London-Day 3: Photoshoot and French Fries

After seeing Billy Elliot and Wicked Brittany and I took the tube to Westminster to gt some pictures of Big Ben and Parliament lit up at night. These are some of my favorite pictures from the trip (and I was still riding my Billy Elliot high) and whenever I saw Big Ben lit up I began to sing "You Can Fly" from Peter Pan. Enjoy!

We took the tube the rest of the way back to the hostel and I was famished so I asked the guy working the front desk if there wee any food places open this late. He pointed us in the direction of Micky D's and I booked it there. The last meal we ate was a snadwich around 3 pm and we did about 8 miles of walking (plus stairs) so you can imagine my need for food.

Adventures continue in London-Day 4 

London-Day 3: A Workout

View of me and Big Ben from the Thames

(Reminder that you can blow-up any of the pictures by clicking on them.)

After a decent rest in the Journey’s London Bridge Hostel and their lovely complimentary breakfast we started out for the day.

Honest Abe, the second American president I have seen while being in Europe.

Brittany and I were determined to see everything we could in London so that meant that we could not let the elements detain us. Every day I wore a sweater, my fleece jacket over that(actually it was Grace’s Northface that she let me borrow), and my black trench over that. Many days I could take off the fleece and just stow it in my backpack. I also wore long underwear every day and when we went to our shows I wore two pairs of nylons to keep my legs warm. Long story short, I did not want to be cold and have that detract from my London experience.

Another obstacle we had in London was the lack of crosswalks. This may sounds like a small issue but we walked about thirty miles in total throughout the four days there and every time we jaywalked I feared for my life. I did not want to get smashed by a double-decker bus.

Finally, we kept meeting people who wanted to be our friends, from the nice Aussie at the hostel, to the very intoxicated Turkish girl at the Icebar, to the genuine creepers that were all over the place. I don’t think we formed any long lasting friendships.

And back to our day on Monday. The day started with a trip to the Billy Elliot box office to pick up my ticket for that night’s performance that my parents gave me for Valentine’s Day (and I am very thankful but more on Billy Elliot later.) After getting the ticket at 10 am we headed over to Buckingham to get situated for the Changing of the Guard that was supposed to happen at 11. We got front row viewing which was a positive but the Changing of the Guard itself was kinda bland. Not a lot happened, just some music and some synchronized movement. The most entertaining part was the hats that the guards were wearing. Where they walked in a straight line back and forth I could not stop thinking of the Winkies in Wizard of Oz.

After the Changing of the Guard we headed over to catch a cruise down the River Thames that was starting at Westminster. The cruise was nice and meant less walking. It had commentary which I always appreciate and we departed the boat at the Tower Bridge.

HMS Belfast and Tower Bridge

Tower of London

First up was the Tower of London. We did not spend a long time here because it was something that seemed to require a lot of time, especially seeing the crown jewels which had an extremely long line. We had a lot to see that day so we just went through and saw the carvings on the cells left by prisoners and the memorial to all those executed there.

Traitor's Gate

For a place of torture and execution, the exhibit at the Tower of London had a strangely juvenile feel. There were people in costume and well as a lot of interactive sort of exhibits for children. I was already getting a bad vibe from the place where so many met their end but then to see how kid friendly it was bizarre.

And then we were off the St. Paul’s. St. Paul’s was quite a hike away but I think it was worth it although Brittany was dubious to begin with. We waited in line to get in free with our London Pass and unfortunately we couldn’t take picture inside, although it was breathtaking. We then began the 528 stairs up to the top of the dome.

The first stop was the Whispering Gallery at the base of the domed ceiling (second largest in the world) but we could not hear each other whisper due to the organ music in the background. Next we got to the Stone Gallery, and here are some pictures from there.

After the 528 we reached the Golden Gallery which had beautiful panoramic views of London. It was worth the jello feeling that remained in my legs for an hour.

We were feeling quite hungry after scaling the dome of St. Paul’s so we headed over to Marks & Spencer for some sandwiches which we ate on our way to the Tower Bridge Exhibition.

The Tower Bridge and its views paled in comparison to St. Paul’s but the exhibit itself was interesting. It took them nine years just to decide on a design for the bridge! And once a double-decker bus actually had to jump the gap in the bridge as it was raising, just like in Spice World. The worst part about the Tower Bridge was that we had to climb more stairs.

After browsing through the Tower Bridge exhibit we hightailed it back to the dock just in time to see the boat pulling away. No worries, a cruises comes every 30 minutes so we just journaled a little while waiting. It had gotten very cold while we waiting and as we were queuing it started to snow. We piled onto the boat and promptly fell asleep. We had planned on walking back to our hostel from the dock at Westminster but we were too tired from the day and opted to take the tube. It was a good decision. We didn’t want to be tired for seeing our shows that night in the West End.

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.