Eric told me all about the potential hazards and annoyances about traveling on a buddy pass (especially in the short amount of time I had), but Jarrett and I decided to take a chance and go. We narrowed our choices down to Mexico or Europe. We have both been to Mexico (though not really--Ensenada is barely south of the border), so we decided on Europe.
We left my apartment Thursday night, May 13th. We first attempted to get on the red-eye flight to NYC which left at 11:45pm--no luck. You see, traveling on a buddy pass means you are at the end of the standby line, which often times is exceptionally long. Any regular passenger or crew member automatically goes before you on the list, no matter how long you've been waiting. Basically, you have to pray that a flight gets cancelled or some people wake up late.
We decided to stay at the airport and wait for the next flight to NYC, leaving around 8am the next morning. We didn't want to find a way home (we'd been dropped off) or pay for a taxi, so we slept a couple uncomfortable hours on the floor of the terminal. Then...surprise...we didn't get on the next flight! In fact, we didn't get on the next 3! It is a frustrating thing, to hope and hope and hope that you'll get on a flight, only to see the plane leave without you (Eric warned us!). In the afternoon, we switched to the direct flight from SLC to Paris, on which there were supposedly a lot of free seats. But, once again, the plane was full (overbooked, actually). Right as this plane started boarding, I checked with the plane going to NYC at the same time, and it had seats! We quickly ran over to the other terminal and the gate agent was nice enough to help us change our tickets onto that flight.
After a long flight, we landed at JFK airport around midnight. Man, was it humid there! Jarrett and I were ready to kill for a shower and real bed, but instead we just paid for it! We found the cheapest airport hotel we could ($110) and hopped on the shuttle to get there. Man, was this place ghetto! Our room was clean though and thats all we really cared about. Some girl that arrived with us freaked out and started balling because her room smelled like pot, but we had better luck I guess. The next morning we slept in a bit, ate our free breakfast, and then set off on the town with Eric (who lives pretty close to the airport/hotel). He showed us around the subway system, Times Square, the LDS temple, the Plaza (former) Hotel, Central Park, etc. It was pretty cool. Soon enough, we had to get back to the airport to try some more flights to get to London. Miracle of miracles, we got on the first flight we tried! We left JFK around 7pm and were on our way to London. Somehow, Jarrett and I even got to sit together.
We arrived in London around 8am, exhausted but excited. First off we decided to find a place to stay. We had checked out some places beforehand online, but couldn't make a reservation because we weren't sure when we'd get there. The first place we tried was the Green Man pub on Edgware Road--our first hostel. They had space, and we were able to leave our luggage there whilst we went off for the day. We mostly went shopping on Oxford Street that day, which was a good choice because it rained a fair amount. We did a bit of general sight seeing though, and saw Trafalgar Square, Picadilly Circus, and Leicester Square. By 6:30pm we were absolutely pooped so we made our way back to the hostel and fell asleep by about 8! Our beds were bunk beds, but they were clean, and the dorm-style room was pretty quiet. The hostel was a pretty good choice--it was about $45 for 2 nights, and it was in a good location.
On Monday, we slept in a bit (badly needed) before heading out. We decided to splurge and do the Tower of London, which cost a cool £18. Having spent so much to get in, we spent most of the day there. It was a pretty cool place, and we had good weather so it was really enjoyable. We saw the crown jewels, as well as what we liked to call the "ghetto crowns"--the old royal crowns and other jewelry whose jewels had been taken to create the current crown jewels, leaving ghost-like crowns. We also saw various other exhibits, including the old royal apartments of Jarrett's ancestor, King Edward I.
After the Tower, we strolled across Tower Bridge (often confused with London Bridge). Then we enjoyed walking along the banks of the Thames, down to London Bridge. I was excited to show Jarrett just how not-cool London Bridge is, since the old one was shipped to Arizona. Still, we walked across it (crossing the Thames is always a pleasure, no matter the bridge or mode of transportation). We then went up to St. Paul's cathedral (where Princess Di and Prince Charles got married). It wasn't open for tours, but we got to sit in on a bit of the evening service, which got us into the cathedral for free! Its very beautiful. After this, we ate dinner at a "traditional" pub. We were both disappointed when Jarrett's first Fish 'n' Chips tasted rather dreadful. After dinner, we took a gander through Hyde and Green Parks and over to Buckingham Palace/the Victoria Monument, then continued through St. James' park and into the area of the city that houses most of the government ministries. I have to say, Westminster Palace (Houses of Parliament) are very beautiful in the early evening/night.
After strolling along the river, we decided to head back to the hostel. Before we called it a night, we got some pizza from Domino's (very British, I know). Unfortunately, by the time we got back, someone had fallen asleep in my bed! Instead of waking him up, the hostel just switched me to a different one.
Tuesday, we woke up early (well...I did...Jarrett slept in), fetched our rental car from the place next door to the hostel, and headed out to the country! We got the cheapest car possible, which ended up being a Smart Car! It's always been a dream of mine to drive one, although I must say that desire has been satiated. When I first got in the car, I was unsure how it worked and almost crashed into the rental agency! Once I got the hang of it, it was OK. We drove out of London, and up to the coolest country mansion, Chatsworth. This is "Pemberley" from the Keira Knightley version of Pride and Prejudice, and was also featured in another of her films, The Duchess. There weren't too many people there, and we were able to enjoy the home fully. We had amazing weather, and so we also got to enjoy the grounds and fountains! This is really one of the most beautiful settings I've ever experienced.
After our time at Chatsworth, we drove over to Nottingham to see my friend Lisa Hayes. She and her boyfriend made us a DELICIOUS roast dinner. Let me just say that it was good enough to get Jarrett to admit that British food can actually be amazingly scrumptious! We hung out with Lisa that night, as well as took a walk around Bulwell (the part of Nottingham she lives in, as well as the part that I spent a large part of my mission in) and did some chocolate shopping at Tesco :)
We left Nottingham at 6:30am and drove back to London. Even though we returned the car a little late and less than full on gas, it still only cost 39! We had a few hours to kill before our train to Paris, so we went on over to Westminster Abbey, and had a great time. Its a very beautiful place, full of history and interesting bits and bobs. My favourite part was definitely the ceiling of the lady chapel:
After this, we went to the train station, and hopped on the train to Paris!
...To be continued...
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