Tower of Terror

Sorry for the untimely post! It has been a busy past two days, and I've been going and  going since yesterday! Yesterday, of course, was our big trip to the Tower of London! You really can't go to London without fitting that in somewhere.

We stopped at the Roman Wall first to squeeze in a quick picture for our group project!

We're so tiny!

And then off to the Tower!

Olivia and I in front of the Tower of London!

We were lucky enough to run into Dr. Facinelli when we got there, who helped us find the proper tour guide so we could be on our way. She prompt disappeared after that, however... All the same, we had a great tour!

Our guide! He actually guarded prisoners at the Tower once upon a time...

The brown horse supposedly belonged to Henry VIII... Poor thing.

The Jubilee Diamond! The Queen will be "lighting the streets" with it, apparently.

I busied myself in the gift shop by finding all of the Henry VIII merchandise, including (but not limited to) the Wives Barbie collection and the Henry + Wives Christmas ornament set (sadly, too expensive to purchase)!

We discovered in the Bloody Tower that everyone except the Royal family admits that Richard killed the princes... There was even a little tribute at the site where the Princes' bodies were found in the White Tower for visitors to see. Every once in a while, some audio would pipe in... "Uncle Richard?"..."Where is my brother?"

The beheading site of only the best of the best

After our various tours of the White and Bloody Towers, we made our way to the main event... The Crown Jewels!

NO PICTURES ALLOWED.

Now, maybe I just couldn't recall it, but I don't remember the Crown Jewels being that much of an... event... No pictures, obviously, and the moving walkway through the crowns was the same, but the hype was out of control! Video screens, new re-vamped lighting, more rooms, it was crazy! I'm sure it was all re-done for the Jubilee (they even have a video on loop of Queen Elizabeth's coronation, which was cool to see), but it was a little wild!

We concluded our visit with the last picture on on London group project list, which was in front of the White Tower!

The girls!

Last-minute picture in front of Tower Bridge!

After being out at the Tower all day, we decided to unwind before approaching our readings on Ireland! So we decided to try some Chinatown "bubble tea" on Olivia's suggestion.

We saw Les Miserables' theater on the way there... So close... Yet so far...

Tea with bubbles of tapioca in it... I can dig it

With a lovely day still ahead of us, Marissa wanted to visit Baker Street, which is home to the London Beatles Store, Sherlock Holmes' abode, and Regent's Park!

Baker Street adventures!

At the last minute, Olivia and I decided to rent some Barklay's bikes and have a ride around Regent's Park! It was beautiful and a really good idea (my idea!)

The bikes!

We finished the evening off by going on a haphazard hunt for fish n' chips... We found some, and apparently, they were excellent! We were all exhausted, though, and quickly found our way home... Needless to say, the readings were not completed on time, and I had to save mine for the next morning!

Can you tell we're tired? Headed home to Courtfield!