Hey, it's Lisa. So I am here in the lobby of our very first hostel in London! The flight went very wellyesterday, it was smooth and I was able to sleep for a couple hours so it didn't feel too long even though it was 9 hours. It took us a little while to get out of the Gatwick Airport but then we took the train into London. I have decided that I love the train. I may not think so once I have spent a good chunck of the next two months on the train, but right now I like it. You can sit back and just enjoy the scenery. Once we arrived at the train station it was a 10 minute walk to our hostel which is in a gorgeous area. The streets are lined with white townhouses and the area is clean and safe. We arrived around 8pm at our hostel and after checking in and lugging our backpacks up the 5 flights of stairs (its at this point that I really wonder if I should throw out some of the stuff in my bag or send some stuff home :P) we settled in and then went for a walk to find food. By this point it was almost 10pm so most of the pubs weren't serving food anymore, but we doung a place that was pub-like and got ourselves a burger and pint. Yumm.

Today we were up in time to have breakfast at our hostel and then we walked up to Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guard. We arrived there just in time, but there were tons of people already there so we got to see the guards coming in and out of the gates but couldn't see inside the gates. I think Rachel and I have pictures of the entire event on our cameras! From there we walked up to Traflagar Square and then Picadilly Circus, and I was continuously impressed by the architecture. Also, I think there are more tourists in London than there are locals, but it makes it really fun to people watch and try to figure out who is a local and who isn't. We also stopped by the National Museum and saw a bunch of really cool paintings by Van Gogh and Monet and Rembrant. From there we started walking back to the hostel via the scenic route along the Themes. And so here I am...

Tonight we will probably wander around along King's Road and find a place to eat, hopefully an English Pub.

Tomorrow we have to take off really early to go to the airport to fly to Amsterdam. I'm really looking forward to Amsterdam because I think the trip will really have started... we'll be a different countrey with a different language and its a place that I'm not as familiar with it as I am London (because of movies and pictures etc). We are also meeting up with Garreth, one of our friends from home in Amsterdam which will be a good time.

Alright well my time on the internet is ticking down so I had better get going, but I just wanted to let you know that everything is going well, our hostel isn't a brothel or a drug house and that we are quickly learning that we are beginner backpackers with alot to learn, but that's ok!

Lisa