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So I land in London around 830. I had a bit of a hard time getting into the country. The dude at customs asked who, what, when, where, why, and how I got to london, he asked for all documentation, and drilled me on the purpose of my trip. After all was said and done I was through. I got a local train to central London then jumped on the tube to my new hostel (mind you I got an e-mail from my agent the day before telling me my hostel had changed). It was a about a 5 minute walk that seemed like 20 after my day of traveling with my now even more over packed bag. As soon as I walked down the ally to the hostel I thought I was at the wrong place. There was a huge neon blue light that said "The Generator", there was people everywhere and it seemed like a night club. The first thought to mind was this voice that shouted "GENERATORRRRRRRR" akin to Warren G's "Regulate" ya know the G Funk Era. When I walked in I thought I was in some hostel circus, there were people running around and it was for sure the loudest one I have visited this trip. I checked in and went to my room. I was greeted by 2 french dudes, 2 girls and 4 guys from spain. I forget all the names, but they were all super friendly and was so excited I was from the US. The spent most of the night asking my questions about the US and what I love about it. We shared stories of our travels (its the easiest way to be social) and shared some pictures. It was cool to have so many languages going on at once from the group and were being extremely polite by translating everything they said to one another. After we all hung out for a few of us went to bed and some went out. The next morning I woke up and had some breakfast. On my way to book a train ticket I saw a natural health store and got some tea for my ongoing cold and get pretty excited about that. I booked my ticket, then took the train back to the main squares and had some lunch. I had the best fish and chips ever. It was recommended to me by a local and my expectations were met. The fish and chips were pretty gourmet with all these special relishes they came with along with the 20 pound tab it cost(thats 40 US dollars, I didn't know I was being charged for service and water haha) . After lunch I walked around a bit then headed back to the hostel to get ready for Joanna. I took 2 tubes and a bus over to the Royal Albert Hall and had some dinner before the show. I walked in the venue and my mouth dropped. It was a huge pretty circular theatre that was illuminated with oranges, pinks, and blues. The show opened with The Moore Bothers, then Ray Harper who I didn't know had a huge cult following over here. When he ended his set he had so many kind and sweet things to say about Joanna that was all so true! The dimmed again and Joanna took the stage, the whole place went wild with excitement and Joanna was speechless. The first words out of her mouth were "wow, wow, wow" she then shared that one of the best moments in her whole life happened tonight when she got to see her favorite artist (Roy) sing at such an amazing venue and was in awe when he had such amazing things to say about her. She opened with "Bridges and Balloons" which happens to be the song I first heard from her and fell in love with. I of course start to cry and cannot believe what is going on. I collected myself and enjoyed all of my favorites songs ever all night long. The last song she played was a new one that may have to be my wedding song, it was so so so good my affection for her just grew stronger. Once she was done the entire stadium stood to their feet as the screams and cheers shook the building, a good 5 minutes went by and she had no choice but to come and do an encore. She sang "Only Skin" and the place went crazy. After the show I headed back to the hostel and relaxed before bed. It was destined that I would encounter yet another house with with the loudest snore-gagging-difficulty breathing sleep you could imagine. It was bit of a process getting to sleep but it was achieved. The next day I got up, ate breakfast, got my tea then headed over to Soho for lunch. After lunch I walked around a bit and enjoyed the surroundings then sat down for some tea. I was asked by the gentleman sitting next to me "care for a papah" I responded with "no thank you" and he instantly came back with "where in the US ya from mate?" I sat around for a bit and chatted with Dan about all the best London has to offer. After Tea I headed over to Buckingham Palace and Big Ben for some photos then headed back into the hood for some dinner. Before dinner I had my nose ring cut out and changed finally. Dinner was yummy and dodging people in the street to get to the train was enjoyable as well. The station seemed a bit crowded but I had NO idea what I was in for when I got down to the platform. There was a huge line going up the stairs waiting for the line I need. There was no train in sight so I decided to go up a stop then head back down. The next station wasn't AS bad but still nothing like I have ever seen before in my life. The train started to approach and people started shoving and pushing me out of the way to get on the train, I guess I was not aggressive enough so I missed that one. The next one came and same situation but this time I made it one. I was packed into this tube train like sardines, no joke, I'm talking people eyes, ears, and nose all up in the grill piece! It was crazy! Luckily we had on board entertainment from this wasted teenager trying to get everyone to play sardines. He tried numerous times with a great sense of humor to have people count and try to get to 30, it wasn't happening. I finally reached my stop and headed back to the hostel and showered the day away. I have fallin for London for sure, it has such an eclectic, fun, open vibe and there were holistic shops everywhere! I want to move here.
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