Final South America post and London

So its been a week since my last blog, things have been pretty busy! I'm borrowing Craig's laptop which is a nice change from paying for the internet.
So the last night in San Pedro we went star gazing, it was really incredible, we went out to the desert and the sky was soo clear and the astromomer who was our guide was really funny and he taught us so much about the stars. Then we took turns at looking through telescopes to see galaxies, particularly bright stars and Saturn. Saturn looked unreal because you could see the rings around it.
The next day we took a 24 hour bus to Santiago, it was a slow day trying to find ways o pass the time. the bus was quite a nice one but we were all feeling very sore and stiff from the sand boarding adventure the day before. Unfortunately when we got off the bus for a food stop a passenger stole Nats backpack, Anthea's money belt and another passengers laptop. They don't know which passenger stole it so it all needed to be claimed by insurance.
We arrived in Santiago at 8am the next day, and we spent the day at the police station and the NZ embassy trying to arrange for Anthea to get a new passport. And i got my legs waxed. That evening we had a BBQ at the hostel.

The next day we went for a wander in the Bella Vista area which was really nice. We went to markets, out for lunch and then to a famous poet, Pablo Neruda. It was a very quirky and interesting house and our guide was really knowledgable on Pablos life. He was a real romantic and built the house for his mistress. The house was built like a boat and there is another part built like a lighthouse. Then we had coffees at the cafe next door.

That evening we went on a mission to find a McDonalds, the first time i had eaten McDonalds since i came to South America (other than sundaes) It was pretty average in the end. The we went out drinking. We didn't head out til 1am and the bars were still quiet. The first bar we went to was called bedrock and was themed in the style of the flintstones, it looked cool but the drinks were horrible. although they were very strong. We then headed to a club and stayed there til about 5am. It was a really good night

The next day was my final day in South America but we didn't get up til 12 cos of our big night. Anthea, Chris and I went into central Santiago and walked up this beautiful hill that had rock walls, stone stairways, statues, fountains, and a castle at the top. There was a really nice view of the city up there too. Santiago is soo smoggy that you can hardly see the mountains that surround it. We then slowly made our way to the plaza stopping at shops, markets and food places along the way. we tried some mini empanades which were delicious, bought some fancy chocolates and i got a new jersey too. By the time we reached the plaza it was dark. but it still looked really nice and then we caught the subway home. It was a really good day.

The next morning i was still getting ready when my bus transfer arrived, it was 20mins early so I had to rush around getting my stuff together and saying goodbye.
My flight was pretty nice, i got a personal tv screen which was a first for me so i got to watch whatever movie liked. The first flight was only 3 hours to Sao Paulo and then i had to wait in the transfer lounge for 6 hours before my next flight. i wandered the shops, read my book, wandered the shops again, tried all the testers in duty free, read my book, listened to my mp3, read my book and eventually it was time to board. This flight was 11 hours and again i had my own screen so i passed the time alright, The inflight food was pretty average but thats to be expected.

I arrived in london and found a significant lack of customs staff. all i found was an empty room with a phone on the wall which you had to pick up if you had anything to declare. Then i had my first experience on the London underground. It was surprisingly simple. I caught the piccadilly line to russell square. I loved that everyone was speaking english again and that i recognised the names of so many station names.
That evening i bought dinner at the supermarket in order to try and spend very little money.

Yesterday Nic and Craig arived in the morning and we grabbed a free map and explored the city. We saw so many famous landmarks. such as Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Trafalgar Square, Big Ben, the London Eye, the Globe Theatre, Millenium Bridge and St Pauls Cathedral. We also went to see a matinee show of Wicked for only 20pounds which was pretty cool.

Today i went down to the shops at 9.30 and only one shop was open, French connection. I thought i'd takea look around while i waited for other shops to open but i ended up buying a pair of jeans, they were a little pricy but i really did need another pair of jeans since the weather here is a bit colder than i expected. So its completely justified. Then i bought a pair of converse shoes cos i'm sick of wearing sneakers. And that brings me up to date.