We spent our Easter Sunday at the Tower of London. I had heard people talk about the Tower of London, but always pictured the Tower Bridge. One of my lecturer's said in class how the crown jewels were held at the Tower of London and I thought it was weird that they were held at a bridge. Little did I know it was an old prison! It was freezing that day so we quickly walked through some of the prison and then got in the long line to see the crown jewels. I was exhausted that day (and a little bit cranky.... sorry mom), so standing in a line was not exactly what I wanted to do. Thankfully, the line did keep moving for the most part. I just had to keep reminding myself what I was about to see and it made it seem a little better. The jewels were beautiful. There were many in there from past king and queens, as well!
Once we left the Tower of London we were right by the Tower Bridge, so we took a few pictures of that. We decided not to walk on it because we were on a tight schedule and had to keep going.
We headed to the O2 Arena for Nando's! We had dinner there and tried to figure out what to do next. We were on a tight schedule because Ellyn and I were planning on taking our mothers to the Greenwich observatory before the sunset so they could see the skyline, but with how cold it was and knowing there was a big hill to get up there we decided it wasn't a good idea. We decided to take them on the airline (which we found out was built for the Olympics this past summer!) so they could get a similar view. When we got there the line was long, and my mom had told me earlier that I should go home early so I could get some sleep. So I left them to ride the airline.
The next morning we met at Waterloo and then headed to the theatre where Mamma Mia! was being held so we could buy tickets! Once we decided what seats we though would be good we bought the tickets. I love the movie, so I was very excited to see the show!
We headed towards Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guards ceremony! We knew it happened every other day, and was not sure it was happening that day, but there were a ton of people there so we figured it had to be happening! We found spots and waited, and waited, and waited some more. Finally, one of the police officers came by to tell us there was no changing of the guards that day. They couldn't have told us that earlier?? We were getting ready to leave when all of a sudden some guards on horses rode by. Not exactly what we were looking for, but still cool to see!
 |
| Princess Diana Memorial |
Next up, we went to Hyde Park to see the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain. It was beautiful. It was basically a little river. We thought it represented her life because it started off smooth, then got rough, then smooth, and then rough again, kind of how her life was. We all thought the memorial was well done.
Kensington Palace was right by Hyde Park, so we went there next. This palace was exciting for me because Princess Diana use to live there, and is the current home to Will and Kate! The tour was not that long and was similar to the other tours I have had of other buildings. One different part was as we were leaving we saw the entrance where the royals enter!
 |
| Kensington Palace |
 |
| Where the royals enter |
 |
| Pillows of the residence of the Palace! Here are Princess Diana, Prince William and Kate |
As we were heading towards the tube we found a frozen yogurt place similar to Yogurt Yeti. Ellyn is from Mount Pleasant so she has been wanting to find a place similar to Yogurt Yeti just as much as I did! We all choose our toppings and enjoyed our cold treat on the cold day. Ellyn and I even got punch cards so we could get a free one after a certain bought. In other words, we'll be in Kensington a lot more frequently.
We found a pub in Central London to head to for dinner that night, and then made our way to the theatre for Mamma Mia! We had some extra time so we stopped at a few stores along the way.
Traveling with Mrs. Goncer is quit funny. While we were walking around trying to find a pub we were walking towards Big Ben. It was right in front of us so you couldn't miss it. Well, Mrs. Goncer did. All of a sudden I hear Ellyn burst into laughter and when she could finally talk again she told me her mom asked her "where is Big Ben?" It doesn't sound as funny in words, but it was hilarious in person!
Once we got to the theatre we found our seats and then watched the show! It was really good and we all enjoyed it. They did make it more England-based, though. For example, in the song "Our Last Summer" there is a line that says "And now you're working in a bank, the family man, a football fan, and your name is Harry." After the football fan part, the person who plays Harry said "Chelsea" which is the big football team in London. They even mentioned Brighton in the play!
We went back to our houses and hotels for the night to try to get as much sleep as possible. We had another adventure awaiting us the next day: Paris.
No comments:
Post a Comment