Oxford Circus, Picadilly and more awesomeness

Hello again!

And so we continue. The sun rose on Friday the 13th and we didn't have a care in the world. We woke up, ate some breakfast and went back to sleep. Because that's how you should roll when you're on vacation. We didn't have any schedules nor plans. Just decided to see what each day would bring us.

We started our day slowly but steadily. I, for instance, explored the magnificent world of British game shows. We don't have many game shows in Finland. It's such a shame, really.

Pressure Pad

After everyone was ready to go, we headed to Oxford Circus. There is a restaurant we've been before and decided to go there since we knew it's a good place. Franki and Benny's. It's a Italian-American restaurant near Oxford Circus underground station. You should definitely visit if you're ever in London. It's good and pretty cheap.

Pizza margherita, spaghetti bolognese and chicken ceasar wrap. Yum!

We never figured out what was going on in the restaurant, but there was a photographer that took pictures every few minutes. Maybe it was for their website or something, we'll never know. Once our bellies were full we headed towards our next destination, Picadilly Circus. We wandered around for a while, walking through Soho. We walked through Carnaby Street and found few souvenirs there.

Carnaby Street

Me and Pia have been to Picadilly Circus many times before but this was the first time we sat on the fountain. So a new experience for all of us. Then it was time to take a bus towards Elephant and Castle.

Why there, you may ask. Well... I did mention that B.A.P. was performing in London too, right? And that we bought tickets there as well? Heh :) Now you now. And I know, many people may look at us and think those girls are out of their minds and we are taking it too far. But really, come on. This was once in a life time experience. And in the end of the day it really doesn't matter what other people say. All that matters that we prayed, asked God what He thought about this and all we felt was complete peace.

We had seated tickets so we didn't have to worry about waiting in line. We went there, saw the line - which was about three or four times longer than in Finland - and stopped in a little cafe in Shopping Center that was right next to the Coronet. It wasn't a big, fancy mall. Quite the opposite. It was one of those malls that has seen its better days, most of the shops empty. But thankfully there was this cafe where we could sit and relax. 

Coronet

We sat in the cafe for about an hour, hour and a half. Then it was time to get in line, because we didn't want to be the last ones inside. Fans in London were more mature compared to the fans in Finland, so it didn't feel so strange to wait in line. We didn't stand out so much, but blended in like motherfrigging ninjas. It took about thirty minutes to get inside. It was a rather chilly evening, but we are Finns. We are used to cold. Bring rain, bring wind and snow, we will stand where we are and not move. 

So we went inside, found our seats and sat down. Next to me was a nice lady who started to talk to me. She told me how she was super excited and nervous, because this was her first kpop concert. She was adorable. I told how how this was our fifth kpop concert and that she was in for a ride. Because there is a certain atmosphere in these events. You can't really explain it, just experience it. Unfortunately I couldn't continue talking to her, because we were in wrong seats.

Imagine our surprise when we finally found our right seats and realized we could take photos and video. We have no idea why it wasn't allowed in Finland's show, but it was allowed in London. It was such a shame, because we left Pia's camera at our apartment and she has the best zoom. We had to manage with our phones, but we got some decent photos and videos. Here's some of them. Quality isn't the best, but you can see something in them :')

                                                                               

I know it may sound silly, but it was like a different concert. In Helsinki we were standing and the stage was close, but because we weren't in the front row, we obviously couldn't see clearly. There were heads and hands and a stupid balloon blocking us from seeing everything. But in London, because our seats were high and we could see the whole stage from up there, we could see without any obstacles in our way. And we saw every dance move. It was so awesome! We have zero regrets. Absolutely none. We got to bless these talented boys twice. And also hundreds of their fans. Booyah! That's how we roll, baby.

So that was our second day. Third day started pretty much the same. Slow and peaceful morning. No rush. No worries. 

Leggo!

This was our shopping day, but first we needed to get some fuel. So we took a bus, walked for some time and to Honest Burger it was. This was a new place for all of us. It was small, but nice.

Harrod's. But that Lamborghini though

Burgers, man!

London is a shoppers paradise, but unfortunately shopping is not our cup of tea. We're just not made to go from store to store and look at every single item in sale. Just no. But we looked at every store that looked like it might have something we like. Our energy left us soon enough, but we didn't give up, but fought until the very end. Bravely to the finish line.

Hiccup and Toothless! :D

I was the most successful in my hunt. Miia and Pia scored zero. I found the coolest mug in Disney store. It's a Captain America: Civil War mug, a real beauty. Also a Team Cap t-shirt from HMV. And a pretty flower dress from Forever 21. And a cute bag from River Island. And a few other things. It was go big or go home. I went big. Pia and Miia couldn't go home. 

But that day was nice, even if we were tired. That feeling when you've walked all day and you get home and put your pajamas on and fall on the bed... Yeah. That feeling was glorious. 

That night was spent watching the Eurovision song contest. 

12 points go to...

Excited audience :')

And that's it for now. See ya next time!

No place like London

Here we go again!

Hello, hello. Long time no seen! It's been a little over six months since our adventure in Asia. To be honest, it feels like it's been two years. Every now and then one of us just stops, gets this far away look in their eyes and says Girls... We've been to Hong Kong, and we all just nod with wide eyes. 

Yeah, this feeling won't go away any time soon. So we decided to go on a two week trip to London and Paris. What an amazing idea. Just a side note; I'll be writing this in several parts. And also, this trip was almost a month ago. 

And like before, we placed everything in God's hands. Every booking, plan and thought was made knowing that He would once again, without fail, guide our steps and keep us safe and sound. Let me tell you, planning a trip is so much easier, so much more fun and relaxing when you don't have to worry about hundred different things that could go wrong. Because we know He's our shield. Even if there will be problems, He already has a way out.

