Day 4 - London (continued)

May 5, 2008 (continued)

First off, Thank you for all your comments; it's fun to read them and great to know that this blog is actually being read.

We had a great day and are just waiting around for a bit to head out the door again as Mike and Gillian booked a reservation for dinner at an Italian place (yummy!)

To answer a few comments:
Debbie: Mike and Gillian actually bought us the ice cream; they were with us the whole time. I'm not sure what a flake is so I don't think we had that.
Dad: The Tower was wonderful; it was amazing to see it and imagine what it was like back when it was first built. It's definitely one of the big highlights of the trip thus far (and I think it will be by the end as well - I took lots of pictures). We didn't buy anything inside so I didn't have to worry about the mustard, but thanks for the warning.

Becky: We waited around for the Beefeater tour and didn't even walk in the outside wall until the tour started. Definitely worth the wait especially as they took us into the chapel which I don't think you can enter unless you're on the tour. Our guide was pretty entertaining as well.

Okay, so we started out the day a little late but we managed to make our bus and train just in time for each so we didn't have to wait much at each station. Jeremiah first took me to Big Ben, Parliament, and Westminster Abbey (Central Line to the District Line, exit Westminster station). This was an amazing site. For anyone who hasn't seen downtown London before, to come up the stairs from the tube and the first thing you see is these magnificent buildings, well, all I can say is "Wow!" We walked around the area for a bit and just soaked it all in (I took lots of pictures). We crossed the Thames and saw the London Eye pretty close up. We walked around for a bit as Jeremiah tried to locate the place to board a boat that would take us down the Thames. We actually walked too far and had to hurry a bit to make it in time for the next launch. We made it with about a minute to spare.


We travelled down the Thames and our crew (they emphatically noted to us that they were NOT tour guides but that they would point out places of notice to help make the journey more enjoyable) told us about everything as we were passing it. Between the two of us, we were able to understand almost everything that was said (the accent mixed with the loud speaker made it kind of difficult at times). The Tower Bridge is so beautiful and I think I got some really good pictures of it. The boat ride was very relaxing and a great way to see many of the sites.

We then came up to Tower of London. I had no idea what it really was when people talked about it. I didn't realize that it was a fortress and that that's where royalty actually lived. It was so cool and I tried hard to take myself back in time and imagine what it would have been like during Medieval times with Lords and Ladies walking around the cobblestone streets (oh, I almost forgot; as we were walking through the Victoria Tower Garden - near Parliament - I imagined the Regency era and tried to picture women in their beautiful day dresses just strolling through the park). It was such an amazing site to see and to just think of how old all of it is and that it's still standing.

We stopped for lunch at a Subway before we bought our tickets. Fortunate for us, Gillian had just seen in one of her magazines a Buy 1 Get 1 Free coupon for the Tower so we were very happy to be able to use that (esp. as admission is £16.50 per person these days). We got our tickets (which took a little while because they had never seen that coupon before so the teller had to check with management to make sure she was doing everything correctly) and walked inside admittance area.

We had just missed the Yeoman Warder Tour (Beefeater) and had to wait around for about 20 minutes for the next one to start. We took a seat on the draw bridge wall and just soak in the outside of the fortress as I tried to imagine what the inside was like. Our tour finally started and after a brief introduction, we finally walked inside.

It was so amazing!

The tour took us around to different areas including the chapel which was so beautiful inside and even had fresh flowers that smelled so nice. I could totally imagine getting married in there! (One woman even asked what you had to do to get married in there and the Yeoman answered, "Don't be stupid." Not quite sure what he meant by that.) We got to sit in there for a while while he told us some more stories.

After the tour, we hung around for a bit and then headed up to the White Tower for another tour. This tour was good, but not as much as the first (I chalk it up to the fact that the tour guide graded on me a little the wrong way - took him way to long to say not much at all). But the whole inside was really neat and definitely worth looking at.

After that tour, we looked around the Tower a bit more and explored some more rooms including the Hands-On History room where you could actually touch some things (nothing authentic; if you've already been to the Tower and are only thinking of going back to experience this room, it's not worth the admission price, so don't worry about it; but if you're already there, then it's worth a look). The armoury was quite impressive; I had no idea how ornate some of the armour was back then with all the gold and intricate gilded design work (I think that's what it was called).

After we finished in the Tower we headed over to where the Crown Jewels were located. Those were impressive! I especially liked seeing Queen Victoria's Small Crown (it looked just like one of the ones in the movie Victoria and Albert that she wore - I think it was when the Great Expedition opened and they were having the ceremonies for it).

Note: I had to stop writing at this point as we went out to dinner. Story continues below.

