Day Three:
We awoke bright and early to another sunshine-filled London. Our intention was to get out into the city and do as much as physically possible. And we did just that, to the extent of packing in three days worth of "tourist" activities into one day. The insanity of it all got to me by the end of the day...but I'm getting ahead of myself.
We began the morning by visiting the iconic and beautiful, Tower of London. Like a foreign fool, when I imagined the Tower of London, I thought we were visiting an actual tower. One building. I was obviously wrong. It's an entire castle and it did not disappoint.
Being the history lover my family has molded me into, we toured every building possible within the Tower grounds. The amount of history that has occurred within those walls is incredible. The stories of Anne Boleyn (Henry VIII's wife who was executed by him for lack of bearing an heir), the disappearance and likely murders of the two little princes, and just literally all of the executions that took place there make it a very memorable spot. It took roughly three hours to really cover it all but it's worth it. Not to brag, but, I'm also fortunate enough to get to go back again with my group from school once they arrive.
Afterward many a tour and a yummy lunch, we walked over to the Tower bridge. love this bridge.This bridge is stunning, but was surprised to discover that it isn't the London Bridge. The actual London Bridge is really much less appealing to the eye and has no draw bridge, like this one. So apart from what Fergie would like you to believe, her London bridge doesn't wanna go down every time you come around, but her Tower bridge probably does.
Famously, they built a very thick, glass floor in part of the walkway you can visit at the top of the tower. It was trippy in all honesty. My brother refused to even step foot on it saying that, if his brain is rejecting the movement of his feet onto a floor that doesn't look like a floor, then there was no way in hell he was walking across it. He walked distinctly around it.
Next: our day's activities were only halfway done at this point, despite my feet actively rejecting any more movement. We made our way over to the hip, trendy side of London so we could access the tallest building in London, The Shard! On this side of town, markets and pubs thrive. Particularly on this day since England was playing in a semi-finale game for the World Cup. In the pictures, you can see just how crowded some of these places are.
I was hesitant to venture up to the top of The Shard, thinking that it would be like somewhat boring overlook in America where all you do is ride an elevator to the top and look around. Boy was I wrong about this place. It. Is. Amazing! I felt completely bougie and upscale, very outside my pay grade. I got to drink champagne overlooking the city. They also had places to sit and dine, gelato carts, and not to mention: THE TOP OF THE BUILDING IS PARTIALLY OPEN. LIKE WHAT. I was not expecting that.
So there was a nice natural breeze! It's gained a reputation as a notably romantic destination in London where loads of proposals have taken place. To drive my point home, here's me being fancy.
Reaching the end of our day due to sheer exhaustion, we began to head back to our hotel in West London- the opposite side of the city where we were now. So we had a long way to go. As soon as we got onto the streets again we could tell England had won the football game. There were groups of men singing down the streets and waving their shirts around. Quite a funny sight to see until we got to the tube. Because of our location in town, the tube was PACKED. Everyone below the age of 40 was drunk and singing and desperately trying to squeeze into the tube. Insanity. Somehow we made it into a car, back to back and pressed in between other strangers. Not the most enjoyable part of the day but, we were soon rewarded with a relaxing dinner out and my first British pub experience! Can't imagine just how happy these Brits will be on Wednesday if England wins again.
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