Easter in London

Dad and mom arrived on Friday afternoon. We all took the tube together back to my hostel where we are staying for 3 nights then it's off to Scotland and Ireland. 

After checking in and grabbing a quick bite to eat we then took the tube to see Westminster abbey, and Big Ben. Spent some time there walking around and looking at the different buildings. Then went to Trafalgar Square for drinks and back to the hostel for a good nights sleep for a very long day on Saturday. 

Saturday morning came and we were out   bright and early. First we went to Buckingham Palace to see the guard change, then went to the Royal Mews behind Buckingham Palace to see all the carriages and royal cars. After that we went to the Tower of London, saw lots of different things there from the Crown Jewels, went through the white tower and the armoury, and then just walked around the Tower for a little. 

After the Tower we got a quick taxi to the Shard to see the view of London during day and night. Amazing view! We were 1016 feet in the air and it was city as far as you could see! Just goes to show how absolutely massive london is! From the shard we could see Tower bridge, the Tower of London, St. Paul's cathedral, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, the London Eye, almost all the bridges in London, Weblmey stadium... Basically everything in London! Later that night we went out for supper and drinks then back to the hostel. 

Sunday was more of a relaxed day, got going a little bit later in the day. Went shopping for souvenirs and keep sakes because I realized I have nothing from London and I'm about to leave it. Walked around the Picadilly Circus (very big old london area. With hundreds of stores, restaurants and pubs.) We went into a pub and did a little planning for our trip to Scotland and Ireland. Then a little more walking and made our way over to Trafalgar Square again which was good because then mom and dad could see it during the day time. 

Headed back to the hostel and had supper and then went to the bar downstairs for a drink. We then went to the lounge in the hostel and drank with a few different people passing through. All people I have met over my time in that hostel. Then it was time to get some sleep and in the morning Scotland! :) 

**My last photo is a picture of my hostel that I have been staying at for the last 6 weeks. The top 3 floors are the hostel and on the ground floor is the bar. And I only went there twice! So no one can call me an alcoholic because I lived above a bar for 6 weeks and only went to it twice! 

Kew Gardens

Today was such a great day! Me and Jadyn took the tube to the other side of the city today to go to The Royal Kew Botanic Gardens, aka Kew gardens. 

Strangely enough even though it was still in London it was far enough away that it felt like we were out of London. There wasn't sirens going off every 2 minutes and there weren't people constantly crowding the streets. It was just a quiet nice, older English area. Very beautiful. It felt like a small English town basically. If I were to ever live in London that would be the place to live! Quiet, nice looking old neighbourhood. And your still in zone 3 which is close to central London still. 

We went to Kew Gardens thinking it was just a very large garden with paths to walk on etc. However it was the biggest outdoor garden I have ever been to or seen in my entire life. 6 greenhouses, plants and flowers from all over the world. A small aquatic display with different types of fish, etc. Walking trails, a lake that runs through the middle. Temple gardens, bamboo garden, a treetop walkway, ponds, and so much more! We were there for more than 3 hours! Definitely got our money's worth. 

It was so good to get out of our busy area for a day and just breath fresh air and be surrounded by trees and flowers. It was good too because it was a Monday so there were hardly any people there, it for sure put me in a better mood. The weather was pretty good as well, overcast all day, a tad windy but it wasn't too bad. And for the last 30 minutes we were there it sprinkled but that's London for you. 

We didn't have Lunch and we both only had toast for breakfast so getting back at 7 we were both starving. We went to a Chinese place and just got some food and came back and ate it in the lounge. We met a really nice guy from Canterburry, (South England) a few days ago and last night he was playing at an open mic night so we went out for drinks and watched him play. 

**My last 2 pictures I added to this are off of google** I just wanted to show you a map of how big Kew Gardens is. And the other picture is a view of the Treetop Walkway from above. ( If you want to get a better Picture of Kew Gardens I reccomend googling it! It's such a beautiful place and you can get a better look at everything when it's all in bloom in late April!)