Buckingham Palace- I learned a few things here. Firstly, this does not house the royal family. The queen lives in Windsor and the Princes live in the Clarence House (the house in which the beloved Princess Diana lived). Not that I am any particular judge of castles, but I found Buckingham to be rather small.
No trip is complete without a trip to Times Square (in England they call their's Piccadilly Square). It is here that I viewed some really unique fountains and watched as traffic spun roundabout in the wrong direction (still getting use to the fact that my fellow countrymen drive on the "wrong" side of the road). Lucked out as well here, they were having a real posh car show featuring...my favorite....MINI COOPERS!!! And whilst I did not get one for my birthday (sadness) I did get to stand next to a sporty one. To be honest, I couldn't choose between the black and white one or the blue and white....decisions, decisions.
After taking a lovely stroll through the park and watching the geese attack picnickers, I make my way to The house of Parliment and my favorite, Big Ben. Which I learned had a clock face made in Reading (the town I currently live in). Cool. Off to the London Eye, which reminds me of a gia-normous ferris wheel you can ride to the top to see the whole of London (I believe there is a scene from Fantasic Four 2 with the London Eye in it.
...what was I saying?? Oh right Parliament...(boring stuffy old rulers) anyway cross the river over Tower Bridge which is not to be confused with London bridge which is way smaller and rumor has it, was sold to an American in Arizona; (he thought he bought the big bridge and ended up with London Bridge, poor old sot).
Oh right, over the river to the traitor's gate of London Tower. Now the gate is boarded up but it is said to have been the route in which they would take traitors such as the infamous Ann Boleyn (one of King Henry's wives). They were held in London Tower until their hearing and beheaded-ness. I believe that they even put those heads (such as William Wallace aka Braveheart) on stakes around the gate. How's that for a bedtime story?
Avoiding the protesters at St. Paul's Cathedral, I walked around Westminster Abby instead. There is so much wonderful architecture in these alt cites. Let's not forget the amazing artwork, statues erected in memory of the greats and those entertaining street actors. London is definitely a place to be seen.
Next time I'm in London...it's off to THE Library, probably never to be seen or heard from again, lost in all it's wonderment. I'm such a book nerd. Or perhaps the British museum??
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