frustrated, disappointed and angery...we sat and had some shitty cheap pasta and felt pretty dishearted. Then out of the blue... Stef (who made MVP for the day) thought of the idea to put all our funds on a pay as you go credit card till the PIN number is sent to our parents in Canada. BRILLIANT!!! so now we have a way of having funds for the next couple of weeks without carrying around a load of cash. THANK GOD!! Then we proceeded to take the "tube" to the international railway for a ticket to Paris. Well, a ticket would have been 160 euros to take tomm. But if we took the train on friday and (christie was smart enough to ask about a eurorail discount) then it would only be 65 euros. So looks like were staying in London one more day. After the long exhausting day we went and walked around oxford for awhile, got something to eat, and had a shower. Not a fun day, however we have another day in london to see the sights and maybe be able to apperciate the city. Praying for brighter days ahead.

London

Yesterday August 29, 2011 me, Christie and Stef took a flight to London. At the airport in Calgary we said our last goodbyes, by far the worst goodbyes, the goodbyes we had been dreading for months. While our families watched us walk through the security gates, butterflies fluttered in our stomachs. Here we were taking the first steps to a long anticipated adventure. Once inside the gates we sat down for a couple of stiff drinks and cried a bit more. Being the silly girls we are we had to be called for our flight because we thought the 915 meant boarding time, not gate close time. Oops! Well we made it on the flight and me an stef took a sleeping pill. Christie has some fun by herself flipping through the many options on the flight screen and had a great time watching movies. We got dinner (chicken and potatoes) and lunch (ham sandwich) and 3 mini bottles of wine. Overall, a great flight experience. Once in London we waited forever at the boarder crosses (had no problem getting across, Thank GOD!) then waited forever for our luggage. O well thats the way it goes. So with the three of us with backpacks in hand made our first decision. How to get to the hostel. We decided to take a cab, 75 pounds later and a trippy ride....this whole driving on the opposite side of the road it weird. We made it! The hostel people are very friendly and accomdating. We got a four bedroom room, with a shower and bath and so far it is just the three of us in the room. Kudos to stef for the padlock because sure enough there is a locker in the room. So we brushed our teeth, combed our hair, and went walking down the streets of London. It is a cloudly overcast day in london, which I wouldn't have expected any different. Right now we are at a sidewalk cafe having americana and relaxing. Overall, amazing first day. Ciao

Bon Voyage

Saturday was our Bon Voyage party. It was a HUGE success. Thank you so much to everyone who came out to say farewell. Special thanks to Jodi and John for hosting the party and to Vivian, Leah, Gerald, Dakota, and Baby T ( Trisha) for helping out. While it was a bitter sweet get together it was a lovely way to spend the night with friends and family. Till we meet again........