DAY ELEVEN:

I wrote in my journal,

I slept like a rock last night; like a rock that developed human needs and decided it needed to sleep.

I need to work on my similes. Anyway, today was the day that I would say goodbye to UKSA. A very sad moment, because I think UKSA was my favorite part. It was a great bonding and learning experience, and I will remember it forever. One bad thing that did happen was a real shocker, though. I unloaded my suitcase from their storage room, and to my up most horror, the wheel had broken off! The people that had handled it had snapped it off on accident, and they even put the broken wheel in my suitcase for some twisted memento. Well, there was no way that I could fix the wheel, or afford a new suitcase, so I was stuck with carrying a forty pound black monster around for the rest of the week. Not fun, but at least I had a suitcase!

We said goodbye to our instructors, a sad moment indeed. I will especially miss Freddy, the adorable one who was willing to kick himself in the butt for 50 pence if he was "in the mood".

We had a very long walk uphill to our ferry. I would rather not relive that, because, well, it was very hard. I was so thankful by the time I got to the ferry. One male delegate carried my suitcase to the storage room. I love men with their arm muscles and their chivalry . . . of course, that kind of thing happened twice in the trip.

The ferry ride was about an hour. I occupied my time by reading Water for Elephants. It was pretty good. I might write a review about it someday in my other, much less updated, blog. We landed, hopped on our bus, and headed to London! London is my favorite city that I have visited. It's smaller than I thought it was, but it's really cool.

Parliament building!

We went to the Imperial War Museum.

It was so interesting! Very, very informative, and really big. Like all others, I didn't get to stay and look at all I wanted, but what I did see was very cool. There was one exhibit dedicated to the life of children during WWII, and it was a real eye-opener. One fact I found interesting was that children were given the biggest portions during the war. They were given meat and vegetables to promote growth. Grains were not recommended because they were harder to digest, and were only given as supplements. I would really like to visit the place again and see what I missed.

Next up, London Eye! I think it's one of those things that everyone wants to do, and it was so amazing! The line didn't take long at all, due to our P2P privileges, but I think that it would have gone fast anyway because the people working the lines are efficient and the capsules are massive.

London Eye from a distance.

We got into the capsules in no time, and we were soon enjoying the wonderful view.

Me in the capsule.

Shortly after this picture was taken, someone said, "Esther, you are so funny!" And I was like, eh? And she said that she thought it was cute how I always smiled so wide. I don't even notice that I smile so wide.

Me and my gal pals!

We got to the ground too soon! Although the ride was about thirty minutes long. The London Eye is the largest Ferris wheel in the world after all!
We had dinner at a fancy pizza place. The food was delicious, but I could have eaten even more! It started to rain as we left for our bus, and I forgot my rain gear. I got wet, but it was also really fun walking in the rain.
Our hotel was a Hilton, and it was wonderful! My roommate and I got a whole room to ourselves, and the beds were big and comfy, and the bathroom was spacious and clean. We were so excited that we opened up a bottle of water as a toast to our happiness. Shortly after drinking the water, a girl came into our room and pointed out that the water was 4.99 . . . Huzzah.

Another great day.