We had a breakfast of English Crumpets (they reminded me a lot of very thick, un-toasted english muffins) at Em and Todd's before heading to Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guard. (In order to get here we took one of the double decker red buses 😄) For some reason, the change wasn't taking place, but, the guards were marching between posts so we got to see that (I actually thought the guards' marching was the changing of the guard so I was really confused when everyone started asking why the changing of the guard hadn't happened 😂)
We had a look at the Queen Victoria Memorial Monument before starting our walk toward Trafalgar Square.On our way we stumbled upon the palace horses exiting the grounds in the form of a grand parade- though no one was sure where they were going.
I noticed that as we were crossing streets in the city centre the green "walk signs" were female, female or male, male symbols. I asked Emily why and she told me that when gay marriage was legalized in the UK the traffic posts were changed and have stayed this way ever since. I thought that was pretty fuckin' cool.
I also learned that Trafalgar Square houses three plinths that hold consistent statues while the fourth is always rotating.
After the square we walked by Big Ben but unfortunately it is covered in scaffolding and will be for the next two years. Woof.
Near there we stopped to see Westminster Abbey and The Parliament Building (which was also unfortunately covered in scaffolding 😞)
On our way to lunch we passed by a bagpiper playing on the street corner who had attracted quite the crowd.
Mark and I shared fish and chips and bangers and mash and a couple of pints for lunch.
After lunch we wandered down the river to see the London Eye.
We ended our tour of the city at The Tower of London (which isn't just a tower, but rather large grounds that require exploring) We wandered in an out of all of the exhibits and at the very end of the day, right before closing, we snuck into the line to see the crown jewels (The wait was over three hours when we arrived but by the end of the night was only 20 minutes- score!)
We took the tube back to Em and Todd's where Emily made us a delicious curry with naan bread. She truly is the jack of all trades. By this point in the day Mark was feeling incredibly ill so he had a lie down while the rest of us had a few drinks and got ready for a night out in London. It was Emily's best friend, Nat's birthday, so we were all going to a bar where she had reserved a table. The bar had great music so Tash, Jenna, Em and I found ourselves tearing up the dance floor. The bartenders tried their hardest to make our drinks in completely hilarious, outrageous ways-- anything to get us to crack a smile, right?! (and maybe leave a bigger tip 😉). No night is complete without late night food so Tash and I had thought ahead. Earlier in the day we picked up three frozen pizzas. Our night ended in chatting and cheesy goodness.
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