London Bound. Day 1.

I have been planning this past weekend since the week I arrived. I could not wait to visit London and it has been the top of my 'to visit' list, right below Ireland. And it was amazing.
This is by far my new favorite city.

So early Friday morning, my housemate, Steph, another American, Joseph, and I hopped a flight to London. And I mean early. But once we got there, the limited sleep was so worth it. Our hostel was in this cute area near Kensington, right across the street from the Natural History Museum. As we waited until it was time to check in, we decided to explore the museum, which happened to be free. And I know, I'm in London, what am I doing in a museum? But it was actually really random and fun to kill an hour there. 

Natural History Museum.

After we got settled into our lovely hostel, we made our way into the city to see the sights. I thought it was very fitting that our hostel was off Gloucestor Road (Gordon!) and I was pretty excited that I knew the correct pronunciation so we wouldn't look too much like tourists!

Big Ben really was HUGE!

The London Eye

(BTW- best Nutella&Apple Pancake ever)

I was expecting (and prepared) to wait hours to ride the eye, but it surprisingly did not take long at all.  It was the one and only thing I wanted to do in London, if I did nothing else. And now I got to check it off my bucket list! It was the most amazing 30 minutes on a ferris wheel! We got there right at sunset and saw the entire London skyline with the most gorgeous backdrop and by the time we got back down, all the lights on the buildings were lit up. So pretty. 

Westminster Abbey

After walking around Westminster for awhile, we made our way down to Piccadilly Circus to grab some dinner. I had my very first fish&chips at a great Texas BBQ place (ironic? yeah..) But it was delicious anyway! 

Piccadilly Circus felt like Times Square! It was so lively and there was an M&Ms store, which I of course dragged everyone into. It was fantastic. I felt like I was back in the Big Apple.

It was a great first day in London, but we were all exhausted by the end. I could seriously post pictures all day. But because its midterms week and I have actual schoolwork to do rather than blogging, I guess more London adventures will have to wait!