Everything started in March when it was announced that B.A.P. was going to be touring in Europe in May. B.A.P. is (once again) a Korean boy band. We've been their fans for years so it was kind of a must to go to their concert. And to our everlasting amazement Helsinki, our capital, was one of their tour stops. Tickets were bought faster than you can say supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. After that plane tickets were bought and hotels booked.

But why should we stop there? Might as well take a Eurostar train to Paris. We've talked about this train journey for a long, long time and now was the time to finally make it happen. 

So! On 11th of May it was time to take another adventure, this time a little closer to home. We live in Tampere so we had to take a bus to Helsinki. Our bus departed at 7:50AM and was in Helsinki at 10:20AM. Let me tell ya, it felt so good to put our backpacks back on our backs (:'D gosh).

We had a fabulous start to this trip. B.A.P. held their concert in The Circus and that was our first stop. The show started 8:00PM so we had more than enough time to spend. Thankfully we didn't have to stand in the line the whole time. They had this system where we got bracelets with a number on it. Every few hours there was a check-up, but other than that, we were free to wander around Helsinki. 16:30PM was the last check-up and after that you had to stay in line.

We ate, drank some coffee and tea, and took our backpacks to our hotel. We spend one night at Omenahotelli. Our flight to London was the next day.

Waiting in line. Peace of cake.

Time went by surprisingly quickly. After spending 14 hours at Hong Kong International Airport, few hours in a city feels like few minutes. We met many people on this journey and first of them was Tiia-Maria who was next to us in line. It was nice to have someone close to our age to talk to. Most of the other girls and boys were teenagers, a little bit too hysterical and too excited. But Tiia-Maria was a super nice person and we had fun time laughing and talking.

The show started on time and it was awesome! Me and Pia have been their fans from their debut - Miia was slowly introduced to the world of kpop and now she is civilized - so it was so epic to finally see them live. It was worth the wait.

Unfortunately it was forbidden to take photos or videos so we don't have any pictures to show you from the actual show. Just these two.

We got lightsticks!

Here's a music video for you to enjoy! ;)

The show lasted about two hours. After that it was time to go to our hotel and get some sleep. We had to check-out by 11:00PM. Our flight departed 17:05PM so yet again we had time to kill. We stopped by Tokmanni to by new shoes for me, because I was a genius and took my converse's that sometimes kill my toes. They did just that in less than 6 hours. So some shopping and then some lunch until heading to Helsinki Airport.

Shoe shopping

Lunch at Rosso. It was so good :P

Helsinki Airport

Norwegian. Our good old trusted friend.

Elli, Pia, Miia. Power Team once again on the move! :)

The flight was fast and easy. We arrived 18:00PM local time. Me and Pia have been to London before. In fact, this was our fourth time there, but Miia was a rookie. This was her first time. But because me and Pia have been there so many times, everything was familiar. By now getting to the Central is almost like a routine. Train tickets to Central, top-up our Oyster cards and by underground to the hotel. 

But this time check-in was a little different, because we didn't have a hotel. My Apartments Kensington Hogarth served as our home in this big city. There wasn't any reception counter or any lobby where we could go to. We couldn't get inside, but we'd been in contact with the staff and they were expecting us. We just weren't sure what to do when we arrived there. There was a door buzzer, yes, with a word reception, but no matter how many times we buzzed, no one answered.

That window on the left, that was our apartment.

Just pretend you know what you're doing. They'll never know.

So, a little lost and helpless, we sat on the stairs and waited something to happen. When some people might panic a little and curse, we were like cool potatoes sitting there. And you know why. Because Jesus would help us. And that He did.

It was funny, actually. We waited 30 minutes before something happened. We sat there, looking tired when this couple comes and stops in front of us for a second. Then they walk up the stairs, looking at us and the first thing they ask is where are we from. Finland, we proudly answer. Then the woman asks are we coming or going, and we explain our situation to her, saying we are checking in, but no one is opening the door and we are a little lost, not sure what we are supposed to do. The man offers to fetch the receptionist for us, because the reception office is right next their apartment door. The kind woman offers to stay with us outside and tells us how they've been here a couple of days and they are very pleased with their room. She explains how everything is super clean and tidy, but it is rather hot in the room. When the conversation stops, I decide to be brave and ask in return where they are coming from. Turns out they are all the way from United States, near Washington, Seattle. I was like cool, that's awesome. We've never met anyone from the States before. By that time the man comes back with the staff and finally, finally we reached our second stop.

Check-in was pretty fast, nothing to complain about. Our room was clean and tidy like the woman said. It was hot, but thankfully we had a fan to give us some relief. 

We relaxed for a moment, but we had to go to a nearby Tesco to get some food. We were about to leave when there was a knock on the door. For a moment we thought it was the receptionist guy, but imagine our surprise when it was the lovely lady who helped us get inside. She brought us sugar puff pastries and a big bottle of water. It was such a surprise that for a moment we were speechless. She was so kind, suggesting that we might ask to move to upper floors, because there were some empty rooms. She said that if we need anything, anything at all we could come to her and ask for help. She promised they'd do anything to help us out. "I'd do anything for you, girls", she said and explained how she has three sons and now we were like her daughters. 

She was so adorable, I can't even! We've never met anyone like her. I mean, even we wouldn't do something like that; and we want to be kind and gentle to people. But this woman takes the price. Lord, we want to bless this couple and ask that you repay their kindness. Thank you! Gah ^^

But that was just our arrival and I'm going to cut this here. There's many more posts to come with many lovely pictures.

To be continued! :)