London: Between Two Bridges

I knew as soon as I arrived that London was much bigger and busier than anywhere else I had been in the U.K.  I could hardly find my way out of the train station at first, but once I figured it out, the subway, also known as the London Underground or “the Tube”, was very easy to navigate.  Not to mention having enjoyable line names such as Bakerloo, Jubilee and Piccadilly.

One of the best things in life is an encounter with an old friend.  Well, I had the opportunity to meet with a group of friends that I hadn’t seen in over 7 years and that I had also met in another part of the world entirely!  Imagine an Ecuadorian, a German, and an American all meeting in London after originally meeting in Brazil.  It was destined to be a good time!

Catching up with Pato and Katha in London, England

When I first arrived I checked into my hostel, St. Christopher’s Village, and was met soon after by my dear friends Pato and Katha.  The hostel was near the London and Tower Bridges so we took a walk along the waterfront between the two.  It was a beautiful night and in addition to the excitement of catching up with old friends we were also fortunate to see the Tower Bridge rise below a nearly full moon.  I’m not certain of how often the bridge rises, but it was impressive.  I am continually amazed with both architecture and engineering, and bridges can be such a quintessential example of both.

Tower Bridge in London, England

We caught up and had a couple drinks before Katha and her boyfriend, who spent the day travelling as well, had to call it a night.  We were near the London Bridge, and I believe that there was a university close by as it was a pretty lively area with many young people out and about.  From there, Pato and I met up with some of his friends, who were also in London for University, and they took me out for an amazing night with a twist of Latin American culture.   Who would have thought I would be salsa dancing until the wee hours of the morning in London!