London Adventures, Day 1

So we made it to London! Let me spare you the airport story because it's like every airport story: stressful. Let's just say I had to run across the whole Toronto airport. And to sum up our adventure attempting to find Helen, well, it took a good hour and a half, but she found us! She is such a cool chick and Henry, her boyfriend, is a hoot. I got so excited when they came home today because they're simply that great.

Anyway! What did Sara and I do today?

We started by taking the train into London from Helen and Henry's flat. It was hardly complicated thankfully! The London train system is so easy to navigate and it is labeled so well. What was really convenient was that the train stop was right by the Clock Tower. Naturally, we took pictures and admired it.

Afterwards, we walked down this little street that was running along the Thames. It was filled with shops and millions of people. We made our way to the London Eye and got a discount package to see the London Dungeons, a tourist spot Helen suggested. I have no clue what it's about, but we got tickets because we trust Helen. We got confused with the booking, so we won't be seeing it until tomorrow.

North of the London Eye

South of the London Eye

We got on the London Eye and it was breathtaking. I can't explain it in any other words. Looking over all of London makes you gawk. To save you guys some time, the Eye is 443 feet high. I didn't get to ride it last time I visited England because our group got there a little too late, so I was elated to ride it!

We got some lunch. Nothing to authentic just some sandwiches (Side note: Sara and I had some pretty damn good chips and fish the other day thanks to Helen and Henry!) but we sat and enjoyed ourselves. We walked up and down the street, doing various things like stopping into an arcade, grabbing some beer, scheduling our London Dungeon tickets, but it was really delightful. Especially the sitting and drinking beer. Sara and I haven't really talked too much since my sophomore year of high school, so 2010. A catch-up talk was much needed so we drank our beer and talked for a good hour and a half.

 It was a very minute event, but I extremely pleased with it. We went into the arcade, right? Guess what we found. A Zoltar fortune telling machine! Of course I got my future read, and it is spot on. Zoltar is almighty! Ironically, it told me I need to travel, whether it's for leisure or for business. Ha. Zoltar, you got me. It said this cute thing that I really liked "you change your sky, not your mind" holla, Zoltar. Holla.

UK Parliament from the Victoria Hill's garden

Sara and I had a huge list of plans to do today, but we got side-tracked and walked all the way around the UK Parliament and through Victoria Hill's garden. It was small park and virtually empty but it was such a serene day that a walk through the park was necessary. It was low seventies all day with a gentle breeze. Ideal, right?

Well, we did really well wandering around until we got lost in this quaint little neighborhood of London, but it was planned on a grid with dead ends, so navigating our way out wasn't complicated.

Once we turned ourselves the right way, we passed this hidden historical site. It's right by the Parliament, so it can be found easily but only if you walk off the beaten trail. The monument was called the Jewel tower. It was apart of the greater Westminster Palace back in the 1365 but the palace burned down 1834. This tower held a lot of miscellaneous objects like a fancy chess set, a doll collection, et cetera then it became the record office for the House of Lords. It's really boring on the outside, and a little bit on the inside structurally, but the history behind it was quite intriguing!

Jewel Tower

We walked around Westminster, but we weren't able to go inside. We got there too late. We ran errands. Got on the train. Got back to Helen and Henry's. Ate. Drank. Talked. Sat. And now, we are here. Well, I'm here. Everyone else is sleeping so I am going to head to bed as well.

Good night, everyone! I'll keep you posted!