London with Grace: Day 2 (22/5)

London is so magical

Our second day in London started off uneventful- we woke up at 9:30 and ate breakfast in our hostel before hitting the town. Our hostel was fairly close to Westminster so we started there. As many of you know, having photo shoots with my sister is one of my favorite things to do so we climbed on a lamppost on Westminster bridge and shot some pictures...

...actually I was kinda chicken so Grace climbed on the lamppost first.

And we posed while people stared at us.

Precious

And while we were shooting photos....

...we took the necessary London snapshot.

Grace on Millenium Bridge

After taking a bunch of pictures we began a stroll down the Thames, crossing it at Millennium Bridge. Grace saw Shakespeare's Globe Theatre on one of our maps (I usually carry around mulitple) and said she wanted to check it out so that was our destination.

Here are some facts we learned while on the Globe Theatre tour:

• Shakespeare's Globe Theatre was made with all the original materials, including a thatched roof. The original Globe's thatched roof lead to its downfall when a flaming ball of rags used as a cannonball during a performance of Henry VIII got lodged in it and set the roof on fire. Thatched roofs are banned in London (because they are a fire hazard)but this replica is allowed to have one.
• The Globe Theatre's season is from April to October. Shows are not longer performed in the winter because the actors and the audience are exposed to the elements, which brings me to my next point...
• The actors perform during the rain. The Globe is somewhat doughnut shaped and therefore the stage can get rained on, but the show must go on.
• Actors who perform in the Globe have to learn to "play the building." Because they do not use mics the thespians must learn where the dead spots are and how to make sure they are heard throughout the entire house.
• We also got to watch some actors rehearse (Henry VIII)

After the tour we got matching bags that say "All the World's a Stage" in the gift shop.

We had already accomplished one "must" in London (taking pictures in a phonebooth) so up next was mastering riding the Tube. Grace and I bought a day pass for the Tube, got a map, and descended into the bowels of London. Our first destination...

Abbey Road

Our second destination...

Platform 9 3/4

We worked up an appetite visiting all these tourist attractions so Grace and I bought a ham and cheese sandwich to split at King's Cross. After that we were pretty tired so we decided to head back to the hostel so that we could nap before seeing Billy Elliot.

London-Day 2: Whirlwind Tour

After our less than perfect first couple hours in London on Saturday night we were ready to do some major sightseeing in the city. In the morning light everything looked better. We packed everything we possibly could into our four days in London so prepare to be impressed considering we walked about 30 miles over the whole trip just to see everything.

First up, Parliament. This is easily my favorite sight in London because it is so impressive and very English.

I fell in love in London. His name is Ben and he is really tall.

And right next door was Westminster Abbey. We didn’t go inside because it was kinda costly but it was stunning outside.

Up next, Buckingham Palace and I wasn’t impressed. Sure, it was big, but not ornate or particularly palace-like. It kinda reminded me of the Field Museum. We returned the next day for the Changing of the Guard, also not that impressive.

Calvary

And whereas Buckingham did not meet my expectations, Harrod’s far exceeded them. I just thought that Harrod’s was a place to go while you are in London, but it turns out it is the Disneyland of department stores. And it was Valentine’s Day, so although I did not have a Valentine I could give myself a special day.

Brittany and I got an ice cream sundae in the food court and it was heavenly. The atmosphere was just perfect and the sundae was delicious. I just love Harrod’s! I’m hoping to marry rich so I can fully enjoy all it has to offer.

Another highlight of Harrod’s was the Toy Kingdom. All the toys and colours and toy demonstrations were magical. I could have stayed and looked around for hours. We ventured back to Harrod's on Tuesday so more Harrod's pictures to come.

Next up on the Brittany and Claire Whirlwind Tour was Piccadilly Circus to pick up our London Passes which gave us free entry to attractions and fast access. Then we started mastering the tube so we could go to…

Platform 9 ¾!

From Harry Potter!

When we got to King’s Cross and located Platform 9 ¾ there were just a bunch of tourists standing around taking pictures. Well leave it to Claire and Brittany to start the trend of pushing the cart. I did however get too enthusiastic about pushing it and accidentally pushed the bar down which cut up my fingers. But I do have a great picture of myself entering Platform 9 3/4.

And while we had a day pass on the tube we ventured to the most famous crosswalk in the world!

Abbey Road is quite possibly the most dangerous tourist destination ever. It is a lively street and people are running out into the middle of it. They will then spend a decent amount of time positioning themselves to look like the Beatles, then their photographer will sprint out into the street to snap more than one picture, possibly providing critique about how to hold their arms throughout. Notice I did not pose because I felt bad stopping traffic and didn't want to risk my life. Perhaps when my family joins me in London we'll take our Christmas card photo here.

One of the traditions here is to sign the wall outside Abbey Road Studios, so like a good tourist I did.

And then we rode the tube to the hostel. One curious thing about the tube was the lack of “Mind the Gap” signs. A voice did come on the intercom and say “mind the gap” while people were entering and exiting the cars. I have to say that I have pride in our tube achievements over the weekend because you name it and we can tell you how to get there on the subway.

After a long day of sightseeing we had some pepperoni pizza at the London Bridge Hostel that was surprisingly delicious for being made at a hostel. We journaled a little and reflected on the day before getting ready to hit the town for Valentine’s Day, but I think that is a story for another post.