Around London Town

My trip back to London for graduation was magical. I have been missing London to the point that I dream that I still live there, only to wake up disappointed. When I first decided to move there, I never imagined that it would be a place that took up residence in my heart. I'm such a California girl and always look forward to going home when I've been away for a long time. Now I have those same feelings for London. It surprises me how quickly and easily the city sucks you in.

During my third semester of Uni, I realized that I would have to postpone graduation by one semester in order to complete all my classes. I went to my room and Skyped my parents, CRYING that I was going to have to live there longer. Now, what I wouldn't give to have one more semester in London! I don't know why I was so upset. My last week living there was filled with tears at the thought or conversation of leaving.

Going back for a week was just what I needed to recharge my enthusiasm for life.

 I went for a morning jog in Hyde Park on my first day back.

 Is there popcorn, popping on that tree?

The whole week was sunshine filled! It was as if the London Gods were trying to fool me into thinking the weather is always that gorgeous. I really lucked out that week. However, it made leaving that much harder. Well played, London. Well played.

I found the Tardis! My mom was asking me about this when she visited in December. I really thought she was making it up since in the two and half years that I was there, I had never seen it. After our graduation lunch, we were walking back through Earl's Court and low and behold, there it was.

 I tried to do and see things that I hadn't while I was there. I went to two shows that I had not seen. 39 Steps and 1984. I LOVED both of them. 39 Steps is an Alfred Hitchcock story. It is performed by four actors who play several characters. I thought that was going to be confusing. It was not! It was brilliant! 1984 is based on the George Orwell book. It is a dark, gruesome story. It was fantastic on stage! Also, I was tickled that I paid £19.84 for my ticket.

I miss seeing these guys. This man was in Covent Garden.

South Bank, Yoda was in.

 This guy posed for me on South Bank.

 I had lunch with a good friend and he took me to this hide away spot next to Tower Bridge. It was right on the river. You can see the city in the distance but all you hear is the water lapping at the edge of the river. It is so peaceful and I am claiming it my favorite spot in London.

 I had always meant to visit Shakespeare's Globe Theatre but never got around to it. On my visit back, it was one of the first things I did. It is not the original theatre since that one burned down in a fiery blaze. But it was still interesting to learn about the structure and the vision that Shakespeare had for the theatre.

 I spent time with Helen and Tim! I'm such a lucky girl to have two great friends living in London. They took me to dinner for graduation, Helen and I went to Abby Road and we sat together as church just like old times.

Abbey Road is another spot that I always meant to go see, but never got around to. There were a handful of other tourist there too. I tried not to stop too much traffic as I walked across the street while Helen took my picture.

Ever since high school, I considered myself a long lost Beatle.

"Come at me, bro! Come at me!" -David Lloyd George (not really, but that's what I thought when I saw his statue)

 The man. Winston Churchill.

 Looking up at Parliament.

I also said 'ello' to a few of the classic spots around London.

The Shard in the distance, towering over London.

  The same day I went to Abbey Road, I saw this street art at Trafalgar Square. It reads: "All you need is love."

This is my favorite square in London. Trafalgar Square.

South Bank.

The London Eye.

 I don't know when I will return to London. But I will. There is no way I can live, without visiting where I left part of my heart and soul.

Susan "I looked into the Tardis and the Tardis looked into me" B.

Tower of London? More like Tower of Terror Part 2

Ann Bolin wasn't the only person to loose her head on these grounds. In fact, beheading, hangings, prisons, torture rooms all existed here. It was customary to pay your executioner before he chopped off your head. If you didn't pay him enough, it might take more than one hack to chop it off. After one is beheaded, the head is held up in air by the executioner and the crowd cheers, then they would impale the head and parade it around as warning to others to not break the law.

This Raven is one of eight.

The Ravens are one of the most famous sights at the Tower of London. Legend has it that Charles II was told that if the ravens left the Tower, the kingdom and the fortress would fall. So, he kept 6 ravens at all time. Today, they have eight just for good measure.
This is called the Garderobe. AKA: the toilet.
I thought this dragon was cool.
All the talk of killings, torture and beheading made me hungry so I ate at the Cafe.

