2 pubs later and we're professionals

Tonight Hannah and I decided to tackle a pub for the first time. We got dressed up and headed for Gloucester Arms on Gloucester Road near our flat. We walked in and were not sure what the heck to do! Their idea of eating out at a pub is much more laid back than we are in the states. We decided to seat ourselves and proceeded to look over the menu. After about 10 minutes we decided to take action. No one was serving so I headed to the bar and tried to play it off like I just wanted a drink. I ordered a glass of wine (because I had no clue what kind of beer to order!) and I casually asked how/where we should order. The bartender had no clue what I was asking and just giggled and walked away. Great. So I headed back to the table with my 4.5 pound(currency. No, it wasn't heavy) drink. A couple minutes later Hannah made her move and tried the same thing. She was much more successful! She ordered a drink and placed an order. I then went back and ordered my first meal at an English pub. Want to guess what I got? FISH AND CHIPS. I just couldn't resist! We spent close to 3 hours just talking and relaxing...it was wonderful. Even though we looked like stupid Americans, we figured out the system. The atmosphere in the pubs here are very low-key and no one is pushed out the door. If you want to sit all night, you can. It was great!

We headed back to the flat and met up with our whole group. Our kitchen/living room is the hang out so far because it's big and can hold us all pretty comfortably. We all wanted to go out together and soon learned that this is next to impossible. London is a huge city but everything here is small. We tried to go to a pub called Janet's. Well, we should've known. As soon as we walked in, the smell of a nursing home and the pink walls made us turn right around. Mom, you would've loved it though. It definitely was "London through the back door". If you want a martini when you get here, we are definitely visiting Janet :) After unsuccessfully finding a place we all could go, most of the group headed for the tube stop and a night on the town. 6 of us though were not up to taking the tube for the first time at 11:00pm and have to navigate the bus system on the way home. We found an AMAZING pub called The Stanhope Arms and got a drink. The girls all ordered a "Berry Christmas" (vodka/cran) and the guys tried out an ale. We had a blast! The atmosphere was very chill and we all just talked and laughed...we had a great time. Last call is 12:00am at the pubs so we headed back to the flats.

One last bit, Hannah and I were pumped because we were stopped on the street today because someone wanted directions!!!! We looked enough like Londoners that someone actually asked US! A friend of mine who studied here last year said that you've made it when someone asks you. We were on cloud 9 when she asked :) (Let's not mention that she was clearly from a foreign country and we had no clue where it was she wanted to go!)

Ultimately, a fabulous day in London. Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings :)