Birmingham and London

Whew. What a day. 

I woke up and took a shower this morning.  It was interesting... Not the actual showering part, but the way you turned water on and off.  It was electric with a big button with the power symbol on it and two dials.  One had three settings - a snowflake, two steam vapors and three steam vapors - and the other had degrees one through ten.  It was interesting hopping in and out of the shower spray because it was too hot and then too cold then too hot then too cold.  I eventually did get clean and repacked and went to breakfast downstairs. 

They had authentic English tea and I paired it with apricot jam on toast and a banana.  Nothing opens in Birmingham until 10, so I hung out and watched some British movie that was... interesting... before going to the bus station.  I got info on how to get to London (18 Pounds vs 80 from the train station) and then went to the train station to go to Cadbury World.  Oh, my was it worth it. 

It was awesome.  They had really detailed sets for the first part, then interactive quizzes and fun stuff and then videos and holograms before going into the plant itself.  It was cool to see the pipes and everything.  Then you went on a ride like the kiddie rides at Disney and saw all the cartoon animals and chocolate eggs and everything.  The best part, I think, was the "Essence" part at the very end.  You went through, heard a little history and then went to the "experiment" room where you could choose a sweet or something (wine gums, gummy bears, rice crispies, toffee popcorn, biscuit bits, and a fair number of others) and then you mixed it into melted milk chocolate.  I got toffee popcorn and it was delicious.  I ate it on the way back to the train.

By the way, if you hadn't noticed, I've gone to every chocolate factory/museum that I could so far... Cologne, Barcelona and now Birmingham.  And Cadbury World was by far the best.

When I got back to Birmingham, I went to this place called the Bull Ring.  It's basically a giant shopping mall and then next to it is a flea market and a fresh foods market.  I wandered around for a bit and noticed signs for "CSI: The Experience."  Having decided I wanted to go into forensics, I was super psyched and went in.  Basically you went through basic training in crime scene investigation (very basic and only partially realistic) and you had to look at and solve three crimes.  One was a car running into a wall, one was a dead waitress in an alley and one was a skeleton found in the desert. 

You went through, diagramming the crime scene and then going through toxicology and DNA analysis, electronic retrieval and ballistics science and all the different areas needed to solve the crimes.  There were interviews with real crime scene specialists and the actors from CSI also played a big role in the videos.  Also, they had information on how all the science works and everything.  It was really cool.  I won't give any solutions away, but I scored perfectly when I had to relay what I had found to my "supervisor" Gil Grissom (via computer programming) and was went an email with my very own CSI diploma. 

Then I went back to shopping a bit before going back to the hostel to repack and go to the bus station.

I just want to say that I've spent a lot here, but I've also gotten a lot of stuff.  I went to Dublin with my purse fitting in my bookbag and still having it only half full.  Now, I have a gigantic purse (that I got at Penney's) and my bookbag both fully packed and my purse separate.  I'm not sure how much more I can get, but I like what I've gotten, and I hope everyone likes what I got for them. 

So I took a bus from Birmingham to London.  I sat in the very front row and had a great view.  I slept for a bit and watched the countryside. It's interesting because the speeds are in kilometers per hour but the distances are in miles.  I think. It was rather confusing. 

London is dirty and no one is helpful.  Even asking for directions or help, no one pays attention.  They have a McDonald's, Burger King and Subway on literally every corner and many American foods on the shelves in the grocery store.  They have internet cafes that don't have phone services and can't tell you where you can find somewhere that does.  They do have Krispy Kreme in the main train/bus station, and, though I started crying when I saw it, I had to get one.  I had forgotten how good they were. 

I'm not looking forward to London except for the fact that there's an awful lot to do.  Hopefully I can do all of them and be home before dark because it's not a very nice place.  I am in an upscale neighborhood, by the looks of it, but I'm also by myself and no one is helpful.  I have two full days before starting new classes. 

Oh, and why is it I ALWAYS get top bunk? Except for when I want it? Or when it doesn't matter? Top bunk never has any place to put their stuff or a table or floor to put glasses/water/alarm clock on.  It's annoying.  Only times I got bottom bunk were in Venice, when top bunk had a shelf and a person who kept me up all night and in Birmingham, where it didn't matter because you were in a pod and you honestly couldn't tell if you had top or bottom bunk once you were in it.  Anyways, I'm off to another rickety top bunk.

Goodnight, world.