We began early to get a full day in. Anya, Joe, and I took the Tube to Westminster. As soon as you exit, you are standing in the shadows of a very Big Ben and Parliament. To the side, you can see the London Eye, along with the Thames River. Behind the Parliament building, you can see parts of the Westminster Abbey showing off in the background. An iconic and beautiful scene to behold.
While waiting for Whitney and her friend (another Anya) to meet us, we all grabbed pastries (my Almond croissant was delicious!) and I also had my usual...a cappuccino. After Whitney and Anya arrived, we set off immediately to see the sights!
Whitney knows EVERYHING! And she is wonderful at giving explanations, so we are always ready to listen when she has information.
Like when she told us about Oliver Cromwell.
Passing over the Golden Jubilee Bridge
Need a mystery solved? You know who to call...
Trafalgar Square
Besides the big monuments, we were on the lookout for smaller monuments as well.
In the Trafalgar Square rests the smallest police station in Britain. It was built in the 1800's to keep an eye on protestors, but is now used for storage. It is said that the lamp on top came from Nelson's ship, HMS Victory.
Trafalgar Square also has a church called St Martin-in-the-Fields. This window was designed by the Iranian artist Shirazeh Houshiary, who was inspired by the way water reflects and changes images. It was unveiled in 2008.
Buckingham Palace
We didn't plan it his way, but we happened to arrive just as they were changing the guard. But it seemed like a bigger ordeal than even that because the whole procession ended in a small parade!
Had to :)
We grabbed sandwiches from Pret A Manger and ate them in the park.
During our explorations past the Royal Academy of Arts, we observed this unique demonstration of how movement and sound have been combine to create a new sensory experience. Apparently, it's like being "high" but without the after effects. We moved on.
We passed through Picadilly Square and simultaneously increased our group size. Whitney's friend, Anya, has a friend, Shaun, who lives in London. He met up with us to hang out for the afternoon.
Anya Z. saw that there was a garden nearby, Coventry Gardens. Once we arrived, we quickly realized that "garden" is somewhat of a misnomer. Shopping mall would be a better description. None-the-less, it was a very beautiful structure with several shops and a lady who was singing opera (wonderful acoustics).
Continuing on, we passed brought some real gardens on our way to the Thames.
Where we also happened upon Cleopatra's Needle. It was made in Egypt in 1460 BC. How did it end up in London? They brought it over in 1878 to commemorate he British victory over Napolean (63 years earlier). It has an interesting journey, especially because it was shipwrecked on the way!
Walking by the river, we stumbled across a used book sale! We definitely stopped to peruse and a couple of us even bought a book or two.
Me: "pretend like you're English" (I guess we all went for the posh look) :)
Further down the river (St Paul's Cathedral in the background)
Crossing the bridge to see the Cathedral
While in England, we had to get some Fish and Chips. Anya and I looked up different options (there are plenty!) and found a little place called Masters Super Fish. We knew we had found the a good location when we walked in and appeared to be the only tourists. We were right! The food was absolutely amazing!!
They even serve you prawns and bread before dinner.
We really enjoyed our meal and had a good time hanging out together.
After dinner, we parted ways to go home. On our way, Joe fueled up (aka. bought coffee) at Nero's Cafe and he worked for awhile while Anya and I made plans.
I tried updating the blog but was so exhausted that I fell asleep in the middle of it! I woke up again at 4am to all the lights on and my iPad still on my pillow. Ha! I put it away and quickly fell back to sleep.
Stats: 29,772 steps, 12.8 miles (we almost surpassed our record), and 41 floors.
Inside Jokes:
At the Westminster Abbey: did Whitney say married or buried?
Nero (we pronounce it Nēro, Joe pronounces it Narrow)
Trying to guess Joe's middle name
At dinner: Shaun (talking about the art museum): "you just look at a picture"
Shaun made up the story of the peacock.
Bets with Joe:
He tried to bet about black square.
Whitney vs. Joe - is the word Verboten in the English dictionary? Joe won so Whitney had to say Happy Fourth of July to a British person (she had an out though with Shaun there).
Shaun scared me at the tube station.
Love pret a manger....try their coconut yogurt...worth going to Europe for ..... July 4th? You people from across the pond!
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