“So what exactly is the difference between Great Britain and England?” thats what I’m working with here people…. to her defense, she was asking about more of the details; BUT saying that in a public park area where we are trying to blend in as locals didn’t start off well. In other news… We are loving LONDON! It’s extremely easy to get around, clean, friendly, and filled with countless streets full of old world and new buildings everywhere. It also doesn’t hurt that everything is in English and pretty much everyone speaks it (obviously)…although at the park, I wish everyone didn’t.

We’ve been the biggest tourists in the city thus far, but that is largely because I was swindled into buying a 3 day London Pass as soon as we got off the plane. They are going to regret the day they up-sold me!!! Day 1 was pretty low-key and we just strolled through the area of King’s Cross while enjoying fish and chips and a couple pints. We really like the area we are staying in, as it is a great location and feels very lively with the hundreds of bars, coffee shops, and different restaurants surrounding us.

Day 2 consisted of the Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Houses of the Parliament, Westminster Abbey (we had to wait until 1:00 to get in, because it just so happened that the King and Queen of Spain were in town and visiting the church that morning), Westminster Cathedral, London Eye (definitely not waiting to ride that ferris wheel, but cool to see up close – it is MASSIVE), Thames River Cruise, and a few other small named spots…. We were blown away by everything, but the Westminster Abbey especially stunned us with all of its beauty, history, and royal significance. Just standing in the same church as so many great figures in history before us put chills down our backs and reminded us how young America still is.

I think Jacke was a little worried about Day 3 since we walked about 15 miles in day 2 (literally); so she started it off with a giant Monster and a double expresso shot of coffee (she’s really missing the Iceland long car rides for naps). We started off the day by visiting St. Paul’s Cathedral.  Again, another church that truly fascinated us with it’s artistry, architecture, and just the magnitude of it’s size for being created centuries ago. It is STUNNING. We were just literally in awe at it’s detailed ceilings, tiles, pillars, etc., prior to working our way up to the top dome. 500+ steps to get to the top, and Jacke was a little confused why we didn’t take the conveniently located elevator, but we made it. From here we had a 360 degree view of all of London to take in 🙂

Next was the Tower of London. We jumped in on a free tour and quickly found out that England is basically full of a bunch of savages. Or at least back then. Half the tour was talking about chopping people’s heads off and flaunting them around town like it was a Super Bowl parade and Jacke was traumatized. None the less, it was a great history lesson and our tour guide gave us plenty to chuckle about. We dispersed from the group to visit The Crown Jewels, which are located there as well. These are some of the most expensive and historic jewels in the world, owned by the Kings and Queens of England and have been around since the 17th century… probably not the best place to take your girlfriend, but I told her not to get any ideas!

Next we visited the Market Borough for lunch. Hard to imagine this place has been around since 1756, but it was an amazing place to sit down and eat, and had so much energy. Countless options for every person’s pallet preferences, plus a nice assortment of drinks available. Jacke got a pint of Stella and I got a Wheatgrass smoothie, so of course I didn’t hear the end of that…. Finished the day with a tour of the Tower Bridge (see, not doing too bad with the London Pass). This was really cool to walk along given that it’s been in operation for 123 years and is the world’s most iconic bridge! It was really cool… until we walked upstairs and teenage girls were moving people around like someone was having a heart attack, “BACK AWAY PEOPLE!!!”, just to take selfies…laying down on the glass floor like a photo shoot…. on a floor that 10K people just walked on (and are TRYING to walk on). HA I hope you get a cold.

So that’s about it. We are now hanging out in the room and debating what to do tonight. Surprisingly, we haven’t had to spend too much on food as everything seems reasonable compared to Iceland. We were able to hit up a local Tesco (grocery) for dinner and wine, for less than a Bloody Mary or beer at the tomato farm in Iceland. But anyway, one more day with the London pass until we then switch to the free Museums, as almost all of the museums are free here.

Takeaway from London: my t-shirt wardrobe is no match for the guys here, as they all look like they are dressed by a GQ stylist. I’m over here looking like the angry dad yelling from the stands at the child who just missed the ground ball in a tee ball league. Ah the life of a backpacker 🙂

PS. we keep trying to upload photos (both Iceland and London) but for some reason they won’t load all at once and the internet takes forever…working on it!! Until then… Check the Instagram