Hackney

After starting the evening in a nice, relatively quiet pub, and chatting with a few other people who were part of the group, we moved on to the next place. It was more upbeat, a bit more crowded, but nice enough. I wasn't even sure how many bars we were going to, so I made sure to pace myself, and some places even gave you a free drink, which was quite nice; it also meant that the cost of the pub crawl basically paid for itself. The next place ended up being more of a club, so not quite my style but they were playing some memorable music from the 90's, so my new friends and I went on to the dance floor and "got down." As I found out, there were only four places on this pub crawl, so not quite what I anticipated, and definitely not what I thought when the final place we were taken was a full blown club. I had fun with the other people in the group, but ultimately, the antithesis of my style. Of course when I decided to go back to the hostel was when I realized how late it was, already past midnight. Unfortunately that meant that the underground had stopped running, and the fastest that the bus could get me back would be almost another hour. So instead of taking public transit I decided to, in a fashion that would make a New Yorker proud, stick out my arm and hail a cab. Thankfully the cab driver saw me and made the people trying to steal my expertly hailed cab move along, and we were on our merry way; we even had a lovely conversation. Finally, I arrived at my temporary home, and just before one in the morning. Of course I didn't head right off to sleep, and I ended up talking to the front desk clerk for another hour, and then actually helped a former (quite drunk) employee get back home with a guy driving. You've got to love the safety conscious. I did actually end up getting to bed, but not before realizing that I had lost my scarf somewhere along the way, but if that's the worst thing that happened it seems like a pretty great evening.

Waking up in the morning, much earlier than I thought I'd get up, I decided that I'd take a slow day of packing up my things, and enjoying my last full day in London. After a filling breakfast I was on my way to mail back the souvenirs I'd picked up in London, went back to Poundland for some funky flavors of crisps (chips). On my walk back through the drizzle, I saw a shop serving what looked to be very tasty chicken wings, and realizing it was well past my normal lunch time I stopped in. For five wings, chips (fries), and a drink I only paid £2.50. I also love apple soda now. It was super filling, but what was most surprising was the spice level. I may not have the most impressive tolerance for heat, but I manage to hold my own, and although I'd ordered mild there was still a punch of flavor and had my lips tingling three bites in. I can't help but wonder what the super hot would have tasted like.

Now, to brag. After a week staying in this hostel, and chatting with the staff during my time here, getting to know everyone a little bit better, I was told that they want to play Settlers of Catan with me. They actually wanted to play with me last night, but because I was out, they waited until tonight. It really makes my nerd heart sing, not to mention making me feel super included, and further instills how much I've absolutely loved meeting these people and staying at this hostel.Read more