Tuesday
Sep112007
London Trip - Day 6 - Back to London
Tuesday, September 11, 2007 at 10:30AM
Todd's Pics
Paige's Pics
Day #6 was a Thursday. Instead of riding the coach back from Edinburgh to London, we opted to fly. It wasn't too expensive and it would give us another half day in London to sightsee. We took a cab from the dorms to the airport and, once we checked in, arrived at our gate with enough time to grab some breakfast before we boarded. The flight was pretty uneventful other than a rather rough landing at Heathrow.
We once again had to take the Tube from Heathrow into the city center but didn't encounter any delays this time and made it back to Kings College without any problems. We checked into our new dorm rooms and, after grabbing lunch at a Latin place, headed out to see the city. We decided to head towards the Tower Of London. The Tower of London is not really a tower, its more of a castle. It has been around for hundreds of years and has been used for many things, including execution and torture, an armoury, a treasury, a zoo, a mint, a public records office, and an observatory. We'd been told that the best time to do it was first thing in the morning but we decided to try it anyway. By the time we exited the Underground, it had begun to sprinkle. By the time we found the Tower entrance, it had begun to rain. By the time we entered into the castle walls, it was pouring. We tried to stay as dry as possible while moving from building to building but still got soaking wet. Inside, we got to see the Crown Jewels but were not allowed to take any pictures.
(getting wet at The Tower)
After getting totally soaked at The Tower, we went across the street to a coffee shop to get a cup of joe. Once we got inside, it immediately stopped raining (of course!). We tried to dry out a little but decided just to head on to another place to sightsee. We got back on the Tube and headed southwest to Buckingham Palace. I had expected to see the Foot Guards but they were not there. Apparently they only do the changing of the guard at 11am and we were there in the afternoon. Also, when the Queen is not there they do not have as many guards posted outside. We hung around outside the palace for a while taking pictures, then walked through St. James's Park to the House of Guards. There we did get to see some guards standing at attention but not the ones you usually think of (with the fuzzy hats). From there we walked to Downing St, past Parliament and to Westminster Abbey. After taking plenty of pics, we started looking for something to eat. We crossed over Westminster Bridge and walked by the London County Hall. This is a huge building across the river from the Houses of Parliament that is apparently not being used for much. It was the seat of most of the local government in London until Margaret Thatcher abolished it in 1986. Now it is home to an aquarium. Behind the County Hall, we found a Noodle Bar for dinner. It was pretty good. We were tired of walking so we went back to the dorms and played some cards before going to bed.
(Buckinham Palace)
(a guard)
(Westminster Abbey)
(County Hall)
Paige's Pics
Day #6 was a Thursday. Instead of riding the coach back from Edinburgh to London, we opted to fly. It wasn't too expensive and it would give us another half day in London to sightsee. We took a cab from the dorms to the airport and, once we checked in, arrived at our gate with enough time to grab some breakfast before we boarded. The flight was pretty uneventful other than a rather rough landing at Heathrow.
We once again had to take the Tube from Heathrow into the city center but didn't encounter any delays this time and made it back to Kings College without any problems. We checked into our new dorm rooms and, after grabbing lunch at a Latin place, headed out to see the city. We decided to head towards the Tower Of London. The Tower of London is not really a tower, its more of a castle. It has been around for hundreds of years and has been used for many things, including execution and torture, an armoury, a treasury, a zoo, a mint, a public records office, and an observatory. We'd been told that the best time to do it was first thing in the morning but we decided to try it anyway. By the time we exited the Underground, it had begun to sprinkle. By the time we found the Tower entrance, it had begun to rain. By the time we entered into the castle walls, it was pouring. We tried to stay as dry as possible while moving from building to building but still got soaking wet. Inside, we got to see the Crown Jewels but were not allowed to take any pictures.
(getting wet at The Tower)After getting totally soaked at The Tower, we went across the street to a coffee shop to get a cup of joe. Once we got inside, it immediately stopped raining (of course!). We tried to dry out a little but decided just to head on to another place to sightsee. We got back on the Tube and headed southwest to Buckingham Palace. I had expected to see the Foot Guards but they were not there. Apparently they only do the changing of the guard at 11am and we were there in the afternoon. Also, when the Queen is not there they do not have as many guards posted outside. We hung around outside the palace for a while taking pictures, then walked through St. James's Park to the House of Guards. There we did get to see some guards standing at attention but not the ones you usually think of (with the fuzzy hats). From there we walked to Downing St, past Parliament and to Westminster Abbey. After taking plenty of pics, we started looking for something to eat. We crossed over Westminster Bridge and walked by the London County Hall. This is a huge building across the river from the Houses of Parliament that is apparently not being used for much. It was the seat of most of the local government in London until Margaret Thatcher abolished it in 1986. Now it is home to an aquarium. Behind the County Hall, we found a Noodle Bar for dinner. It was pretty good. We were tired of walking so we went back to the dorms and played some cards before going to bed.
(Buckinham Palace) (a guard) (Westminster Abbey) (County Hall)Powered by ScribeFire.
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