London and Stonehenge Excursion

Our voyage was to begin in London, and then to transfer to Southampton via a bus from the Hilton London Heathrow. My roommate, Alaine, and I made our way to London two days prior to the embarkation to the MV Explorer on Saturday 24th. I flew from Philadelphia International Airport on the evening if Wednesday the 21st. I arrived in London the morning of the 22nd, around 6:15am. Alaine flew in around noon, so for the time being I caught up on some sleep and found the hotel. By the afternoon of the 22nd, many people from SAS had checked into the hotel. In addition, the students who had just completed the summer voyage had just checked in as well, because many had flights out the next morning. Needless to say, the hotel was filled with SAS enthusiasts.

Alaine, Amy, and I traveled to central London in the mid afternoon. We bought a Tube day pass, because that is truly the most effective way to travel London, and the most cost effective. We took the Tube to Picadilly Circle. We ventured towards Trafalagar Square, then to Buckingham Palace, through St. James Park, towards Westminster Abbey and the Parliament building (Big Ben). Let me just say that I absolutely love the sound of Big Ben's chime. You can hear it quite a bit away too! Many people actually do not know this, but Big Ben is actually leaning. Quite like the Leaning Tower of Pisa, just not as drastically.

We continued on towards the Thames riverside past the Eye towards Millennium Bridge and Shakespeare's Globe Theater. We crossed the bridge and went to St. Paul's cathedral, which is one of the largest churches in the world. At this point we were quite hungry,so we ate at a pub close by. I had a handsome helping of fish and chips, because I felt quite obligated to do so (as I did both times I have been in London). After dinner we made our way back to the hotel. A word of caution to people who are not familiar with the tube, traveling from zone 1 to zone 6 takes give or take an hour, so plan accordingly! Once we returned to the hotel, we checked with the concierge to see if they had relocated one of Alaine's duffles, because they had lost it earlier in the afternoon. Of course, luck be our lady, it was still not found. Therefore, the concierge staff reassured Alaine it would be found by tomorrow.

Like everyday, tomorrow came. They could still not find her duffle, so for the time being, we went along with the plans we had made. Alaine, Amy, and I took the tube to find an Alexander Hotel, where we arranged to be picked up to take a tour of Stonehenge. Unfortunately, our tube had made us late, and we received poor directions twice (among many people saying that they had never heard of such a hotel). None the less, we found the hotel at 8:30, forty minutes after we were supposed to be picked up. I noticed on my iPhone that I had a missed call, however I could not call the number due to the fact that I do not have an international phone plan. So the lovely task of finding a phone booth became our mission. Of course in London phone booths are everywhere, as the stereotypes informed us. However, the stereotypes did not tell us that some phone booths only do direct calls to other phone booths, quite strange, I know. In addition, any stores or hotels of go into will not let you or are unable to let you to use their phones to call someone. Nonetheless, I found a pay phone where I called the tour company and explained our situation they allowed us to take the afternoon tour at 1:45.

In the meantime, it being only 9am, we ventured to King's Cross Station to pay a visit to Platform 9 3/4 (like in Harry Potter). We stood in line and got our pictures taken with our chosen House scarf on, running into the wall; needless to say, I was thoroughly amused! We then trekked to the Tower of London and Tower Bridge, which is so stunning, no matter how many times you see it. We then went to the meeting location for our afternoon tour to Stonehenge. It took us nearly three hours to get there due to traffic. Apparently, England is doing a bit of construction in order to create a new visitors building at Stonehenge, and therefore they have to shut down one road to do so.

Stonehenge is quite a spectacle. It really is a wonder of the world that everyone needs to see once in their lifetime. It was so amazing to see something that was made at least four thousand years ago. Here's a fun fact for ya: the post stones (vertical stones) have little semicircles on top so that the lintel stones (horizontal stacked stones) can fit onto them like Legos so that they stay together!

Once we left Stonehenge, it was a little less than a two hour commute back to London, and then the hour Tube ride back to our hotel. The concierge still had not found Alaine's luggage. Eventually, after looking at security footage and talking to several managers, Alaine and Amy were able to go shopping in London at 2am to buy Alaine new clothes. The hotel had given her money in place of her luggage and lost goods. A word of advice, do not leave your luggage unattended, especially if you're staying in the hotel! Also, don't trust a hotel who keeps luggage for people who aren't even checked in! (The Hilton had stored luggage for many SASers who were staying in hostels until embarkation). Try to stay smart with your luggage and keep it with you until otherwise incapable. I know it may be inconvenient to remain at your hotel until you have your belongings in your room; you're in a new city and you want to explore, I get that. Just keep in mind what may happen to you, and consider if it is worth it.

In summation, the first two days of over 100 we quite eventful! I can only imagine what is yet to come!!!