Paris for Christmas, New Year's in London! Part II

So this is the story of how a wonderful vacation turned into a nightmare.

Originally, I had no intention of joining the rest of the group for New Year's in London. I had already been to London for my Fall Break and I didn't feel the need to go back. But being surrounded by everyone else over Christmas made me really want to be with people for my New Year's festivities. After all, it was the one holiday that my friends and I would always celebrate together back home in Hawaii. So I bought a $200 plane ticket to London during our stay in Paris and to a certain extent, I was actually looking forward to doing all the things I never got to do during my Fall Break. But within days of spending time with everyone in our apartment in Paris, everyone came to the realization that even though we all share the same/similar majors, we were all so very different. Deidre's insistence that she shouldn't have to pay her 3 euros worth for the white bread and white pasta that she didn't eat was causing much frustration amongst the people in the group. Michelle's calculations to divide the cost of groceries was getting confusing. But overall, Paris was a nice trip. Things started to go downhill with the realization that even though they were going to London via train, they still needed passports. Alexis, who had joined the rest of us two days later had left her passport in her boyfriend's pocket and he had taken it back with him to the Netherlands. So Alexis couldn't go to London. I chose to meet up with everyone two days later. 

From L to R: me, James, Dawn, Logan, Kristen, Sam, and Deidre. 

Big Ben at midnight!

Fireworks over the London Eye

Before I even set foot on British soil, I realized how big of a mistake I had made. The hotel that they had booked for London was a ways out of the city center. No one could pull out cash from the ATMs. Anna's card was eaten by the ATM machine. They couldn't afford to pay the hotel for the number of days they had booked. No one knew how much they had to pay for the hotel. The hotel was shitty. By the time I arrived, Dawn had decided to pay her share and leave. Anna and her boyfriend had booked a different hotel for the two of them. I went with Dawn to her place in Reading. Michelle had contacted James without telling anyone and had secured herself housing for her and Shannon. Logan, Kristen, and Deidre were left by themselves. To add to this mess, I discovered the day before I flew out to London that I could not transfer money into my checkings account and was limited to just 80 pounds for a week in London. And if you know London, 80 pounds will get you nowhere. 

Dawn's parents booked a hotel room for her and a friend--me--for New Year's Eve. Dawn had told me that it was cheaper than the hotel option that Michelle had (100 pounds for 3 nights). Once we get to the hotel, I find out that her parents had booked the Sheraton hotel which I would have to pay her 70 pounds for one night. 70 POUNDS FOR ONE NIGHT! 

But New Year's Eve! Everyone was hyped up for the 15-minute firework show that would overlook the London Eye. Dawn and I met up with James, who had separated from Michelle and Shannon, and we were camping out for the show (none of us wanted to). We managed to find Logan, Kristen, and Deidre amongst hundreds of people camping out for New Years festivities. It was great to catch up with them because the whole point of this trip was for all of us to be together. 

Big Ben struck midnight, fireworks blasted over the London Eye, people were cheering, New Years hugs and kisses all around us. The end. It took Dawn and I four hours to get back to our hotel (at least public transportation was free for the rest of the morning). As great as that firework show was, it was not worth the $200 plane ticket + the 80 pounds I spent on transportation + the 70 pounds on the hotel that I was barely in. New Years in London made me realize how much I missed being back home in Hawaii and my family and friends. But I can't complain because how many people can say they spent New Years Even in London--at one of the biggest New Years festivities? I am truly blessed!