Sorry it has taken me so long to write about my trip to London but hopefully you have checked out my pictures and can see how much I enjoyed it. It was a wonderful weekend yet very exhasting. Traveling from Groningen is a bit of a challenge, but we made it. We started by taking a bus from the train station to another train station. Took three hours worth of trains (managed to switch trains at all the right stops), took another bus to the airport. Flew to London (only 50 mins) and then another 45 min train ride into London where a friend from back home met us.

We were luckily enough to have a place to stay and a wonderful tour guide for the weekend who showed us the ins and outs of London. i was amazed of how big London really is. We saw all the big "touristy" attractions of London. We went on the London Eye, climbed the tower bridge, saw the tower of London, Big Ben, St. Paul's Cathedral (even saw a wedding going on!), Buckingham Palace and even Platform 9 & 3/4 (Harry Potter).

The best part of having a local with us, was seeing all the places we wouldn't of known to go to. Some of my favorite areas were the Camden Markets, Covent Gardens and Piccadilly Circus. We truly experience many different parts of London. We did a ton of walking and were experts at riding the tube by the end of the weekend. In four days I think I had been on every form of transportation besides a boat: bike, foot, train, bus, double decker bus, london taxi, tube and plane. Coming from a small town, I am adjusting to public transportation quite well. However, I do miss my car at times (especially while biking in the pouring rain and wind).

Overall, we had an awesome weekend and experienced what most people do in a week into two days of sightseeing. It was a great first trip and I am excited for more. The only downfall was catching a London cold, I have been a little sick all week but still keeping busy. We have another class bus trip this Saturday to see water management of the Netherlands. Did you know that 20% of the Netherlands is below sea level? Better yet, that 20% of land holds 60% of the population. Quite interesting! However, I don't think our professor realized he scheduled this excursion on St. Patrick's day. My Irish friends are not very happy, so we are going all out in green attire for the trip!

Hope all is well back home in the USA. Time is flying by faster everyday. Speaking of time flying by, a week from today I will be in Italy celebrating my 21st birthday. Can't wait to share photos and stories from Pisa, Cinque Terre and Florence. In the mean time, leave me a message about what is going on back home with you, your family or any exciting news from the US. It is great sharing my latest stories but it is nice to hear updates from friends and family back home!