British Museum and More

This is just a short post of a day with some of the girls from my orientation group and my dear Jesse. We went to the British Museum and saw exhibits from Greece, Rome, Egypt and other displays that had relics from ancient civilizations. This included the Rosetta Stone, which was a lot larger than I thought. Later that day we went on a ferry tour of the Thames River and saw London from a different angle.

Inside the British Museum:

I love having castles in the background of my pictures...That is part of the Tower of London.

This is right over the bridge where the boat docked that took us on our water tour.

This was on top of one of the many double decker bus tours going around London. It was the most embarrassing tourist activity that I participated in but I will admit that it was also one of the best! We saw so much of the city, the tickets were a free part of our school's orientation and my feet weren't killing me afterwards! Along the way there were the many famous monuments but we also saw Margaret Thatcher's Rolls Royce parked outside of her apartment (she was home!), the street that Mama Cass and Jimi Hendrix lived on and places the Beatles visited. We also went by Prince Williams home (yet another castle), the Ritz that serves a cup of tea for 35 pounds ($75) and the Hilton that was supposed to be 33 storeys but was lowered to 28 because the Queen didn't want anyone looking into her backyard...It was great and I think that the background of this photo makes us look cropped in.

Traditional Sites

The tourist activities are mandatory when visiting a nation as old as the United Kingdom and so here I continue with some of the famous sites in London. This includes the Tower of London, Big Ben and Westminster. After the Tower of London my mom and I went to the new Globe Theatre and saw the Merchant of Venice. The acting troupe was really good and our seats were right over the stage. I wasn't able to to take any pictures but it was one of my favorite experiences so far here. The round theatre was completely outdoors and so it got a bit chilly but it was exciting thinking that we were seated in a theatre designed exactly like the one that the famous playwright worked out of. It was rebuilt because during a performance of Henry the Eighth the actors failed to predict the consequences of lighting off a real cannon through a straw roof and burned the whole place down. Shakespeare may have been brilliant but I suppose even geniuses have lapses in judgement...

So first...The Tower


This is the inner courtyard of the Tower of London. The Tower is famous because it is a palace that criminals were held and many times tortured before they were executed or put on trial. This includes royal offenders, such as Anne Boleyn and William Wallace (Braveheart/Mel Gibson...anyone?).

The first view of the London Bridge.



This was a little prayer room and if you look on the floor you can see the little kneeling mat and stand to the left.

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The staircases here give you maybe half of a foot of room to walk on each step and if you are much taller than I am forget about comfortably walking and not bending over.

Across from this tall white building are the Crown Jewels. The jewels are more impressive then I ever imagined and there are diamonds the size of my fist. A collection of gold platters, rubies, emeralds and every other kind of stone fill three different rooms...

A second view of the famous London Bridge from inside the Tower.

The crooked egg shaped building across the water is the City Council. This building was designed to be energy efficient and runs on about 25% of the energy of a normal business building.












The first pictures of Big Ben with the London Eye in the background. The London Eye is basically a half hour ferris wheel ride that you can see the entire city from. It may be nice at night but it is a little bit pricey and I can't bring myself to do it yet...

Here are the views of Westminster Abbey that I first had on my trip. It was everything I expected and more.



The abbey is actually attached to Westminster Palace, which was one of the King's favorite abodes (James?). The back part houses the different Parliament buildings and part of my orientation here included a tour of the different rooms. We were able to visit the places that many famous political figures in the U.K. work out of and even rub the foot of a statue of Winston Churchill, which is an English tradition said to bring good luck!


This statue was erected in memory of Oliver Cromwell who fought in a battle overseas and died right after he learned that the English had conquered the country they were fighting. Our tour guide told us that he was preserved in a barrel of alcohol so that he could be brought back to land for a proper burial. Apparently, when they finally docked there was almost nothing left in the barrell because the soldiers had been dipping into the supply the whole way back...I hope that's not true.

Hugh Grant May Be Cute But We Do It Better

As you may guess from the the title, in this blog we visited Notting Hill. Although, Notting Hill didn't really compare to the much more fabulous Buckingham Palace. After strolling through the posh neighborhoods around Notting Hill, Mom and I visited all of the State Rooms. These beautiful rooms were definitely fit for a Queen, even though some of the more ornate rooms were built by John Nash who was actually hired by King George (Who happens to have a palace in Brighton that was for him and his mistress and further gives our town the reputation for being a place for 'hanky panky'). We also went when the guards in front of the Majesty's home change positions for the public to watch, which occurs every other day. I wasn't allowed to record the inside of Buckingham so your imagination will have to start with the tall fur caps and enter the Palace by working from the outside in...








These next few pictures are of the "Royal Mews," which are considered the Royal modes of transportation. There were carriages that had been presented from different countries under the Queens' rule, including Africa and New Zealand. I also posted pictures of the Phantom, a Rolls Royce that Queen Elizabeth abhored, but remained in the Mews Stables. Compare the Chaffeurs' uniform to the grill of the impressive car to understand exactly how large the vehicle is.




These are apart of the Mews but are the Horse Stables. The Gold horse drawn carriage was the one that Queen Victoria was pulled in when she was brought to the Palace for her coronation.



These are some views from the back of Buckingham Palace, including the gardens.






Later in the night, Jesse and I went out to a pub named "Goat's Tavern." I only have one picture but I added it because it was the first time I experienced Guinness in England. Guinness here tastes nothing like the thick and hard to swallow kind back in the States. It is the most delicious beer I have ever had and is quite smooth and tasty! The difference could be blamed on the fact that in the U.S. Guinness is made in Canada and here it is from the U.K. Either way, it is much better.


By the way, for those of you that are reading, if you would like more labels or have requests. I will change the format of my blog when I can!