Onward and Upward: Trams, Trains, and Water Taxi's

*note: the Internet where we are staying is SUPER slow, so it takes awhile for my pictures to load. So this is a post from yesterday, Sunday, July 5.

This morning we woke up to the sound of rain and an overcast morning. It was delightful.

Joe, Anya, and I walked toward Baker Street to eat at a cafe by the Sherlock Holmes Museum. Unfortunately, the cafe was closed, but we made do with Pret A Manger coffee and Sainsbury's Local pastries (I'm sure you can easily see the theme of our breakfasts by now :) ). It was nice to sit outside in the light rain (under an awning, of course) to enjoy our breakfast and the atmosphere. We walked past the Sherlock museum which, on a Sunday, had a very long line. Making a note to come back another day, we made our way back to our rooms, but took a different route that passed along the St. Regent's Park.

We waited a little while to figure out where and when to meet up with Whitney, the other Anya, and Shaun (just like the old days before cell phones! :) ).

I relaxed awhile in this little square by our flats.

Our meeting place was set for the pier behind the London Eye and the time was set for 3:30. Joe, Anya, and I arrived perfectly on time, but the pier was extremely crowded. This made it rather difficult to find our friends, especially because the pier is such a big place. For about 15 minutes, Joe and I stood on little pillars and scanned the crowd while Anya wandered further on.

Finally, I decided to ask where the water taxi's left from (this was our next activity and the reason we were meeting here) and was pointed in the right direction. As I walked up, I saw Shaun waiting patiently. He had arrived the same time we had (15 minutes before), but had been waiting by the water taxi! It actually worked out perfectly, because Whitney and Anya S. walked up a few minutes later.

We took the water taxi down the Thames River and under several bridges, including the London Bridge! We all really enjoyed our fast paced cruise down the river and being able to observe the variety of antique buildings, historical and iconic landmarks, with mix of with modern marvels.

Going UNDER the London bridge

We disembarked at a place where you can ride a gondola across the river and catch a grand glimpse of London from the sky.

We saw a guy trying to do this in the water (I forget what it's called):

Then we said goodbye to Shaun and Anya and headed back to central London. To get there, we had to catch the tube but the first train that stopped at the station was completely packed with people! So we waited for the next one and spread out on the platform, so that at least each person could (hopefully) get a spot on the train. The second car was slightly less packed, and with our strategy, we all got on. We then changed lines and our new train allowed us to hang out together. Most of the time was a grammar discussion/debate between Anya and Whitney, with Joe interjecting here and there. The girls finally realized that they were trying to prove the same point, and we all had a good laugh.

In central London, Whitney continued her journey home, so we said goodbye and left the station. Anya, Joe, and I were actually going to visit the same fish and chips place from yesterday (it was THAT good!) but we soon found out that it is closed on Sunday's.

Plan B was to find wifi and look up some other places nearby. We found a German bratwurst place that was highly rated called Herman ze German. :)

Anya and I ordered Bokwurst (smoked pork) and it was absolutely delicious!!!

After dinner, we walked to Piccadilly Square and explored the area a bit. We likened it to Times Square in New York, because it has "tall" buildings, a lot of shows (like a Broadway feel), lots of people, entertainers drawing crowds, etc. There is a movie in the cinemas here called Mr. Sherlock. We tried to find what time it was playing, but the only cinema playing this movie had just started. Maybe later this week.

Charlie Chaplain! Except that Anya and I couldn't tell if he was real or not. We've been scared by a few too many to trust something that looks so real. Joe had to prove it to us first...

But then we warmed up to him.

We found this guy in China Town:

After a little more walking, Joe left to go study. So Anya and I continued our explorations and just started walking towards a park (St. James Square) nearby. It was very small, but as we were walking by, we noticed the houses and cars that we passed were extremely posh and expensive! The next street we walked on blew us away. The cars were fancy and the buildings were elaborate and prestigious-looking! We tried looking inside one of them, but it was the Cambridge and Oxford Club, so we didn't get past the front door.

We soon realized that we were near Buckingham Palace and it started to make sense. One street looked interesting so we turned into it and it turned out to be next to a small palace! We were like giddy school girls. It was so fun to discover a palace on a random street!

Can I come in?

Anya and I walked to Buckingham, watched the guards, walked around a little, then headed back through St. James park.

This is when we started to really love London. The park was so beautiful, it reminded Anya of the park in Boston, and we even found a playground where the swings, seesaw, and other toys were made from wood! Naturally, we took a swing (from the top of which you could see Buckingham!).