Cupcake cheers for little Eric's birthday!

There was a section called Royal Beasts. They used to keep wild animals on the grounds like elephants, lions and monkeys.

These guys were play actors.

In the Royal Beast section, on the towers, where these scary creatures.

Boo!

Hello London!

I took this shot of the city on top of one of the towers.

Also from atop a tower.

I also learned about how they would torture prisoners. They had torture 'machines' that they used. One machine folded the body into 3 sections, essentially crushing it. The next did just the opposite. It had 3 rollers and the hands and feet where tied out to the side and then pulled until the joints would detach. Gross. I learned this in a section called Torture at the Tower.

These crazy stairs were in all the towers. Very steep, narrow and circular.

Also, I learned about a form of torture/killing that they affectionately named: hanging, disemboweling and beheading. Yup, just like it sounds. I am going to describe it now, so if you don't want to know, skip ahead.

First, they hang the person just long enough that they almost loose their life, then after they cut them down and let them come to, the cut them from belly to sternum, but not too deep, they want to keep the victim alive. Then, slowly, they behead them. Gross right?

The Tower from outside the grounds.

I also went into the Chapel Royal of St. Peter ad Vincula. Some of the dead royalty are buried there.

They still have some of the original walls that were built in 1078 by William the Conqueror.

The Bloody Tower: Acquired it name in the 16th century. It was believed to be the site of the murder of the Princes in the tower. This is a good story too. Edward the IV of England had two sons, Edward the V and Richard of Shrewsbury. When Edward the IV died, the crown would go to his son Edward the V. Their uncle, Richard Duke of Gloucester took responsibility for the two boys. But, after arriving for Edward the V coronation, Richard declared them both illegitimate. At which point made allowed Richard to become King, making him Richard III. There are reports of the boys playing in the tower, but they both mysteriously disappeared in the summer of 1483. It is believed that they were murdered there. Remains of 2 young bodies were found 117 years later that are believed to be that of the Princes. Those two bodies were removed from the grounds and buried properly at Westminster Abbey.

Susan "quoth the Raven 'Nevermore!'"B.

Tower of London? More like Tower of Terror Part 1

Guess who turned 7 today? This big kid! My handsome nephew, Eric. I did my own celebrating in his honor.The Birthday Boy!Ok, I went into central London all by myself! Yeah me! All my friends have classes on Friday and I do not. So, Tower of London was where I headed. I tried to get a picture of the tower from the street and a nice woman that was walking by offered to take a picture of me. That's part of the Tower behind me.
I took over 50 pictures, so this is going to be a two part post and you only get to see the highlights.
First, I love cobblestone streets.
I always start all of my outings by going to the bathroom. Festive, isn't it?

Just outside the restroom was this cute phone booth.
This is the White Tower.
There are 3 levels and it has replicas of armor, horses, weapons etc. inside.

This is the tower where the Crown Jewels are kept. You cannot take pictures inside, but let me say this, there was more bling in there than Kanye West, Jay-Z or Snoop could shake a gold ringed finger at.

This is part of the tower that protects the mote. See the replica of the protecter on the left?

I went on a Yeoman Warder (also known at "beefeaters") guided tour. This chick was my beefeater. Fun fact: if you marry a beefeater, you can get married at The Tower of London. Also, she, amongst others, live at the Tower of London.

This guy was standing outside the Crown Jewel Tower. At first, I wasn't sure if he was real. He stood so still.

Another side of the White Tower.

This is the Queen's House.

This guy was marching back and forth in front of the Queen's House. This is where the Queens used to live.

My favorite story was of Ann Bolin. She was beheaded here. Some of the charges against here included adultry, witch craft and laughing at the King's clothes. Just before the executioner beheaded Ann, she knelt in prayer. Legend says that at the point, the executioner was so quick and swift with his double edge sword, that when he held her head up, her lips were still moving in prayer.