3 Days in London

Tuesday, March 27th

 After arriving in London at 11:00am, we made it to our hostel to check in and start wandering around the city.  We started with a stroll by the Thames and stumbled upon countless red photo booths, a London classic.

We eventually made it to Parliament, which can be seen through these columns. 

Right beyond Parliament was Big Ben and the London Eye.  In the far right corner you can see the corner of Westminster Abbey, the famous church where Prince William and Kate Middleton were married most recently.

Before the sun set, we made it to Buckingham Palace.  Unfortunately we were unable to see the changing of the guards because it happens only on odd days in the month of March, and we were only in the city on the evens.  Nonetheless, it was beautiful to see and get a glimpse of the royal family's lifestyle.

Wednesday, March 28th

First thing in the morning we made our way to the Tower of London, the original residence of the British monarchy.  Shown in the picture is our tour guide, affectionately called a Beef Eater but really a yeoman warder.   In the background you can see the Tower Bridge, one of the many that cross traffic over the Thames.  We thoroughly enjoyed our time at the castle, learning of the extensive and often gruesome history of the English Monarchies. 

As part of the tour of the Tower of London, we saw the Crown Jewels.  While the bling was quite impressive, many of us got hung up on the royal salt shaker and punch bowl made entirely of gold and large enough to bathe in.

We then made our way across the London bridge and stumbled upon this restaurant for lunch at the base of the bridge.  In the large pot was the special of the day that Erica and I enjoyed, a spicy tomato-based Moroccan stew with paella.

Feeling exhausted, we wandered to Saint James Park and spent the rest of our afternoon enjoying the beautiful scenery.  This is a shot of one of the main lakes, and just around the corner we found public lawn chairs in the sunshine and napped for a bit before heading to dinner at a Chinese-Indian fusion restaurant and eventually a club in the Soho district.

Thursday, March 29th

Today we rented a car and drove out to Stonehenge to see one of the Seven Wonders of the World.  

Of course, we couldn't resist an OHIO in front of the ancient stones as recent graduates.

None of this day would have been successful without our trusty captain behind the wheel, Ryan.  Getting out of London initially was the trickiest part because our car rental company was positioned right next to an extremely large and confusing tripple lane round-about.  After circling several times we managed to exit in the wrong direction, but no worries because he had eventually mastered them by the time we made it back to turn the car in.

Our other stop of the day was to the inspiring Cliffs of Dover.  This was without a doubt the most beautiful place we saw in the UK and personally one of the most amazing spots I have ever been to.  A short trip to grab lunch in the small town and stroll on the pier turned into a two hour hike with breathtaking views.

The cliffs are constructed of chalk and it used to span all the way to France.  By the end of the day, all of us were covered in chalk stains from climbing around to see better views.

After exploring, we found a way down the cliffs to the rocky beaches.  We completely lost track of the time and had to literally run back to the car through the cliffs in order to make it before the park closed.  

London at night is just as beautiful as London in the day.  At the car rental agency we underestimated the amount of gas that European cars consume, 700 miles on 12 gallons?!?!  As our cab driver the previous night commented on the difference between cars in the UK and cars in the US, "I was shitting bricks at the size of your vehicles" (here it is necessary to say this phrase in a veeeerry strong Scottish accent, with special emphasis on the rolled 'R').  Left with over a half a tank after driving 7 hours, we decided the proper way to burn our fuel was to take a joy ride around the city at night.  Also at this point, I'd like to mention that Ryan was MUCH more confident driving on the wrong side of the road and returned to his confident self, cutting off cabs and speeding through the streets like a local.

All-in-all we enjoyed every second of our time in London.  The people were welcoming and helpful when needed and it was amazing to see how different people could be who speak the same language and have similar heritage, but simply live across the ocean from us.  I believe I can speak for everyone when I say that we will miss the people here and the wonderful city that gave us the confidence to continue on our venture.