Exhausted

 

Today was also busy, but we managed to get back to my flat and make some dinner, relax, and get prepared for Bath tomorrow! We began by visiting the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge. Both were super tourist-y locations, though nice to see and snap a few pictures, crawling with tourists. At the Tower of London, we got to see the Crowned Jewels which were super extravagant and ridiculous, but so beautiful. After both of these tourist attractions, we ate some lunch and headed to Hyde Park to see Kensington Palace. Once entering we realized that our ticket allowed us for 3 GBP off the William Kent Georgian Exhibit at the nearby V&A, so after snapping a few pictures at the palace and walking around the gardens with some ice cream, we walked down to the V&A to see the exhibit. It was another great exhibit that I actually really wanted to see but never got around to it. I felt really inspired by the hundreds of architectural drawings Kent and others had in this exhibit, making me want to practice and get more drawings done. We then strolled throughout the museum before heading home to unwind. I was, and am, super exhausted, but glad I got to see some new exhibits and sights. I cannot wait for tomorrow to go to Bath, and possibly drink more of that nasty Roman bath water...

 

Wicked Fun Day

 

I decided that my mom and I were going to hit a ton of sights on Thursday, getting our fill of London before having to leave so soon. We started by going into Westminster Abbey, then to see the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace. After the ceremony, we went to the Churchill War Rooms and walked through St. James' Park. After all of this we went to lunch and went to Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery. We then decided to make our way up to St Paul's in order to climb the dome for a nice view of the city. After meeting a nice couple on our way up the dome, we crossed the Millennium Bridge and took a stroll along there Thames. We ate dinner overlooking the Thames and then preceded to walk towards the London Eye and Big Ben. After all of this, we jumped on the tube to get to the theatre to see Wicked! It was an amazing show, the lead actress was AMAZING, I had Goosebumps she was so good, I wish I had that set of pipes.  After this crazy day, we went back to my flat exhausted. Here are some pictures of our crazy day!

 

 

 

Honestly need to buy this and hang it in my kitchen...

 

 

 

Such a great day! I was glad to see some old and new sights, and see a show!

Mother of Mine

 

My mother finally made it to London and we decided to hit some sights before she fell asleep from jet lag. We decided to head down the British Museum and British Library to see some of the key historical artifacts (i.e. Rosetta Stone, Magna Cart, etc.). then we went to see King's Cross and the beloved 9 3/4 site my mother was dying to see. After this, we went to my workplace at the NCT so she could see the place where I have been spending most of my time while in London. After visiting work we took a short walk to St Paul's and ate at the popular burger chain GBK. Of course I hate giving into the chain foods in Europe, but GBK is a really good option for cheap and fast burgers, without resorting to McDonald's. It was a great day, only ending around 5pm so my mother could catch up on sleep having only slept two hours on the plane ride! Tomorrow will be a tourist filled day, beginning early and ending with a trip to the theatre to see Wicked! I cannot wait!!

 

 

 

Another day in a beautiful city, but this time with my mother! It honestly was weird walking around with someone else, I am not used to it at all. I cannot wait to see more sights, including the Tower of London and Westminster Abbey, both which I haven't seen inside yet!

 

 

0 Degrees

 

I took my last free day to go to Greenwich to spend some time on the Prime Meridian. After seeing some of the sights, I headed back to London and walked around a bit before going to another architecture talk. My day was really nice, and Greenwich is beautiful and full of amazing museums, but if you aren't into marine themed art and exhibits based on the sea and weather, it won't be too interesting. Nevertheless it is a beautiful place to go. After spending some time in Greenwich I decided to just walk around London and I visited Westminster Cathedral which no one every mentions or talks about when they talk about the sights of London. It is a huge and beautiful cathedral down the street from Westminster Abbey. If you like to visit churches, I would say pop into the cathedral, its free and you can take loads of pictures, not like I don't take enough already...

 

I first glanced at this and thought it said "Dat Booty"...

 

Elephant sighting!

 

Nelson's uniform with the left shoulder ripped from a musket ball which killed him.

 

Prime Meridian! However, after doing some reading, I learned that it s not necessary at 0 degrees, and had been moved several feet to make room for the sculpture there now.

 

Another exciting day in London, now I am heading out to see some more sights as I play tourist for my jet lagged mother!