3,611 miles Across the Pond: Winter Wonderland

It seems as though if I am not on a trip to another country I end up in London! Today was no different!! To continue my Christmas filled weekend, it was off to the Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park with Sally and my Australian flatmate, Sophie. It was a huge state-fair like park with rides, games, activities, shops, and lots of food. It is set up similarly to Busch Gardens in that it is organized by country. The rides and games were all European Union themed which was really cool and there were flags and traditional Christmas decorations from each country.

Our first stop was to the outdoor ice rink. Ice skating was a lot of fun though a tad difficult due to the fact that it was 55 degrees outside so there was a nice thin layer of water over the ice making it rather slushy and a bit hard to skate. It was also shaped like a square with a stage in the middle so beginner skaters were on both the inside and outside making things a tad harder. We ended up leaving a little early from our 1 hour skate time since we were burning up!

We then headed to the Magical Ice Castle which was a huge tent that has tons of ice sculptures. On the way over we stopped at the Spanish food stand and got some yummy authentic churros!!

Once we got to the tent we got all bundled up and went into the ice show. The sculptures were beautiful and medieval themed, even including the sword and stone which you can try to pull out! There was also a small Ice Bar where I finally got my much needed hot coco!

After the Magic Ice Castle we stopped by the Carousel Bar and rode a few rides before heading to Covent Gardens to do some window shopping and meet Santa's reindeer! As we got off the underground we decided that we did not want to wait for the lift(elevator) and climb the stairs instead. This was definitely not the best decision, 193 steps is a lot more than it sounds, but we made it and got to the outdoor market to see all of the christmas decoration and the reindeer before they closed.

Since England is pretty far north, it gets dark very early and as we began to head back to Hyde park at 3:30 the sun was beginning to set and we were able to see all of the Christmas lights turn on. The lights are amazing and each area and/or street has its own "theme" for the lights that are hung down them.