Hey guys,
Today we started our first full day in London bright and early with breakfast right at 7:30 am. After our meal, we had an hour to explore on our own. A large group of us walked to the skinny house, a building only 6 feet wide, while others went back to the dorms to sleep for an extra hour. We also walked over to the nearby shopping mall, one of the biggest in the world, but it was closed.
We then met up with our tour guide and set off for Westminster Abbey, the site of coronation for numerous monarchs, as well as a burial site for many important figures in history. We had some free time to explore and either continued to walk around the abbey or walked around near Big Ben and the Thames.
Hungry, we set off for lunch at PizzaEast, owned by Gordan Ramsey. It was an interesting experience, filled with expensive, cheesy food. We hate cheese but the pizza and olives were good. The tiramisu was good for the individuals who were not nut free (Nick).
After lunch, we took the complex tube system for several miles to the Tower Bridge. During this visit, we saw a pirate ship cross under the opening drawbridge. After seeing the incredible view, we toured the Tower of London to see the incredible Crown Jewels, giant ravens, and beautiful scenery from the White Tower. After another confusing ride in the London Underground, we arrived at our dorms in time for a wonderful dinner of sweet and sour chicken with steamed rice. When the dinner concluded, several of the members including Marie and I went to an incredible Tchaikovsky concert filled with a mosh pit of senior citizens bumping to 1800’s classical hits.