Gray London

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i have to tell you all right off the bat that i didn't enjoy london that much. maybe because it was gray and rainy, or because i was getting tired of moving around, or something else. i actually had fun there, but i just didn't get the same feeling i thought it would be like to be there.

we arrived on sunday and took the day off, mom was quite tired and so was i as it turned out. monday we went in to the city and took another hop on/ hop off bus. mom seemed to like these as it is easier on her than taking the tube around, where there might or might not be escalators. and although i didn't think i would like these buses, they are fairly handy as they take you straight to the tourist places you want to see if you don't have a lot of time. so we went past picadilly circus, big ben, westminster abbey, and the big cathedral where lots of the royalty gets married (i think. maybe it is westminster where they do it). we went over the london tower bridge and stopped at the tower of london, which i found out is actually a castle and the "tower" is only about 50 feet high, dwarfed by buildings around it but impressive i am sure back in the day. they had some nice displays of the different times and lifes of the royalty, and the crown jewels were pretty impressive. we took a boat back up the thames to big ben, where we walked over and saw westminster abbey. we weren't there at a time that it was open, but we weren't too sad, as it seems one cathedral is much like another. also i thought it interesting that the tower of london can hold priceless gems yet they still find the need to charge you an entrance fee, as if they couldn't afford to keep the building up and running. and i was disappointed that after notre dame was free in paris, westminster and st. james cathedral both charge a lot to get in.

as for buckingham palace, it was rightfully large, but rather boring. it was just another big building it seemed to me. we didn't see the changing of the guard, but did see the couple of soldiers in the front on patrol, with more cops nearby.

in the evening was probably what made london so fun. one of my good friends from when i studied in china was studying in london, actually had just arrived, and i was able to get ahold of her. alicia met us at the tube station and her, my mom and i all went to see les miserables performed. it was a very good production. the man playing jean-val-jean and the man playing javert have both been performing for all twenty years the play has been in london. it was an interesting show and we had decent seats and it was all in all a very fun eveing.

the next day we went to oxford to look around and see the school. i did not realize it was such a small place. the bus had driven through town and was heading for the next when i looked at the map and said to mom "that was oxford we just passed" and she said "where?" it was just the local bus, so we got off quickly and headed back. it was a nice little town though, very full of tourists, and looked like a nice place to attend school. we also had to check out and head out near stansted airport cuz our flight left very early the next morning. the hotel was in a countryside kind of town, and the drive to the airport was very pretty. so we left and now are in austria, waiting for julie to come meet us.

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Comments

[Emily]

I just want to ask.... when the h*ll will you get back to the states and your normal life?huh??? I will not drop by your travel blog anymore...your life just makes me mad. :X ......and I enjoyed it alot. :P tks. p.s. Did you check out London eye?? I really want to take a look at that though. have a nice trip at Austria.ttyl.