So I'm not sure how long my internet will last at this crazy airport hotel, but here goes...
Day two of London was a full, and I mean FULL, day of sightseeing and public transportation. :) We traveled from one end of London to the other by train, bus AND boat.
We started our morning early with breakfast at our lovely little bed-and-breakfast-style hotel and then a bus into Central London. We hoped on a city cruse boat and rode down the River Thames to the London Tower. So much history and so many people! The sheer number of tourists and shuffling feet and snapping cameras kind of zapped most of my enthusiasm for the sights of the Tower. But nevertheless, I got to wander around the White Tower and learn more about the place where so much history (and be-headings) took place. We also got to catch a glimpse of some sort of celebration parade with the Royal Navy as they marched around and through the Tower grounds.
Next we caught another boat up the the Thames to Greenwich with the goal of finding the Prime Meridian line. Greenwich is a beautiful, quaint yet bustling suburb area of London with as many museums and old buildings as a part-time-history-lover/photographer could ask for! I went a little artsy today with the photos.
I loved wandering around the National Meritime Museum which got me thinking more and more about my possible future involvement with the U.S. Navy. I realized I would be quite proud and excited to join the legacy of naval history. I also had the opportunity to wander around the campus of the University of Greenwich (at least I think that's what it was) into an old chapel where a girl was practicing a sort of modern opera piece. Pretty amazing. Another favorite moment was trekking all the way up to a 45 degree+ slope to the Royal Observatory to find the prime meridian line right as it was closing. I'm not sure if I ever really found it.
After Greenwich, we caught the tube back to the Westminster side of town. Here we walked and walked and walked, stopping by Westminster Abbey and various parts of two surrounding parks. There were so many people out and about on the park benches and grass, feeding pigeons and squirrels and enjoying the brief London sun. One girl literally had a squirrel up on her arm eating out of her hands.
From Westminster we spent another hour or so ridding the tube to find our hotel at Heathrow airport (with much help from some pretty amazing local Brits). By this point we were all walking along like zombies, ready to throw our suitcases down (which we had had to carry around all day from our first hotel) and "rustle up some grub" in good 'ol Texas spirit. We had several ridiculous "we're so tired, this shouldn't be this funny" laughs about the quirks of our hotel such as the slot in the wall that you have to stick your key card in to keep the lights on... Hopefully some rest will put our heads on straight.
I write now from a wonderfully comfortable hotel bed in my last several hours before being in Africa. Flight leaves tomorrow morning from London to Nairobi.
Day two of London was a full, and I mean FULL, day of sightseeing and public transportation. :) We traveled from one end of London to the other by train, bus AND boat.
We started our morning early with breakfast at our lovely little bed-and-breakfast-style hotel and then a bus into Central London. We hoped on a city cruse boat and rode down the River Thames to the London Tower. So much history and so many people! The sheer number of tourists and shuffling feet and snapping cameras kind of zapped most of my enthusiasm for the sights of the Tower. But nevertheless, I got to wander around the White Tower and learn more about the place where so much history (and be-headings) took place. We also got to catch a glimpse of some sort of celebration parade with the Royal Navy as they marched around and through the Tower grounds.
Next we caught another boat up the the Thames to Greenwich with the goal of finding the Prime Meridian line. Greenwich is a beautiful, quaint yet bustling suburb area of London with as many museums and old buildings as a part-time-history-lover/photographer could ask for! I went a little artsy today with the photos.
I loved wandering around the National Meritime Museum which got me thinking more and more about my possible future involvement with the U.S. Navy. I realized I would be quite proud and excited to join the legacy of naval history. I also had the opportunity to wander around the campus of the University of Greenwich (at least I think that's what it was) into an old chapel where a girl was practicing a sort of modern opera piece. Pretty amazing. Another favorite moment was trekking all the way up to a 45 degree+ slope to the Royal Observatory to find the prime meridian line right as it was closing. I'm not sure if I ever really found it.
After Greenwich, we caught the tube back to the Westminster side of town. Here we walked and walked and walked, stopping by Westminster Abbey and various parts of two surrounding parks. There were so many people out and about on the park benches and grass, feeding pigeons and squirrels and enjoying the brief London sun. One girl literally had a squirrel up on her arm eating out of her hands.
From Westminster we spent another hour or so ridding the tube to find our hotel at Heathrow airport (with much help from some pretty amazing local Brits). By this point we were all walking along like zombies, ready to throw our suitcases down (which we had had to carry around all day from our first hotel) and "rustle up some grub" in good 'ol Texas spirit. We had several ridiculous "we're so tired, this shouldn't be this funny" laughs about the quirks of our hotel such as the slot in the wall that you have to stick your key card in to keep the lights on... Hopefully some rest will put our heads on straight.
I write now from a wonderfully comfortable hotel bed in my last several hours before being in Africa. Flight leaves tomorrow morning from London to Nairobi.
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| The London eye |
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| Hello Big Ben |
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| Houses of Parliament |
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| Westminster |
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| Weeping Willow at St. James park |
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| Green Park showing off its many other colors |
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| Green Park sunset |
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| Peace from London |
Gorgeous photos! So glad you can experience London. I'd like to visit there someday.
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