Published: May 31st 2005Europe » United Kingdom » England » Greater LondonMay 20th 2005


Tower of London
Probably the coolest thing we did in London; especially when you factor in how we managed to finagle our way into the student discount! Hey, youd've done it to, it was like 14 pound (28 dollars) per person just to take a peek!
We started off the second day at the Tower of London, where a quirky Yeoman Warder (aka Beefeater) took us on an entertaining and educational tour of the city's castle; home of the Crown Jewels and the place of execution many a royal traitor. The stories were really quite interesting and I found out that nursery rhymes such as Humpty Dumpty, Three Blind Mice, and Mary, Mary Quite Contrary all have roots in England's history. I'd tell you more about the stories, but I forget the details and I'm getting tired of typing. The Crown Jewels were of course impressive; the bling to end all bling, including a 500 something carat diamond. Talk about ice.
Next, we took another ride in the tube (subway) and found St. Paul's Church, the Tate Modern Museum, and Shakespeare's Globe Theater. Unfortunately we were unable to tour the theater due to some lame-o dress rehearsal, but we drowned our sorrows with some traditional English food at a nearby pub...fish and chips for Kat and bangers and mash (sausage and mashed potatoes) for me.
After lunch, we hit the British Museum, which is hands down the biggest and most impressive museum I've ever been


Beefeater Tour Guide
This guy was hillarious--a little too flirty with the ladies, but definitely a pro tour guide. The Yeoman Warders at the tower of London have to serve for 22 years in the English armed forces, obtaining a rank of distinguishment with a spotless record of conduct. Talk about a bad-ace tour guide!
to. Absolutely incredible, with endless galleries and exhibits and great treasures such as the Rosetta stone and Cleopatra's mummy. It was serious historic overload; trying to digest centruies of treasures and civilization in just an hour and half. On the way back to the tube station, we stopped by 10 Downing Street to say 'hi' to old Tony Blair, but I guess he was too busy, musta been chattin it up with W or something.
That night, we caught dinner with Kat's cousins and their significant others at a great, but totally overpriced Thai restaurant (damn the dollar to pound conversion rate!) and had a few drinks in some Wimbledon hotspots. I don't really know that they're 'hotspots' but since we were there, let's err on the side of awesome and call 'em just that. The next day, back on the tube for a 2-hour trip back to Luton Airport and finally back 'home' in Hague sweet Hague.
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