Stepping out of my cottage like house onto the cobblestone streets filled with quaint little coffee shops and people reading the morning paper, I take in a deep breath of the crisp September air and double wrap my scarf around my neck. It was going to be a good day. Running to the end of the street to catch the red double decker bus in my knee high Michael Kors boots, coffee in hand, I turn the corner and BAM! I look down to see that my coffee has spilt all over my brand new Burberry double breasted suede trench coat. No..no.. NOOOO!!! Just as I am about to cry, I look up at the stranger who has caused this disaster, and my anger melts away. “No, it can’t be”, I think to myself. But it is, it’s JUDE LAW!!!!
And… then I wake up. HA! Truthfully the past week has been somewhat uneventful. I don’t want to say that I expected my life to be a fabulous vacation once I got here, but i won’t lie and say that I didn’t have expectations of what England would be like. I blame the fact that I have seen The Holiday and Notting Hill one too many times (that doesn’t really happen by the way). I did have an Englishman profess his undying love to me last Friday night at a bar in downtown London, but he was really drunk…and smelly... and completely unattractive. Oh yah.. and he was engaged. “Welcome to the UK love!” was his reply when I asked him what the hell he was doing out picking up on girls when he had a fiancé at home. Gross.
All joking aside my night in London was AMAZING!! The moment I stepped out of the tube station onto the busy streets of the city, I felt at home. Everything was so beautiful... and clean!!! There was no liter on the streets, which I found quite shocking for being such a large city, and there are no trashcans anywhere!! I think I walked for 3 whole blocks with my empty coffee cup before I found one. We stayed in an amazing hotel overlooking the Westminster abbey. It’s funny; the people I’ve talked to around here don’t understand our fascination with all the historic buildings. I explain to them that we don’t have that kind of history in southern California, it would be like them seeing the sunny beaches lined with palm trees for the first time, or Lindsey Lohan doing blow at the table next to you in a club in LA. You read about it magazines or books, but you don’t get the full effect until you see it in person.
After an amazing night in London, we head to Stonehenge. I had been reading about it in my travel books, and was quite excited. You can imagine my disappointment when after 2 ½ hours of driving, we pull up to some rocks in the middle of a field. Now I know what you’re thinking... “Duh Danielle, Stonehenge IS just rocks”. I know that, I just expected them to have some sort of little themed touristy area around it to keep us entertained. Nope. Just rocks. Rocks and a path around the rocks. You walk the path around the rocks while listening to a 20 minute tape about the different kinds of rocks. Nothing I couldn’t have gotten off the sign at the entrance for FREE!! Oh well, it was an experience.
I also learned how to drive this week. I thought the hardest part would be driving on the left side of the road, but it's not too bad once you get the hang of it! The one thing is people never stop here, you “give way” to other cars, but you never stop. If you do you get honked at, which I did, a lot. I could tell my cousin was nervous, knowing my driving record, but I think I proved him wrong. He gave me C- for my first attempt, which according to my Uncle is “great because that’s what I would get back in the states!” Lol. Tomorrow I am off to London on my own; hopefully get a little more sightseeing done. I will take some pictures I promise!!
Xoxo
Danielle
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