Ever since I was small, I've always wanted to visit London, especially because it's so well-known along with Paris. I've always visualized London as a pretty big city, full of people, stores, markets, food, the big red buses, the oh-so-famous telephone booths, noises, cars, the list could go on and on. Going to London someday always seemed like a dream to me... And yet here I was! :) I wasn't wrong either... London is a big city, but I never expected it
to be so jam-packed, bustling with people and cars, and THIS huge!
Our tour guide told us London would be the biggest city we would see, but this was not what I had in mind. The very center of London is known as the "city", which is like Downtown. There's also an East End and a West End, which are completely opposite of each other, so far apart. By actually walking around and touring, I realized that a city couldn't get bigger than this. Even though we visited the main sightseeing spots all-over London, there was still so much left to see! It would probably take days or even weeks to do so... London is a beautiful city! I love it!
Waking up on the midnight train was definitely something different! I've never been on a midnight train before, only a Metra, so this was a big change, especially cause we had cabins, too. Limited space, a non-working sink, a bunk bed, and a bathroom completed on the other end of the wagon... I had a goodnight's sleep though :) As soon as we met our tour guide, Nikko, at the train station, we got onto our coach bus and started our bus tour. Now, keep in mind that we were all still tired from the night before, our backs aching, and feeling all disgusting as there were no showers on the train... 
Anyways, Nikko stopped at another train station, which had a recreation of the 9 and 3/4 platform from Harry Potter (the wall he runs into to get to Hogwarts from the train station). He also led us to the bridge that was used in the filming of the Half-Blood Prince. I have to say, there are a lot of Harry Potter related things in London! Even the main street with all of the shops from the first movie. We stopped at a bunch of other buildings and churches, which remain a big part of London's history. 
After our tour, we checked into our hotel and got time to take showers and get ready for the rest of the day. We had lunch at Hummis Bros... It was interesting. I ate lunch, but I have to admit, even though I eat almost everything, I'm not a big fan of Hummis... But at least I tried something different :) Not too soon after, we went on a walking tour around London, seeing everything we didn't get to see earlier by bus. It was a long walk to get everywhere... We had free time in the Camden Market, which was a lot of fun, as there were a lot of stores and markets here! The Market was still covered with Jubilee decorations, which was a big celebration in the past week or so, we missed it by at least 2 days...
Then, we walked around some more, walking down the main street, visiting many famous landmarks and buildings, Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Square, walking through Chinatown, and then finally wandering through the sketchy part of the city... and many more other places! We even found a couple of telephone booths and fit 6 of us in there! We were definitely cramming! Joe, Jack, Hannah, Jessi, Maureen, and I had a blast getting inside the telephone booth! It was fun :) I've always wanted to do that! 
Theatre is a huge part of London's culture! We had a chance to see a live musical at the Pheonix Theatre called "Blood Brothers", which was a play about two twin brothers that got separated at birth, trying to find their way and who they were as they grew older, eventually becoming best friends and not even knowing they were related. They encountered many problems which resulted in their death at the end. A story about two twin brothers who were born and died at the same time... I loved the musical! It was full of music and drama and dancing... I've always loved musicals.
But to see one in London, one of the biggest theatre cities in the world, was like a dream come true! :) That was definitely a highlight of my trip! I'll always remember it. We took a tube (a subway or underground train) back to the hotel and went to sleep, anxioiusly waiting for our last day of the trip in London...
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