June 3rd was an absolute whirlwind of London-ness. I got up early to run and explored the area around our hotel a bit better. We're staying in Kensington, which is the royal borough, and we're real near a bunch of museums, like the Museum of Science and Natural History and the Victoria and Albert. My IT band had bothered me running in Bloomsburg, but it was only a little sore in the beginning of the run before going away so I was really happy :)
The hotel breakfast was amazing, nothing like the cereal bar I'd been expecting--I got hashbrowns, bacon (aka ham), fruit salad and a croissant!!! Yummm. After breakfast we all packed on our bus to jamb pack the main London attractions all in one day. We had a new tour guide today in addition to Yvonne, an older woman named Sue who was a guide specific to London. Yvonne and Sue immediately clashed heads, which was entertaining to say the least.
We drove all through the city, past Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, Big Ben and the London Eye, and Westminster Abby! The bus dropped us off at St. James' Park, where we walkes to St. James' Palace to see the beginning of the Changing of the Guards as they departed for Buckingham Palace. I'd already gone to see the Changing of the Guard when I was in London before, and this was a better view of the guards, so that was really cool to see up close. Sue led us around by holding up an English flag, which was pretty awesome.
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Changing of the guard at St. James's Palace
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| Buckingham Palace |
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After that it was back to the bus and over to see St. Paul's Cathedral and the Millennium Bridge (aka Harry Potter bridge)! It was definitely weird being back in all of these places where I have already made memories...made me feel very nostalgic for last summer.
Lunch was absolutely delicious--we went to the Earl of Sandwich, which is run by the family of the actual Earl of Sandwich, the first person to put meat between two pieces of bread to have a free hand. I got the Montagu, which had roast beef, turkey, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, cheddar and swiss cheese. Yuuuummmm!
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| Best. Sandwich. Ever. |
We got to go to the Tower of London after lunch! Last time I went I spent six hours wandering the grounds and seeing everything, so I was slightly concorned with how we were supposed to see it in just an hour and a half, but it turned out alright. I was less worried about rushing to see everything because I knew I already had. Also got to see the beautiful Tower Bridge, which did nooot have the Olympic rings hanging on it this time around!
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| Tower of London |
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| Our group posing in front of Tower Bridge...note Sue on the left with her English flag |
Our bus was a good half hour late picking us up, so we missed our dinner reservations and were set free to find our own food, which actually turned out pretty cool. Went to a pub with some peeps and got a British beef and ale pie and a Crabbie's! Definitely a nice relaxing atmosphere to get excited about going to see Wicked!!!
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| Got to see Wicked!!! |
Walked to the theatre from the pub and the whole place was decked out in green lights, which gave it a cool sort of feel. And the show was absolutely amazing. Didn't really know what to expect, but I really really loved it!! So shocked to find out at intermission that the witch was being played by the understudy!!! Makes me wonder how it usually is if it was this good with the back-up!
Totally exhauuuusted from the long day, basically cramming most of the touristy things of the city into one day, and I was happy to get to sleep.
Until next time.
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