We went on the conveyor belt a few times to look at the crowns more than once (it simply took you by too quickly to really get a good look at them). Everything was so ornate. We thought it very amusing that immediately after you see all this wealth in the jewels and golden ceremonial pieces, there was a donation box before you left the building asking for money - as if they didn't have enough already!

We then walked around a bit more and thought about going into the museum they have there but they wanted more money for that so we decided against it. Instead we walked throughout the other towers and along the wall walkways. We stayed there until just after 5:00pm and then needed to rush out of there to make it back in time for our dinner reservations.

We found the right tube station and got on. Then we transferred to the Central line and a little ways into the trip, realized that we didn't know exactly where this train was headed (this particular line had a fork in the road, so to say, and we need to go to the left but had a feeling this was would go to the right). A few stops before the fork came, I asked the chap sitting next to me if he knew and he was pretty certain it was the one going to the right.

We got off a stop later and waiting for a new train that was going to the right side, that is to say the left side in the fork. After a few stops on that train, we got off and headed up to the street. I had to ask the worker at that station where we could find a bus to get to Highams Place and he kindly helped us figure it out.

By the time we got to the station, we had missed the last bus by 3 minutes and would have to wait another 20 before the next one came. So we just stood about waiting. At last it came but we weren't sure want stop to take exactly. We knew if we got off at Highams Place Station we would be close, but we weren't sure if there was another stop closer to their house. We thought about risking it but as we were already running a bit late, we thought we had better get off where we knew we were and just walk the rest of the way. Turns out we could have stayed on for one more stop and had been just fine. Oh well. Next time.

Oh, I forgot to tell you. Riding the bus was just like what I would imagine the night bus to feel like on Harry Potter. Not quite as crazy but boy did it sure amaze me how they could get a big bus like that down those small lanes!

We hurried back to the house and were greeted inside by everyone. Our reservations were for 7:30 and we got back just after 6:30. It was apparent that we would be around for a bit before leaving as Gillian still needed to feed her mother (Flo) so I decided to take that opportunity to write and that's where you found me at the beginning of this post.

We went to dinner at an Italian restaurant not too far away. It was very lovely and had a great atmosphere. The service, however, was another story. They were short staffed both in the front of house as well as in the kitchen. It took a while to get our drinks (I think they had our appetizers out before we ever got a glass of water) but it took well over an hour after placing our orders for our food to come. We weren't the only ones. A couple a few tables away from us had waited a long time for their food to come and then when it finally did come, they got the wrong food. Luckily, it didn't take nearly as long for them to get their right food.

Once we were finally served, the food was rather tasty. I got a lasagna and Jeremiah got pizza, of course. We also got a chocolate pudding desert with ice cream (on the house!) which reminded me of chocolate lava cake. In the end, it was a good meal and they did comp the bill a bit for the delays.

After we got home it was time for another driving lesson for Jeremiah. David, Charlotte's boyfriend, came to dinner with us as it was partially a birthday celebration for him (he is turning 21 tomorrow) and he needed to be taken home. So Miah, Charlotte, David, and I got in the car and started off for David's place. There were a few close calls with trying to remember which side of the street to turn on when you are in the middle of turning left or right, but we got through it safely (Charlotte was definitely a brave soul!). I think the more practice we can get, the easier it will be.

We also learned some new things about their traffic in general. These may help Becky as she will be driving here soon so I think I will go ahead and mention them.
1) There are a ton of speed cameras everywhere so beware. All they have to do is take your picture and a ticket will show up in the mail a little while later.
2) When going through a roundabout, here are a few rules to follow: Always yield to the traffic on your right; If you are going straight through, you do not need to signal; If you are turning to the left, signal left; If you are going around the roundabout for a bit, signal to the right.
3) There may be times when you have to drive in the middle or on the wrong side of the road because of cars being parked in the lane you are trying to drive in.
4) When a traffic signal is going to turn green soon, the red and yellow lights will be lit and then it will go to a green light.
5) Be very conscious of the space on the left side of your car and how far away you are from the curb. It is very easy to drift to the left too much because you are so used to being conscious of the right side.

I hope these little tips will help anyone who will be driving over here. If I pick up any more, I'll be sure to let you know.

So after our drive we got back, Miah went upstairs to take a shower, and I got on the computer to finish writing to you.

Thank you for your prayers for our health. I still have a slight sore throat but nothing too bad. Jeremiah, on the other hand, has been getting worse all day. It's a combination of allergies and a cold. If you could keep him especially in your prayers, I would really appreciate it. It's definitely not how we hoped to start out a long trip, but we will make the most of it.

Our plans for tomorrow are 1) Get up early, 2) Go to Kensington Palace, 3) Visit the Albert Memorial (Statue), 3) the Natural History Museum, and 4) see Parliament in action at night. It should be another busy day and I am looking forward to it (especially the gardens in Kensington Palace).

Until later! Love you all! S&J