london in a weekend

It was our first free weekend to do whatever we wanted, so a group of us decided to go to London. After checking our bags into the Best Western, me Karla and Annalyse headed off to the Natural History Museum. We quickly got sidetracked on a hunt for the nearest McDonalds and I'm proud to say that from the opposite side of a street with many buildings and a tree between us, I was able to spot a fourth of a golden arch on a sign no bigger than a pizza box. What more would you expect from a true American girl with a love for happy meals. As usual, the McDonalds looked nothing like a fast food chain and more like the interior of a classy ass 4 star restaurant. We then got further distracted by Hyde Park, which is where the Peter Pan statue is in Mary Kate and Ashley Olson's 'Winning London'. Yeah, that's right. We're making plans based on the Olson twins. The park is pretty huge and it took us an hour to find, but it was so worth it. On our way out we also saw the Princess Diana memorial fountain. It's a huge loop of running water that you can walk in and turns your toes numb after 2 seconds if you can manage to keep your feet in for longer than 1.

^River in Hyde Park

^Me and the Peter Pan statue after I made all the 4 year olds get off

^Extremely cold water running through the Princess Diana memorial fountain

Then we checked into the hotel and finally made our way to the Natural History Museum. I often zone out while riding the underground so it was no surprise that it took me a while to realize we had arrived at our stop. Once I did I yelled at Karla and Annalyse to get off right then. Sadly, they didn't make it. Karla's attempts to pry the doors open didn't do any good either. I did manage to catch a glimpse of the other passengers laugh as I ran after them snapping pictures unknowingly with my lens cap on. Karla and Annalyse said people around them laughed the entire way to the next stop. After being reunited we finally got to the Natural History Museum 50 minutes before it closed. Just enough time to visit 3 of the free exhibits and sweat like a mofo from all the body heat of people being herded through dinosaur remains. That night we attempted to get drizzunk and go see the tower bridge and picadilly circus lit up but due to half of the underground lines being closed, we only made it to the London Bridge and turned right back around. Also, due to the water they call vodka none of us even got a slight buzz going after about 4 shots. My liver and I were both very upset about this.

^Karla and Annalyse obviously upset because their slow asses couldn't keep up with my European style of exiting the underground

The next morning we left to go hit up picadilly circus for some souveneir shopping, during which we of course ate at mcdonalds. I'm happy to report I finally got the blue free cup! Afterwards we went to oxford street to shop at the 3 story H&M and some other random places. Saving all my shopping for one day was good and bad. Good because it was really fun and of course I got some things for myself. Bad because the entire train ride home was spent in a state of depression over how much I had just spent. (Note to self: don't convert spending into US dollars, it will save you from severe buyers remorse) We also hit up St. Paul's Cathedral but because it was a Sunday and I guess it ACTUALLY still functions as a church, we couldn't tour the inside.

^Picadilly Circus, aka Time Square of London. Also, thank you lady that took our picture. You're right we wanted just the statue and not the huge screens directly behind us.
^Me trying on heels and obviously depressed because I'm an amazon woman and can't wear them