London
5th July, Monday
Dear Agnieszka
You'd never guess where I'm writing from. I'm in London-can you believe that? I can hardly believe it myself! You probably remember that I planned to spend holidays in Greece but my plans changed in the last minute! My friend, Ewa, was going to London with her sister who had broken her leg just three days before they were to set off. They had already bought plane tickets so Ewa had to find someone who would go with her instead of her sister. She asked me and that's how I found myself in this fantastic city five days ago. I'm amazed-it's the largest metropolis I've ever been to! The city is very busy with thousands of people crowding in its streets and parks.
We're staying at Bolton Youth Hostel, very close to the city centre. The room isn't very comfortable (we're sharing it with ten other people) but it's cheap. Besides, thanks to satying here, we can meet many young people from all over the world and make some international friendships. Our roommates are from Australia, Japan, Germany, Canada, the USA and from Spain and they all are, more or less, at our age. The German girl is a bit strange; she isn't very eager to talk and she goes to bed before 11 p.m.! I like two Spanish girls; they're very talkative and outgoing and we went to the disco together last night. They really know how to have fun! Ewa and I had a great time with them. They invited us to visit them in Spain so maybe I'll go there this summer, after the return from London.
When it comes to the English, they're very friendly and sociable people. When we went to a pub on the first night after our arrival, many people started a chat with us. They asked where we're from and wanted us to tell them about Poland. English beer is quite good but food...ygh...it's absolutely awful! I've never thought food can be so tasteless. The only good dish here is their famous fish & chips -but how often can you eat it? I've already been missing Polish delicious sausages, freshly baked bread or Polish soups...
I must say that my English is quite good. At first, I couldn't understand a single word when I heard the English talking but now it's not so bad. If they don't talk too quickly, I can understand them well and I can make myselg perfectly understood!
So far, we've manage to see the most famous tourist landmarks of London. So, we've seen Big Ben (do you know that the the bell inside the tower weighs over 13 tons?), Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament, Tower of London and London Bridge. And yesterday we went to Buckingham Place to watch Changing the Guard-it was really a fantastic show! Can you believe that a Guards band played the most famous songs of the Beatles?
We're going to Piccadilly Circus and Trafalgar Square this afternoon and tomorrow we're going to visit Tate's, National Gallery, British Museum and maybe Madame Tussaud's (if tickets don't cost a fortune). There is a lot of other places we'd like to visit but I don't know if we'll manage because we're leaving on Friday. But we still have three days to enjoy our time in this exciting city and we're going to make use of them!
I must finish now, we're going to Oxford Street-I don't think we can afford to buy anything there but, at least, we'll be able to say that we've been there.
Take care and see you soon!
Love
Maggie
XXX
