London with Rox

Roxanne (my lovely girlfriend) arrived at Gatwick Airport in London last Sunday from South Africa, and it's been a hectic week of 'touristing'! Trying to fit more holiday into our trip than we have time for takes it's toll on you!

First off, we headed back to the flat in Colchester where we spent the afternoon walking around town and enjoying first world surroundings - we took walk through our local park at sunset (which is at 9:30pm).

The next day we spent in Colchester's buzzing High Street area where Rox could let rip on the shops! A lunch time visit to Colchester Castle and Castle Park, followed by meeting up with the guys (and gal) of our flat. We then hit the local pub for a drink before we had a 'Friends' type evening at the flat, filled with laughter, mockery and good times.

London was the next order of holiday! It never ceases to amaze me with its history and atmosphere embedded in its centuries old walls. With the first stop being Big Ben, the London Eye (big white bicycle wheel next to the river) and a bus tour, we walked out of Westminster station and straight to the feet Big Ben! The Eye gave us a great view of the layout of the city, and was a good time to then head on the bus tour. Driving in the city really makes you realise how great those old architects were, without machine and electronics! The old city is solid and gigantic.

We then headed to Madame Tusaudes to see the stars in wax. The models are creepily human-like! The attention to detail is remarkable. Every hair and wrinkle is accounted for! Included in the many rooms of hundreds of different models from cinema to sports and royalty, you also get a ride, a 4D experience and a trip through the house of horrors, which has real actors scaring you! All well worth the money!

We then set off to the Ice Bar where we had a reservation for a drink and supper.

The Ice Bar was incredible, built by the same people from Ice Hotel in Sweden, it is a bar made completely out of ice! We had our free cocktails out of ice glasses and drank them in the -5deg bar, admiring the craftsmanship in the sculptures and walls.

Luckily the whole place is not ice, so we left the cold room and entered the restaurant for a proper meal! The whole experience, also, worth every cent!

That's it for day 1 in London - quite a full one! I'll get to day 2 tomorrow;)

We are now waiting for our kick start meeting in London for our Contiki tour of Europe tomorrow. More photos to upload!

Cheers!

Photos coming just now...