London Bridge is Fallin Down... wait no thats Tower Bridge

Photos of yesterday are up at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2135396&l=3a9bd&id=12803909

7/4/08

So, we woke up at 3:15 to get in a cab at 4 to make our 6:40 flight from Dublin to London. It was so early that a couple said "good evening" on our way out of the hotel. Everything went very smoothly - couldn't have asked for better. We touched down 15 miles outside of London and took a short train to Victoria Station. From there, we took the underground to our hotel near Hyde Park. Once again, we arrived long before check-in, so we left our bags at the counter and started our sight-seeing. First we strolled through the park, saw Kensington Palace, and took some pictures with the swans. There were tons of them.


Ben was none too impressed with the exterior, since it was more "giant house" than "palace." We skipped going in and instead hopped on the Underground and made our way over to the Tower of London. DUN DUN DUN! (aaaah!) Our guide was fabulous. They use retired British Army soldiers called Yeomen, who act as the Queen's personal bodyguards and joke-telling tour guides. They are also known as Beefeaters. We got to see where all the good history comes from and saw the crown jewels to boot. Frankly I've never been all that interested in gold flatware, but some of the cut jewels were very impressive.

After we got done walking around the Tower of London, we hopped back on the Underground and made our way over to the British Museum. I thought my feet were going to fall off they were so tired, but we had a good time walking around the ancient wing of the museum. It's amazing how much stuff one country can collect from a whole lot of other countries. I feel like I should make some joke about pack rats and imperialism, but I just can't find the words.

On the way back to the hotel, Ben and I stopped into a lovely Indian restaurant for dinner. The food here is really expensive, but we've managed to find some great places that weren't too pricey. In the evening, we were able to watch an episode of QI on tv, and even if it was an episode we'd already seen, it was super exciting.

So that pretty much wraps up our day. It was a lot of walking, some good food, and long waits at the Underground.