Tour of London!

Today, we had a free day to do whatever we wanted in London.  Our breakfasts included only cereal and bread stuffs, so we left for the day a little lacking in the food department.  Using our tickets for the Big Bus Hop On Hop Off Tour we boarded the double deckers near the Tower of London and we stayed on until the bus got to Westminster Abbey, where we got off and took a lot of pictures.  If you plan on going to a lot of Cathedrals or museums in Europe, plan on bringing extra money.  The tour was 16 dollars, so I decided to save my money.  You can get in free on Sundays for church of course, and that is definitely the best way to visit.  You can't take pictures inside either way.  Form there we walked to Big Bend, and along the way I met Nelson Mandela and Winston Churchill...their statues that is.  I am in awe of how ornate these building these are.

We found a lunch spot behind the Royal Festival Hall.  It was an amazing global food market with different cheeses and meat options.  Several of us had middle eastern pitas, and others had a great rice and meat dish from Ghana. From there we hopped back on the bus after crossing the Thames, and stayed on until Buckingham palace, which was unfortunately pretty disappointing.  If you are not able to see the changing of the guard, which only occurs at 11:30, it is not really worth going.  I will have to see the changing of the guards in the future, but apparently its gets extremely crowded.  


From there we walked through the park to Trafalgar square, where I split up.  I wanted to hit all the art and artifacts I could in the afternoon. The first stop I went to was the National Gallery.  I saw a lot of art from many different masters, including Van Gogh (Chair, 1 of the Sunflowers), Rembrandt, Cezanne, Da Vinci (the first Virgin on the Rocks), etc.  I really wish you could take pictures in art museums, but I definitely understand why you can't. From there I hopped on the tube to the Imperial War Museum, which was also fantastic.  There were a lot of old military vehicles there and some cool history lessons.  There was an exhibit of woman military art as well as a documentary on the holocaust.  Lawrence of Arabia’s bike (his favorite possession and the thing that killed him) was there as well(so of course they were screening the movie as well).  

Pullin out the big guns in London.

From there I continued on to the British Museum, which also had a long walk from the station.  In there was a huge collection of Egyptian sculptures, and of course the Rosetta Stone!  There is so much to see there in both of these places that it would take days to see it all.  


Afterwards, I walked by the Plough as well, which was known as something else earlier, but was frequented by Charles Dickens and Charles Darwin.  I know, perfect for me. We all went out to the Zoo Bar that evening, which is in leicester square.  I don't recommend any of the clubs in the square because they are really touristy. Another tip: know the 24 hour bus routes before you go out, because if you don't have experience with them in the past they are extremely confusing, and the tube shuts down around 1 am.  We eventually made it home though.  Tomorrow we are off to Stonehenge!  Leave any comments or suggestions for future stops!