Walking on the Thames

Yesterday and today were very busy!!

After our history class yesterday we went to Westminster Abbey, which was very crowded but so cool! I'm pretty sure I saw just about every grave of every famous dead British person you know (well, scratch that, but a lot of them). A few that you all might appreciate - Darwin (that's for all of my science friends), Handel (yep, the composer, I just about cried), Tennyson, Kipling, Dickens, and too many monarchs to name. We also saw the coronation chair that has been used since the 13th century. After the Abby we went to the National Gallery, where we ran around like crazy because our art professor had given us an assignment. Unfortunately, the impressionist exhibit is closed right now, so we missed out on all of that, but their collection is mainly Renaissance and Baroque, so I am trying to tell myself it wasn't that bad. After the National Gallery about five of us girls decided we wanted to go see Harrods. The only thing I could afford in the entire place was one piece of chocolate (emphasis on the one). The exact same pair of jeans I had on cost more in pounds at Harrods than it does in dollars in the United States; therefore, it is well over twice the cost of buying them in Arkansas. My advice to Britons: order your jeans from Fayetteville.

This morning we had another history class and then headed out to see the War Cabinet Rooms and Churchill Museum. It was a really cool museum! It is very new and interactive, and I love that era of history, so it was right up my alley. They have restored the actual building (which was mostly untouched) to its conditions of the turning point of WWII in 1940. This particular place is where Churchill and his war cabinet went during the bombing raids. There were bunks, a kitchen, conference rooms, a map room, and everything imaginable, even a direct line to the US President. Apparently, since all of these men and women spent so much time in there during the war right afterwards they basically just took pictures of how it looked (absolutely incredibly convenient, huh?) shut it up and no one really reopened it until the '70s, which has made the restoration really amazing. Off of this they have built a huge room/museum of Churchill's life, which is also fun if you like to learn about Churchill.

After that, we could do whatever we wanted, so Kelly (from LA), and I went down to Buckingham Palace. We walked around for a while and were actually heading to find a cafe for dinner when happened to see a British family standing at a gate guarded by the Royal Guards. Knowing that whatever was behind that gate must be important, we walked over. Turns out, it was the residence of Charles and Camilla, or so the family told us. That may not be true, but we are choosing to believe it. After that, we somehow wandered around and stumbled upon the Ritz, and then met up with the rest of the group.

Tonight we went on a walk along the Thames. We essentially walked down the river for a while and listened to a very colorful guide tell us a quite questionable history of the city while stopping at a few "historic" places along the way so some of our group could have a few beverages. We did get some great views of St. Paul's cathedral, where Prince Charles and Princess Diana were married in 1981 (we're going there Friday), and also walked by both the recreation of the Globe, where we are seeing Othello Thursday night and the original Globe site.

Tomorrow morning Erica and I are going to attempt to see the changing of the guard if the weather is good, and a group of us is going to try to get last minute theatre tickets. Yea!!

A note to Paige Dunn - do not stay at the Leinster Inn. It is our hostel, and it is very dirty. If you go to Salisbury, stay at the Milford Hall Hotel. VERY nice. They even had a towel warmer in the bathroom. This place brought us crashing back to reality.