Last London Post

FRIDAY- We woke up early to shower and grab some breakfast before taking the tube to where we were going to meet Rena's sister Sharon and her friend Ben. We got bloody lost on our way to the hotel (with our huge backpacks). Sharon and Ben arrived at the hotel after we did and there was lots of sister-ly hugging while Ben and I akwardly looked at each other. Actually, Ben was outside smoking and Sharon gave me a huge hug too.

After we settled into the hotel we all ate lunch at Garfinkels and I finally got to eat the fish and chips that I had been waiting for. Yummm. We then made our way over to Dali Universe- the Salvador Dali museum. It was great until we all got a terriable case of exhaustion and needed a caffeine break. Thank goodness there was a Starbucks next door and we could all indulge in our drug of choice.

After Starbucks we went back to Harrods- to get a gift for Sharon and Rena's baby cousin and for general Harrods enjoyment. We bought 2 pound appples (no, not how much they weighed, but how much they cost!)

Now being the Rabbinical student that I am, I had made plans to go to services on Friday night. Except that I didn't really know where they were. So we got lost. Then I found out that we were in a different part of London and about an hour's tube ride from them. So I scracted services and we started searching for a place to eat dinner. Long story short, we got very lost (are you sensing a theme here?) but finally found a little Italian place to eat. Our waitress was Brazilian who spoke Hebrew in London. How cool is that?

We ended the night at a sports bar with a few drinks. Cab back to the hotel. Sleep.

SATURDAY- One thing that I so miss in Irsael is being able to sleep in. I rarely get to do it. But on Saturday we woke up just in time to get our complementary breakfast and then went back to sleep. Around noon we finally ventured out to walk around Notting Hill and find some food. After omlettes and coffee we walked through the huge outdoor markets and in and out of the little shops. Before we knew it, it was time to go. We had gotten tickets to another film from the London Film Festival- this time a French film. Well, it was all in French and terriably depressing. We left in need of a major pick-me-up.

Sharon suggested sushi and since she was buying dinner, how could we say no? After some logistical troubles (me leaving my bag at the movie theatre and us having to go back and get it AND getting lost on the way to the sushi place) we finally settled in for a great dinner. Sharon over-ordered for all of us and after a few glasses of the house wine we were all feeling a little better.

After dinner we returned to the sports pub from the previous night. Good times had by all.

SUNDAY- our last day in London and we wanted to make it count. After checking out of our rooms we headed over to Speakers Corner- something especially reccomended by my friend Matt when planning our trip. Speakers Corner is basically the best (and worst) of free speech. Anyone can get up on a chair or ladder (or soapbox) and talk about whatever they most. Most of the speakers are speaking about religious issues- you should believe, you shouldn't believe etc. One man was holding an Israeli flag- Rena and I both realized that we were both a little homesick and were ready to go home.

We made a quick stop at the British National Gallery so I could see one of the originial Suunflower paintings. A final coffee stop and it was time to get on the Heathrow Express (like the Hogwarts Express!) toward the airport. We had a final goodbye dinner with Ben and Sharon and then made our way to Terminal 4 to catch our 10 pm flight.

We arrived in Tel Aviv at 3:30am, were back in Jerusalem by 5am, and asleep by 5:05am. Ahhh vacation.

It's been almost three weeks since we returned from our London adventure. But due to the immence amounts of homework, classes and other random activities, it feels like a month ago already! It was fabulous- more than I could have expected from my first trip to Europe! Hope you enjoyed hearing about my trip! Love to all who are reading!