so i flew out of dublin on friday morning. dublin airport is surprisingly easy to navigate, so i ended up at my gate quite early. once i flew in to london, everything went smoothly until i had to find my hotel. well, smoothly only because i asked a million questions to every info desk available.

britt: umm... so how do i take the tube?

info desk: you buy a ticket. then get on.

britt: oh! okay. so... can i buy a ticket from you?

info desk: yes.

britt: great! then where do i go?

info desk: just down there. follow the signs.

britt: fantastic. and what do i do with my ticket?

info desk: put it through the machine at the gate.

britt: okay. i think i've got it.

info desk: great.

britt: so where do i go?

it was painful. but i found it! it's funny when, at home, your skytrain system is up high so you can see it, and we really only have one line. and it's on the honour system so you don't have to put your ticket through any machine to get on. come to think of it, the skytrain is kinda weird.

anyway, i finally figured it all out. i got a day pass for the underground and became an expert by the end of the trip.

i made it to my stop where, apparently, my hotel is "just across the street". i ended up circling the block a few times before asking someone. in my defense, it was NOT "just across the street". anyway, i finally made it to the hotel which ended up being very nice. i dropped my stuff off, cleaned myself up, and headed out for a day of adventure.

i looked at the map to plan out my journey (we all know i hate to take maps out on the street, and i needed to be organized because i only had 2 days to see everything) and went out on my way.

then i turned around and saw something i recognized off in the distance!

how convenient that everything you want to see in london is very tall.

so i went to see big ben...

which is a lot bigger than i had anticipated.

and then i stopped by westminster abbey as well...

westminster abbey

behind that i could see the london eye just past some buildings so i walked towards the lights and finally found it as well...

by the end of the day i was really tired (it doesn't sound like a lot of walking, but it really was) and hungry, so i hopped on the tube and went back to the hotel. i had no plans for friday night, so i looked in my london book and found what looked like a cute little jazz bar in soho. i went for dinner at a little italian place near my hotel, then caught a cab to soho to go for a few drinks.

anyway, i ended up staying way too late and having some drinks with the band. then i headed out before their last set around 2.

now, i knew i had heard of soho but couldn't really remember what for. on my way out, there were SO many transvestite prostitutes and weirdo guys with old cars trying to convince me they were taxis. thaaaaaaat's why. but i ended up getting a *real* taxi and made it back to my hotel safely.

the next day i woke up semi-early with a bit of a wine hangover. but i had many more things to do and not enough time to do them in. so i headed for the tube on my way to baker street and madame tussauds. the line wasn't so bad at madame tussauds, so i stood there for about half an hour before realizing there is about 2 hours left of the line once you get inside. but i had already put the time in, so i waited.

then i got to party with my good friends...

the pope...

and my new boyfriend, ronan o'gara...

did i not mention i was dating someone from the irish rugby team?

okay, fine, they're made of wax. and, to be honest, madame tussauds was a bit of a waste of time and money. but apparently it's such a big deal. i was a little disappointed.

so i left before the thing was over, and headed towards the pier and the london bridge.

so i walked across it. and then back.

by this time i had walked so much again that i was exhausted. i went to find a tube station and head back to get ready for the show.

i still wasn't sure whether i was on a list for billy talent or not, but i figured i might as well go and try. i got ready, and headed out to brixton (which also has a bit of a reputation for being a rough area... why do i choose these places?).

i ended up sitting outside for quite a while, because the doors and the stage entrance were both closed. as i was sitting there, i realized that i was probably the oldest person there... and i wasn't wearing enough chains or black makeup... or converse shoes. but i was there!

i ended up getting in. and the show was possibly the best thing ever. and i'm not just talking about concerts.

once i got in, i bought a beer, and sat down. and once i sat down, this group of guys came and decided i was lonely and needed company. they were nice... but once they saw i was drinking, they said "wow!! can you buy us beer???"... and the drinking age is 18! i felt ancient in that place.

but then the band came on...

and made it all worth it...

they played all the songs i wanted to hear. and they were filming their live dvd that night, so i'll get to buy it and say i was there! how fun!

ben with backlighting.

anyway, so the show ended late, and i had to wake up at 6 to catch my plane back to dublin to work at 4 in the afternoon. poor planning, i know.

i woke up about an hour late, and hopped on the tube back to heathrow, still thinking i had enough time. but if you recall my last encounter with heathrow, you'll remember we don't have such a good relationship. i got to the airport, and ended up getting off at the wrong tube station. once you are in the wrong terminal at heathrow, you're screwed.

so i found the express train to the other terminal, cried for a while, and ran like hell once i got there. i went to check in and found out that my plane was delayed anyway. good news for catching the flight, bad news for getting to work on time.

it ended up being delayed about two hours, but i did make it home and to work on time. exhausted... but on time.

so then katherine and adam, two of melinda's friends from home, were staying with us for a few days. they were lovely and lots of fun. too bad i didn't get to spend much time with them because i was working every day, but we did go out on tuesday, which was their last night in town.

kat, adam, melinda

melinda showed us how she can fluff up her hair and closely resemble the "hedgehog crossing" sign outside the museum...

Melinda being a hedgehog

then there were some modeling poses such as "smaller jaw, and big lips"...

model poses

and well as "fire in the eyes"...

needless to say, we had a great night.

britt at the temple bar

and since then, it's been work work work.

but now is day 1 of my 4 day weekend! i was thinking of going to berlin for a few days, but i got tickets to the cheltenham trial day at the naas racecourse tomorrow, and i REALLY wanted to go. so i'll go to berlin some other time, this weekend is for horses!

giant hats and pearls are appropriate, right?

so morten and i are off to the races tomorrow. big fun! i'm sure there will be some stories from that as well.

it's really inconvenient that i can't access my blog from home. if anyone knows how to fix it, please help. otherwise, you'll just have to deal with the long and rare posts.

(also: we're coming up on 6 months!)

written by  girlbits on February 24, 2007 from Dublin, Ireland
from the travel blog: a britt in ireland.
Send a Compliment

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JUICY STORIES!! I WANT JUICY STORIES!!!

you promised.
:(

written by  angie on February 24, 2007

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Great pictures from London!!! And the concert!!!! It's like I was there....and incredibly happy that I wasn't! As for that new boyfriend,Ronan....although he seems nice enough, I'm a little worried he may be a bit of a dummy.

written by  Pops on February 27, 2007

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Hi Britt,
Seems like youre having a great time in Dublin and in London. Nice pics by the way.

cu on St. Patricks
Thomas

written by  Thomas on February 28, 2007

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