So I have a new task master *cough* Amelia, who is "encouraging" me to keep up with my blog a lot more regularly. To be honest I really just want to skip to the pictures of Scotland but I will finish up with London.
So London.... where was I? I think we just inadvertently visited the Tower of London. So for the rest of that day of which we were extremely tired and (maybe) a little cranky we walked around finding the streets from Monopoly. We got to King's Cross station (and saw Platform 9 & 3/4 which I may not have known about until we watched the first Harry Potter movie on our way to Edinburgh) before we decided to call it a day. When we got back to Leah and Andre's place they asked us where we walked, jokingly asking: "Did you walk all the way into the city?" Yes. Yes we did. And then some. Blisters and pressure sores were our friends for the many days after this... in fact my blister is now hardening into a callus.
So after a good nights sleep and a free breakfast we headed off again, deciding we would take it a little more leisurely. We started at Paddington Station and visited the Paddington Bear shop! We then walked down to Hyde Park. Let me stop there for a second. Hyde Park.... like... what.... um.... wow? Just strolling through Hyde Park it was hard to remember that we were in inner city London. The beautiful grounds stretch out for ages and the beauty is hard to describe. Amelia got her wish and chased some squirrels while I photographed her doing so!
We then strolled down to the lake where we indulged in ice cream. They had deck chairs there, but being typical London you had to pay, so as an act of defiance we sat down on the ground directly next to one. No one however was on hand to see our act of defiance however so I feel a little cheated in my rebellious moment. After Hyde Park we walked down Park Lane still pursuing our Monopoly challenge. I think it was here however that we realized we were just enjoying exploring London. So we abandoned our challenge and kept walking. Buckingham Palace was next and then Parliament House and Westminster and then the Big Ben!
After these iconic sights we may have just chilled on a boat on a river cruise on the Thames. We sailed down to Greenwich and back seeing some beautiful and historic buildings and experiencing the wonderful English humor. My favorite was: "While there are some very monumental bridges across the Thames, this is not one of them." Another being: "And over there we have the studios of the Network which brought us the rubbish TV such as Britain's Got Talent, which this year was won by a Romanian group and the year before, by a dog, therefore proving that Britain does not have talent." So good.
After we returned to Westminster we headed off to West End where we were meeting Leah and Andre for dinner and also seeing Wicked! We arrived in West End and went to the Apollo Theater only to find out that we were seeing Wicked! in the the Apollo Victoria Theater which wasn't in West End at all but rather Victoria. Our bus was just across the road so we sprinted across (almost getting hit by a cyclist) and jumped on. We did arrive to the pub in time and we enjoyed a very traditional meal of bangers and mash! Then onto Wicked!
Loved.
It.
So.
Much.
I know not else what to say apart from that... It was phenomenal, the set, the singing, the acting, it was all so amazing! We then stumbled home to our welcoming bed and promptly fell asleep.
The next day and our final day in London it was a typical rainy day. Not so typical for me however who had been in the UK for a month already with only a few drizzles. We started the day off with a wonderful talk to my long neglected family which was amazing! Unfortunately I didn't realize how much I missed them until I talked to them. So after pressing on through my depression, we headed off to see St Paul's Cathedral.
Such a stunning building! We took a while to walk around it and admire it from all sides before we headed over the Millennium Bridge to the Globe Theater where we had yard tickets for 'The Last Days of Troy' by William Shakespeare. If I could recommend anything to do in London that is cheap, it is going to the Globe Theater. For 5 pound we got to stand (albeit in rain) at the front of the stage and watch one of the best performances of Shakespeare in an iconic place. It was worth the pain of standing and every raindrop. The passion, the excitement, the drama all catches you up to another world of Trojans and Greeks and gods in their petty arguments. Amazing.
After that it was back to Leah and Andre's to get our bags to head to Victoria Coach Station where we were catching a bus to Edinburgh. But Scotland is for another day...
I will write again soon as I am dying to post pictures of Scotland. We leave for Ireland tomorrow, but hopefully I'll write again soon!
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