This is the tragic tale of my first night in London. It’s a real hot mess, so buckle yourselves in!
I'm drinking a Mai Tai pitcher, clear indication of where this story is headed
As we all know by now, I studied abroad in London. As any 20 year olds going to a country where you can legally drink, we planned on immediately hitting up some sort of bar/club/pub our first night abroad to celebrate. This turned out to be a pretty terrible idea.
My friends and I got dressed in our cutest clothes and headed out to the Covent Garden area. It was pretty incredible to see people everywhere drinking. On the street, spilling out of pubs, it was a heaven for all of us. We made our way into the first bar and had a few gin and tonics. As it got later, and we were slightly buzzed at this point, we decided it would be a good idea for us to go to a club and dance. Now, at this point in my life I had never been to a club that just played house and dance music. I usually go to places where rap/hip hop, top 40s is played so I can really break it down and drop it low. I wasn’t really sure how to dance or what to do so I thought the only “logical” solution was to drink more.
Insert a pitcher of Mai Tai, some rum and cokes, and I was feeling fantastic! My friends and I danced and danced when all of a sudden I decided it was a good idea to buy an entire bottle of champagne. I just vaguely remember saying we needed to celebrate and obviously champagne was the answer.
This champagne stole my soul.
This would also be a good time to mention the fact I was in London during the worst of the dollar value. At the time, the exchange rate was 1 pound to 2 dollars. I bought a bottle of champagne for £35, thinking that was a good deal. I didn’t realize until the next morning I actually spent $70! AHHH!
So after I bought the bottle of champagne, things got realllllly hazy. I remember a guy trying to steal the bottle and drink from it, I remember some crazy guy trying to dance with me, and I remember trying to go to the bathroom. Apparently by this point I was too drunk so they wouldn’t even let me use the bathroom. In turn, my friends and I all had to leave the club. Things got really ugly.
As soon as I stopped moving and got out onto the street, I realized just how drunk I was. I went to sit down and yup…all those drinks just came right back up. I sat sobbing in the middle of the street, in London, drunk out of my mind. I asked my friends if they could call my boyfriend on my pre-paid international phone, and then things really hit the roof. I soon became the drunk type I despise, the hysterical, crying drunk girl. I was sobbing and apologizing and throwing up and sobbing some more. I kept telling Johnny I wanted to go home, and I hated it in London and I was too drunk and…well I was rambling. Cabs wouldn’t even let me in the car because I was too drunk. Epic drunk fail, indeed.
Don't know who the guy was..I barely remember taking the picture! 
Somehow my friends managed to get me up and walk me back to the flat, where I somehow vaguely remember singing Amy Winehouse songs. The next morning, I felt like I had been hit by a truck. We had a bus tour of London scheduled and I couldn’t even go because I thought I might die from the movement of the bus. I couldn’t touch alcohol for 2 weeks.
So kids, what did we learn from this tragic tale of drunken debauchery?
1. Don’t mix alcohol – Gin and tonic, mai tais, rum and cokes, and champagne do not make a good mix.
2. Don’t overdo it – I drank entirely too much. My face was going numb longgg before the bottle of champagne so that was pretty much a terrible idea.
3. Make sure you are with friends – If my friends weren’t there to help, I’m not sure how I would’ve made it home. Don’t hang with assholes who would leave you.
4. Be aware of the exchange rate – I spent $70 on a bottle of champagne. That is all.
5. Learn from the mistake – That night was the most pitiful I have ever felt. I have NEVER consumed that much alcohol again. That one night was the sickest I’ve ever been from alcohol and I never plan on being that drunk again.
Do any of you have crazy drunken stories? Please share!
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
Yeah I’ve mixed alcohol too, and I always regret it. Once I start ordering drinks I hate (like gin) I know the next morning will be bad. I always get really bad jet lag, dizzy, light headed. If I have one drink my first night somewhere (after a long flight) I’m pretty much done. And yeah that exchange rate got me too. You think you’re getting a bargain, but you’re paying twice as much.
I’ve mixed the exact same combo! But, I guess it is the best way to learn
I think the best cure is to drink A LOT of water right before bed; chug it and force it down if you have to. I’ve woken up thinking I’d have a massive headache and end up being okay!
Yeah, that’s definitely my standby…followed by 2 aspirin and maybe a pepto. It’s like I’m getting ready for war! lol!
“They tried to make me go to rehab and I said NO NO NO!” hehehehehe
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!! LOL! This really did make me laugh out loud. And yes, this is the song I vaguely remember singing…how appropriate!
It definitely takes experimentation to figure our what to do and not do. We all pick up lessons from experience!
The only extra thing I would have done is tried to fit in some form of extremely greasy food somewhere in there!
oh man! The greasy food might have saved me…there is nothing like Mcdonalds when you are hungover
I mix alcohol all the time, thank goodness i have never had a bad experience like yours
I followed rule #1 (don’t mix alcohol), but I definitely failed on #2 (don’t overdo it).
When I was in the UK, I got myself into a competition of who could do the most shots. Just like you, I was 20 in a country that allowed me to drink! I was ecstatic, I thought I could be unbeatable at drinking (me, with no prior experience!). 20 minutes later, I had downed *half* a bottle of Bacardi rum. Your description of “being hit by a truck” is very fitting to how it felt! I haven’t been able to drink it since.
OMG Half a bottle of Bacardi in 20 minuntes?!?!?! ahhhhhhhhhhhh! It’s too early for me to even imagine that! LOL!
I totally know what you mean about not being able to drink bacardi since. I can’t stomach gin anymore.
Sad times.
Sounds like a great evening out to me
Like Teresa says, water is the key. Drink a lot of it before you get to bed and you won’t have such a terrible headache the next morning and if you have to throw up during the night it won’t hurt much because it flows better.
Ha ha! This post reminded me of my last night in LONDON with a girl friend! What was meant to be a quiet dinner with a bottle of wine turned into bar hopping with a group of bachelors, up past 4 am then stumbling back to the room. We got back with barely enough time to pack our bags, get on the Tube to make our flight!! My flight back to the States was filled with water and medicine
LOL!!!! That sounds absolutely perfect. I think a lot of people from the study group I was with did the same thing. Go Big or Go Home has always been my motto!
Hahaha, brilliant. Pretty much all of my nights out in university were like that! Once, I was so wasted that I decided to just lie down in the middle of the street for a while. My friends managed to get me up and started walking me home but I needed to stop again and sat on a kerb. My friend ended up knocking on some randon stranger’s door asking for a glass of water for me! How embarassing!
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