LONDON!!!

Well I am back safe and sound from London. The plane ride back was ok except that I could not really sleep because I kept waking myself up - once I heard myself snore and the next time I could tell my mouth was hanging open. To make matters worse, one of the times that I woke up, the stewards (yes, they were all males) were standing right by our row handing out drinks. I know they saw me drooling on myself = )
Anywho, I had an amazing time in London. It seems a lot like the US only with an accent and royalty. I got in very late on Wednesday night (essentially Thursday morning). My friend Patrick(who has been studying with me in Granada) was in London on Thursday as well. We toured together and saw many things. We saw Hyde Park, Buckingham Palace, the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, the London Tower, Tower Bridge and London Bridge (and no, it was not falling down like the popular song goes - though it is the 7th official London Bridge and so lots of others have indeed fallen down before this one). Patrick and I had a very busy day but the best part had to have been going to see Wicked that night at the Apollo Victoria Theatre. Even though I have seen it before, it was still absolutely marvelous. It was off to bed after the show as Patrick had to be up very early to continue on with his travels in Munich, Germany.
I spent the day touring by myself on Friday (first time in my life I have ever done that). I went to the Globe Theater and got a picture and saw the River Thames. I went on a 3-hour walking tour through the old-city part of London. It was long but very worthwhile and informational. We saw the business district, the Bank of England, St. Paul's Cathedral, Millennium Bridge, and much more. It rained that afternoon and so I did some shopping. That night, I went to see The Lion King at the Lyceum Theatre. It was wonderful - it's amazing how the costimes are designed so that the people look like animals but you can still see their faces and you don't lose all aspects of the human quality. The music was amazing and I am so glad I got to see it. Friday night, I met up with a friends of my friend Liz (who studied with me in Granada as well) who is studying/working in London right now. There was a private going-away party in the upper part of a pub for one of his friends and so I felt like a VIP tourist or something for going to a private party in London though I had only spent two days there. It was fun to meet Will (Liz's friend) and some other American's studying there.
Saturday, I got up and checked out of the hostel and went to the British Museum. It was cool but I didn't stay for long as my attention span just wasn't prepared for a museum. I did a bit more wandering/souvenir shopping, ate some lunch, then went to catch my bus to get to the airport.
Now, it's back to Granada until Tuesday night and then it's off to the U.S. for me........