An American Tourist In London

Sorry I haven't kept up with this blog in awhile but so much has been happening! So I am still behind. Now I have to look back on what I've done and write about these past events. The first one I am going to write about my 4 day trip to London with Pam! Pam is my sister Brittany's boyfriends mother. I'll break it down with pictures:

To the left is my older sister Brittany and her boyfriend Mike. To the right is Mike (notice the same hair) and his mother Pam.

After only meeting Pam once, she was the one to pick me up from Heathrow airport and got me settled into Bath. She really wanted to do a girls weekend, so we met up at the end of September in London for four days!

Charles Darwin's Grave

Houses of Parliament Outside

I met her on Friday morning and after some tea and biscuits we went to Westminster Abbey. It was beautiful! Really nice too that Pam had found all of these discounts for us so it wasn't as expensive as it would have been. I took some illegal pictures before they told me to put my camera away. It was really cool to see things like Charles Darwin's grave and the coronation seat.
I have learned a lot about old British monarchs but never about the current one Queen Elizabeth II. Seeing pictures of the coronation in Westminster was crazy. I was right in the center of where royalty had been. This became a theme of the trip, the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, which starts at Westminster. Then we went and saw the houses of Parliament. It was amazing! We got to go into the robe room where the Queen gets ready before speaking to Parliament. Of course it was beautiful. We also got to see where the house of Lords and the house of Commons sit. It was really interesting to hear how the British government works. Then for dinner we went to Chinatown and had buffet Chinese food. I had my own room at our hotel that was so nice! We also had access to the executive lounge which had food all the time and free wifi! Whenever we wanted a break or before we went to bed we would always stop there and have some tea and cakes.

Memorial to those who were executed

Yeomen Warder

The next day we went to the Tower of London. Being in London this was the one must see for me. The Tudors are my obsession and especially Henry VIII, so seeing where he had the executions of Anne Boleyn and Katherine Howard was surreal. We had a tour by these people called Yeomen Warders or Beefeaters. Our Beefeater was hilarious! We also got to see the crown jewels. The one thing I kept thinking of seeing the crown jewels was how heavy they must have been. Especially for when the Queen was crowned she was only 26 and tiny. About my size, so she must have been towering over with the weight of jewels. Then we took a river boat cruise from the Tower to Greenwich to Westminster. It was a little cold and a little rainy so we were exhausted afterwards. We relaxed in the executive lounge and I did some homework. Then we had delicious Italian food. This weekend I ate so much rich food that I would fall asleep instantly at night. It was a nice step up from my bags of rice and bagels.

Buckingham Palace

On Sunday, we

Changing of the guard

walked all of London! We walked from St. Paul's Cathedral through Trafalgar Square to Buckingham Palace. All before 11 o'clock. We walked up the Mall to Buckingham and saw the changing of the guards. Buckingham Palace was gorgeous! So beautiful yet simple on the outside. We walked through St. James Park to the Royal Cavalry. This is where they have mounted horses in front of the building and we witnessed the changing of the horses too. I was almost stabbed with a sword by accident. Then we walked through the park again, we saw this crane that was just chilling next to a guy on a bench reading the paper. It was the craziest thing ever, and also the people there were crazy too. It was like no one had seen a squirrel before, they all tried to feed and pet them! Disgusting. Then we went through the state rooms of Buckingham Palace. The entire set up was to celebrate the Queens Diamond Jubilee so it was all about the coronation. It was amazing walking through the palace and gardens where people like Princess Diana and Prince Harry lived. Here was when I decided I wanted to be royalty. My only option is Prince Harry but I have yet to run into him. That night we went to a Beatles play/musical/tribute at a theater! It was called Let It Be and was basically a concert that went through their different styles of music throughout their career and how they became famous. It was so much fun and a lot of singing and dancing! Mostly from me, aka the youngest person there.

Pam and I on Abbey Road

On our last day we went to Abbey Road and walked across! It was so awkward though because traffic kept coming through so you had to walk fast for a picture.

We then went to the Battersea Dogs and Cats Home so that I could compare it to the Bath Cats and Dogs Home for my dissertation. I have come to the decision that I want to adopt a Staffordshire Bull Terrier. They are adorable and so sweet! This was sad because we both wanted to just give them all a great home. We ate our feelings in Covent Garden which had a great outdoor market. Then it was time to say goodbye and head back home to Bath!

Sorry again for the delayed post but soon I will put about a post about my break!
Cheers.

Here is the famous Crane picture: