Our last full day in London was delightful--we started out by getting a taxi to attend church:
I had packed a skirt but decided in favor of my jeans layered over leggings. I felt a little out of place, but it was just too cold to contemplate having bare legs!
We then hopped back on the public transportation system:
Where Steve took a little impromptu nap (traveling is exhausting, okay?)
On our way to Kensington palace (not pictured here).
We then took the guided tour of Tower Hill:
Which was fascinating, quite educational, always entertaining, and sometimes sad.
Being a ruler (or in line to be a ruler) could be quite hazardous for one's health, we learned.
On the way in, I noticed this trebuchet (not sure that's spelled correctly, but the spell checker isn't correcting me), and was proud of myself that I remembered what it was called. My dad would be proud.
Our tour guide, one of the famous Beefeaters, was hilarious and highly entertaining. He knew his facts, and at one point, when his hat blew off and I caught it, I actually ended up dropping it because it was surprisingly heavy and stiff! I didn't know they were literally made of wood underneath the fabric! (At least, that's what it felt like). Wonder if he gets a headache from it.
Inside the Bloody Tower:
Where we learned that the average Englishman hundreds of years ago was much smaller than we are:
As well as sordid and bloody tales of unsolved murders, betrayal, and intrigue. Good stuff!
The Tower of London, where the Crown Jewels were kept. Because we had so much more we wanted to fit in, we didn't wait in line to see them, but we made sure to see the Crown Jewels of Scotland when we were in Edinburg the next day.
I still can't believe I have been to these places! It feels surreal.
The armory display. I'll be honest, I wasn't too interested by it all--while one suit of armor might be interesting, dozens upon dozens got a little overwhelming.
Inside a little niche in the wall....I'm pretty sure they said this was a water closet (or the primeval equivalent of one). Steve was a good sport about taking a picture there, but then I made him uneasy when I reminded him that he was basically standing in a centuries-old urinal.
We were tired of walking by that point, so we took a river boat tour of the Thames. It was also entertaining and fun to hear our "guide's" point of view of the city.
Fun view of Tower Bridge
This time with us in the shot:
In front of the London Bridge (told ya, it's not all that impressive-looking):
London Town!!
It will forever have a place in my heart after this trip.
They told us to get this great shot of Parliament and Big Ben, so like obedient little tourists, we did:
Always so overcast in London. I was glad it didn't rain on us while we were there, as being wet and cold would have made sightseeing considerably more difficult.
I know, I know...we went a little overboard. Give me a break--how often does a country girl from Arizona end up in London?
We then took a double-decker bus tour
(a part of which is shown here in time-lapse):
Kings Cross was much grander in person than I had expected it to be!
This is us cheating, haha!!
I was a little embarrassed by how excited this 30-something-year-old was to be there. It was so fun!
After grabbing a local pasty (which was totally bland, disappointingly enough), we hung around Piccadilly Circus a little more before heading back to the hotel.
I feel like writing this story here, as I find it fun--our flight to Edinburg left at 8:00 in the morning, meaning that we needed to be at the airport by 6:30 at the latest so we could get through security. Because our hotel wasn't in the main part of London, the nearest train station didn't run through the night, so the next nearest train station that had trains leaving on the hour every hour was a mile's walk away. Not a big deal, except that streets in London make little to no sense to a visitor, so Steve and I both spent the entire night tossing and turning in worry about wandering around on the streets of London, getting lost, missing our train, and then missing our flight.
We finally gave up on sleeping around 4:00 in the morning, packed up, checked out, and then took one last glance at the map Steve had pulled up before we left the hotel's wifi range (remember--we had no international plan, so our cell phones were useless without being on someone's wifi). Miraculously enough (we had been praying hard for help), the map kept working as we speed-walked through the dark, abandoned streets of a random suburb in London, and led us all the way to the train station, where we got to the needed platform just in time to hear an announcement that the platforms had changed and that our train was leaving from a different platform, after all.
Once we got settled on the train, we smiled exhaustedly at each other, then each said a prayer in gratitude that we were able to get to the airport in time. Traveling can be nerve-wracking sometimes!
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