My sincerest apologies for the fact that these posts weren't posted on the actual days. When we got to London I discovered that internet access is a hot commodity and prices were a little too ridiculous for me. These next two WERE written and completed on the days they say they are, however. :)
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Today was glorious! Exhausting, but glorious. :)
We started off from the hotel at 8:30 am and headed for London, making a quick stop at Box Hill to climb up just like the characters do in Emma. It was a very steep hill, and I think that everyone who climbed got a pretty decent dose of exercise for today. :)
Then we got back on the bus and headed for London. It didn’t take long – we were in the farthest outlying suburbs before too long at all. Then we got farther into the city and took a short bus tour through the city, stopping to get out and snap some pictures of the Tower of London (I’m pretty sure). Then Andy dropped us off at our hotel and we said goodbye to him quickly before he left for his 8 ½ hour drive back to Glasgow, Scotland. Then we checked into our hotel and dropped our bags off, heading out immediately into the city. John gave us some suggestions for lunch, and then we split up and got something to eat. We met back up after lunch and John introduced us to “The Tube” or the Underground. Then we want on a walking tour of London and, well, let’s just say I’m going to sleep REALLY well tonight because I’m pretty exhausted. :)
We saw Trafalgar Square and the outside of the National Gallery, went to Buckingham Palace, walked through St. James’s Park, saw the Prime Minister’s residence, got some great pictures of Big Ben, rode a double-decker red bus, and went to Piccadilly Circus.I’ve already found my favorite part of London. We got to Piccadilly Circus (the Times Square of London) and found ourselves in the Theatre District. There were advertisements for half-priced show tickets everywhere. Everything from Wicked to Grease to Billy Elliot to Shakespeare. I wanted to cry just passing by some of the deals. Part of me wishes I could miss the flight on Tuesday and just stay in London seeing theatre, shopping, and eating great food. But, alas, one needs money for such things. =P
A little farther is Leicester Square – the heart of the cinema scene in London. There are probably five or six movie theatres around. At the moment it’s under construction for the 2012 Olympics and isn’t exactly pretty, but you got the gist of the area. Apparently it’s very touristy. Then we went to the marketplace, saw St. Paul’s Church (the Actor’s Church), and saw where Eliza Dolittle sat as she sang “All I want is a room somewhere...” Then we split up into groups to have dinner and explore some more. I went with a few people to the Spaghetti House and had some great Spaghetti Pomodoro, but our waitress seemed extremely offended that we had only ordered water and cleared the empty wineglasses away all in a huff. Then we walked back to the marketplace, listened to a street performer briefly, then went into Starbucks (just so we could say we’d been to a Starbucks in London). :) Then the six of us (Noah, Lauren, Ashlee, Taylor, Liz and I) managed to get back to the hotel on the Tube by ourselves. Tonight we have to say goodbye to John because he’s leaving early in the morning. :( He’s been so fantastic – I don’t know how anyone could ask for a better tour guide. We loved him!
Tomorrow will be our free day in London. I think several people are planning on seeing Abbey Road and the Globe. I would like to go to the National Gallery and perhaps the Modern Art Museum, but I don’t know what everyone else is doing. I guess we’ll figure it out. :) Then we go to dinner and Les Miz that night, and the next morning we leave for the airport from the hotel at 11:00 and our flight leaves at 3:00ish. Because of the time difference, we should arrive back in Marion at around 11:00ish pm. It’s been a fantastic trip.
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