Since this blog will basically consist of mainly tourist attractions, I figured this would be a fairly appropriate title. Sunday afternoon, my friend and I headed off to the Tower of London. For those of you that don't know, the Tower has served multiple purposes, including an army fortress, a "luxurious royal home" (quoting the brochure on that one), and a prison. It was also the place where Queen Anne Boleyn (among others) was beheaded. Today, it houses more bling than a Tiffany and Co., also known as the Crown Jewels. My personal favorite was the crown most recently worn by Queen Elizabeth I, mostly because it contains the Koh-i-Noor diamond, a pretty impressive rock if I do say so myself. Its quite a massive place, my friend and I took around 2 hours to explore almost every building. After leaving we grabbed some ice cream (some soft serve that tasted more like whipped cream in my opinion), and headed back to the dorms. Click here for my album from the Tower.
On Monday, while everyone else I knew was in class, I took the opportunity to go to the British Museum. I took a tour through a company called London Walks, and right off the bat I found our tourguide Tom to be pretty hilarious. My favorite joke was the one in reference to him and another member of our group being "folically challenged." I am sure him and Larry David would have gotten along famously (for all you Curb Your Enthusiasm fans). I learned some random interesting tidbits about the museum from the guide, none of which I could tell you now. The one thing I do remember is that apparently most of the items at the British Museum have been stolen from other ancient civilations, or in the words of our guide "acquired." The only critique I had of the tour is that the company should be called "London Stands" as I felt we spent the majority of the time in the museum standing. I personally like my tours a la college campus, where the tour guide walks backwards and tries not to trip over anything.
Last night I soared 450 feet above London on the London Eye. Although the views were more spectacular than I remembered, especially at night, it only reiterated my fear of heights. After leaving the London Eye, a tour guide walked us to a pub for the start of our pub crawl. Upon entering the room they reserved for us, it was so crowded that myself and a few other Americans that I met decided to venture off on our own to a completely different pub called the Blackfriar. The night consisted of enjoying my first cider with some new friends, and then heading home on the tube. Although the Brits I have met have been really friendly, I feel like its such a cultural difference that its hard to get along with anyone but Americans. And finally, pictures from the London Eye.
Until next time, don't forget to check back in my main album from time to time. I'll be adding random pictures that don't really fit in any album. The link is now permanently in the sidebar under "My Blog List."
Tourist-y Goodness
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Posted by Rachel at 11:55 AM
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