4 Nights in 2 Hostels

I have had the opportunity to stay in a lovely flat for free while in London, however I wanted to get out there and experience the London hostel life for a few days. I intended on just going to one hostel, but unfortunately the first place I stayed was a far trek out of the city and just bloody hot! I am usually not picky, but the heat mixed with the smell of non-deodorized Brazilian men's pits was not pleasant.

After switching to a cheaper/better hostel in central London I was back and ready to go!























This hostel was right along side one of the biggest parks in London, Hyde Park, and because the weather was so warm it was a perfect place to go and chillax during the day! In the park people bring booze. I did not, day drinking is not my thing, however everyone was drinking bottles of everything all day long, and smoking hookah. It surprised me that on a Monday so many Londoners can spend a day in the park and not at work, but hey, who am I to judge. I always just assumed that drinking in public - sans brown bag hiding a beer - was illegal in the USA? But maybe everyone assumes that and that is why our parks are not as liquored up as London's? Nonetheless, I loved sunbathing by the pond and watching the baby ducklings swim along side there mom, or along side their mum as they would say here in London!

Later that night I decided to cook some food in the Hostel and just hang out there for the night. I wanted to meet some of the other people traveling through London. So who do I meet, two German guys that had just come from Paris. And they say in broken English, "There are six more of us." WOAH. That is a total of eight german guys. Which is more strait men in one room than I had seen in a LONG time, being that NYU is slightly skewed towards gay. And when I say slightly, I mean considerably.



Clearly we all had a good time, but now I have checked out of the hostel and I am back in the flat.

One thing that these German's were persistent about was me having the most awesome answer to the one thing that will always make me smile. I told them my first answer, not good enough, my second answer, still not good enough, and then finally my third answer they approved:

The one thing that will always make me smile - are the smiles I receive from people after they participate in my smile project!

And you know what, when people love this project - NOTHING MAKES ME HAPPIER or SMILE BIGGER! So thank you Germans, you helped me verbalize the thing that makes me smile the most!