London, United Kingdom

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Randi and I started our Spring Break adventure by boarding a plane at Shannon Airport to London. When we arrived we had to figure out the crazy subway system called the "Tube" to get to the house that her friend Lachelle was living in. After an hour long ride, we met her friend at the station. The place we stayed was in a cute little town called East Finchley. Shortly after we arrived, we decided to go and hit the town cause we wanted to go see the city. We decided to go see Westminster Abbey. Unfortunately when we arrived there, it was closed because it's never open on Sundays. We made the best of it though. We took pictures with Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. There was a building in the same square called the Methodist Central Hall and I wanted to look inside. So we did little exploring and found a beautiful sanctuary and some really nice people to talk to. We walked across the bridge toward the London Eye and there was a Pancake stand. So of course we had to try it. I ordered banana and cinnamon. They were served in a cup and were delicious. We then got tickets for the London. There was an option to upgrade to the Champagne Experience and we decided that would be fun. We rode the London Eye with a bunch of couples who were nicely dressed. We didn't have makeup on and Randi even had sweatpants on. We certainly didn't fit in. But, we had a lot of fun doing it! We stopped at a pub for fish and chips. We then hopped on the Tube to King's Cross Station to visit Platform 9 and 3/4! There was a line of people waiting and there was a photographer and they let you borrow scarves for the pictures. I picked Ravenclaw because that is clearly the "wise" choice. After that, we headed back to the house to sleep after an exhausting day of travelling.



Our first stop the next day was Westminster Abbey. I unfortunately could not take pictures inside. The set up was very unique. There was an altar in the middle and then there were a ton of little rooms on the sides with memorials and burials of important people to the church. Everything was magnificent and hard to believe that it actually exists. The architecture and sculptures were amazing. We then walked over to Buckingham Palace through St. James Park. The park was so pretty . There were so many different birds and so many of them! There were actually some flowering trees. Spring is still trying even though it snowed quite a few times while we were there. We had just missed the Changing of the Guard so we decided to come back again on Wednesday to see it. So we went to Trafalgar Square. That is the famous square with the lions, if you don't recognize the name. I climbed up by my new pet Lion to take a picture with him! I wonder if mom would mind if I brought him home? Down the street, We saw a sign and Randi saw a sign for Macbeth, so we walked to the theatre. James McAvoy, who is in my favorite movie "Becoming Jane", is in the play. The shows are sold out for months though. Randi was disappointed. We went to a shop in Leister Square that sells half price tickets and got tickets for the new musical "Once" for Wednesday.



To finish off the already exciting day, we went to THE MAKING OF HARRY POTTER! This is a tour of the Warner Brother's Set. As we walked in I was speechless. I was so excited that I thought I might have a heart attack. I didn't even know how to react to the situation. The tour begins with a video and the screen lifts to show the Entrance to the Great Hall. Then you walk into the Great Hall! Some highlights of the tour include Harry's first set of robes, the entrance gates, the griffindor common room, Dumbledore's office, Hagrid's Hut, the kitchen of the borough, the statue from the ministry of magic, the night bus, the house on privet drive, diagon alley, Olivanders, and a replica of Hogwarts. The tour was worth every penny I paid for it. After the tour, Randi and I got our own poster made dressed in robes and with wands. After so much excitement, we headed home looking forward to our new adventures the next day.



Our first stop on this new day was Wesley's Chapel. The tube system closed the line we needed to it was quite an experience to get there. We stopped in Wesley's House and a very nice man gave us a little tour around the house. There were only two rooms on each level, but there were a lot of levels. This type of house is Georgian Style. I learned a lot of interesting things about John Wesley. He rose everyday at 4 am for prayer and expected his other preachers to join him by 5 am. We was very interested in physical fitness and he had a special chair that was designed for working out. He was also very interested in medicine and actually provided medicine to people who could not afford to buy it themselves. He had a machine in the house that was actually a shock machine that was believed to help people suffering with depression. He seems like a very interesting person to talk to. Right next door to the house was the Chapel that Wesley built and preached in. It was quite fancy for a Methodist Church. We were told that it has been decorated more and more over the years. Across the street was the Bunhill Fields Burial Grounds. This is where anyone that the government was angry with was buried because it was outside the limits of the city at the time. Quite a few famous people are buried there for their writing or beliefs. We then headed over to London Bridge. This was the site of the first bridge across the Thames and was the only one for quite awhile. It was also interesting to be at the place that the kids rhyme was from. We walked along the river to the Tower Bridge. The bridge is amazing. The craftsmanship is fascinating. It looks like a castle and it's only a bridge. I then visited the Tower of London which is the original residence of the Royal Family who moved to the Buckingham Palace in the 1800's. This is where Anne Boleyn was greeted with love once and with an ax another time. There was a public beheading site on the hill outside the Tower and a Private one on the inside near the white Tower. Only 6 people were ever beheaded inside the Tower walls. The Crown Jewels are also kept inside the Tower. i got to see them. They were beautiful. I cannot even describe how beautiful they were. The guards in the tower are called the Yeoman. They live and work in the Tower. In order to be one, you have to serve the queen for 22 years in the military and never have gotten in trouble with the law. Their uniforms currently say EIIR, which stands for Elizabeth the Second Regina. In other words, Queen Elizabeth II. When Charles takes the throne, the uniforms will also change. The white tower was the first building in the Tower and was the residence of the Royal family. Now it holds an armory and international gifts from all over the world. After the Tower of London, we walked down the river to the Globe Theater. Yes, the Shakespeare one. There were no more tours for the day, so I didn't get to go in.



Randi and I then headed home to change for the musical. We left a little later than we should have and barely made the start. The musical was very casual and the music was beautiful. It was strings and piano. The story is about a guitar player and a pianist who fall in love. The accompanying instruments sat on stage to the sides and actually acted in the musical too. It was really cute and I loved it. It is based off the movie that came out a few years ago. I hadn't heard of the movie, but I will definitely watch that sometime soon.



To start off my last day in London, I went to see the changing of the guard. There were so many people there to see it. Everyone in the crowd was angry because they couldn't see. I was standing relatively near the front, so I could see pretty well. The whole thing took about and hour and fifteen minutes. There were two separate bands and they kept playing songs back and forth. They played every kind of genre that sounds good in a woodwind and drum band. It was very cool to watch. We then headed over to St Paul's Cathedral. It was huge! St. Paul focuses on the fact that whatever religion you are, you are welcome. They hold services every time something big happens in the world. They held a service after the 9/11 attacks. The cathedral had a lot of memorials lining the floor and had a huge altar. This is the church that a lot of royalty get married in. There is also a whispering gallery. This is in the dome and if two people stand on opposite sides of this huge dome, they can hear each other when they whisper. The Crypt in the basement is very interesting too. When I think of a Crypt, I usually think of a scary dark place. Granted, it was dark down there, but it wasn't scary at all. It was actually organized and interesting to explore. There is actually a sanctuary down there. When the Cathedral expanded, they knocked down a church and promised the church that they could have a place for prayer in the basement of the new cathedral. This small area is used for royal family services such as baptisms. This building is a huge landmark in London and everyone recognizes the huge dome on the top of the building. We then went to visit Abbey Road from the Beatles Album. We attempted to get the picture on the crosswalk which was an experience. There was traffic everywhere and we almost got hit quite a few times. But, it was defiantly worth it. We walked where the Beatles walked! To finish off the day, we visited the Regent Park. This park was beautiful and I would visit it everyday if I lived in London. It was well kept and so pretty. It was a good way to finish my last day. After that I took the subway home and came back to Limerick. What a great trip!

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