Dream Big...: London!!

This past weekend, I spent the weekend in London with my friends Bethany, Katie and Cory. Not only did I spend time with them, but we met up with Emily! She's in London this week with a group from ODU. I was able to catch up with her and we were able to hang out some. It was a pretty awesome weekend!

We got into the city Friday evening and checked into our hostel. I wasn't quite sure what to think of it. I had never stayed in a hostel before and when we walked into this one, it was quite warm and kind of dark. My first impression wasn't that great. But, once we got settled in, it turned out to be pretty good. Once we checked in and dropped our stuff off, we took a little walk and met up with Emily! I had dinner with her and some others from ODU. The point of meeting up then was so that I could give her my cell phone so we could find each other Saturday. Otherwise, who knows if we would've ever found each other again!

Saturday morning, Bethany, Katie, Cory and I headed up to do some sight seeing. We met up with our friend Jordan who was in the area. Our first stop was the Tower of London. The first major usage of the Tower was as a fortress by William the Conqueror. That means it's a quite an old place. It's been used in the years since as a fortress, place of residence for the monarchs, and prison among other things. It's cool to see how it's been added on to and how different areas were used for different things throughout time. Some of the most notable parts of the Tower are The Traitors Gate, where prisoners were brought in, the Jewel House, which houses the Crown Jewels, and the ravens. Although I am not a huge fan of birds, these ravens are impressive. Legend has it that if the ravens ever leave the Tower, that will be the end of the monarchy. Needless to say, these ravens are quite well taken care of. There are 8 total and 2 are kept in cages, just in case anything happens to the other 6. They all have names and are quite domesticated.

We took a tour with a "Beefeater". The proper name is Yeoman Warder and these guys are the keepers of the Tower basically. In order to become a Yeoman Warder, you must have served 22 years in the military and retired as a high-ranking officer. The guide we had was very knowledgeable and quite entertaining. It's always fun knowing the little things that are a part of history. One of the interesting bits of information we learned is that prisoners were held in the Tower as late as WWII. A German spy was imprisoned and executed in the Tower during the war. They've done an awesome job of bringing history to life at the Tower. The White Tower is in the middle of the whole complex and is now a museum of sorts with armor of kings past and interactive areas to show just what life was like in the Tower. Part of the outer section is set up like an apartment of a knight and his lady. They have actors there playing the parts of the knight and lady. The sections that were used as prisons also have areas that are set up as they would've been. Also, in one of the lower areas, they have a little bit about torture that was used in the Tower. All-in-all, it was a really informative morning.

After we left the Tower, we got lunch and headed to the British Museum. One of the most famous things at the British Museum is the Rosetta Stone. This is the stone that was found and enabled scholars to decipher the ancient hieroglyphics. Honestly, it's a little anti-climactic. There's only a portion of it left and it's probably a few inches shorter than me. Nonetheless, it's one of those things that you should definitely see if you ever have the chance. It played a very significant role in history. In the same section there are other sculptures from ancient Egypt. As you move along, there are sculptures from the Parthenon. These sculptures are part of a debate right now over who should rightfully possess them, but for now they're in Britain. Looking at parts of a building that has such a long history is truly awe-inspiring. I could probably spend days in the museum. For the sake of time, I made my way up to the upper floor. The stuff to see up there is the mummies!! That's right, mummies! It was pretty cool to see actual mummified bodies and learn a bit about the way the bodies were preserved. Hopefully I'll be able to make it back to the museum at some point so that I can spend a bit more time there.

To wrap-up our weekend away, we did a little sight-seeing on Sunday. We went by Buckingham Palace (the flag was up so the Queen was home). Unfortunately, my camera battery was dead by that point. I'm going to "borrow" some of the pictures the others took once they put them on Facebook. After Buckingham Palace, we walked on to the Natural History Museum. They had a lot of really cool interactive things set up about everything from ecology to human biology. After that, we went by and saw the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain. It was beautiful. I'll definitely be taking mom by there when she comes to visit. Katie made the statement that, out of all of the monuments we had seen, that one was the only one that welcomes you to touch it and stick your hands and feet in the water and what not. There was a sign that told about the memorial and said that the interactive aspect of the memorial was on purpose. It was to represent Princess Diana's openness to all. It was really gorgeous and thought-provoking. We kept walking and went by Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey. By then, it was time for us to gather our things and head back to the train station.

The entire weekend was packed full of history and beauty. I'm really glad I had the opportunity to visit London and I hope to make it back. Herman and I are going for the day on Wednesday, but just for the day. I would really like to take mom when she comes. It's too good to not show off. I'll attach a few pictures and attempt to show a bit of how cool it is.

The sign as you head to the Tower from the Underground. The Tower is still a Palace and Fortress as the sign says. Crazy amounts of history!

The Tower Bridge with a double-decked bus driving across it. Notice I said Tower Bridge. This is the London Bridge. That one's up the river a bit and not nearly as impressive.