August 27 - London

August 27, 2006
London, England

This morning we got up at around 9:00 and went down to breakfast. As with every morning so far we have eaten cornflakes and toast. I hope hostels in other countries offer something a little bit better, or at least different. After completing breakfast we had to move rooms. We were kicked out of the executive sweet and put in a small room with four bunk beds.

Our first order of business for the day was to head to the apple store and make sure our computers were all tuned up for the rest of the trip. We also spent some time walking around Oxford circus again. For the rest of the day we split up. Peter wanted to go back the museum and I wanted to go see some of the other sites that we had not visited. B decided to accompany me. We decided we would all meet up between 5:30 and 6:00 at Tower Bridge.

We decided to make our way to Covent Garden. It was a very cool and very crowded shopping district. There was no shortage of street performers in the area. We watched a small man juggle a chainsaw, hatchet, and apple at the same time. He then ate the apple while juggling! I would say that it is a lot like Venice Beach, Ca but in an old city.



Our next stop was St. Paul’s Cathedral, which is enormous. The grounds surrounding the cathedral were very green and made for a good walk. As we circled around the building and made our way to the front we were disappointed to find that much of the cathedral is undergoing renovations. Furthermore, we could not enter the cathedral because it was Sunday and locals were using it to worship. Still, the steps made a nice place to take a rest.



As soon as we finished taking in the area we jumped on double-decker bus headed for Trafalgar Square. It was a totally amazing area that quickly became one of my favorite spots in London. It’s a gargantuan plaza that has a unique view no matter which way you look. In fact, from the square it is possible to sit on a giant lion statue while gazing at Big Ben and then head right into the National Gallery. The pieces of art in the National Gallery were awesome. We saw works by Leonardo, Michelangelo, Rafael, (No Donatello…), Monet, and Van Gogh. As we perused the art we realized that it was 5:15 and time to meet up with Peter.



Once we were reunited we decided it was time for some food. We hit up a local hot dog stand. The hot dog was horrendous! It was the worst thing I have eaten in quite some time. Nonetheless, it filled me up and we continued on our way to London Tower. Looking for a better photographic vantage point, we stumbled across a huge sundial (why they have a sun dial in London, I don’t know). The ring around the sundial was a visual timeline of significant events in the city’s history. We all thought the Gun Powder Plot was especially cool since we all currently fans of Guy Fox (Remember, remember the 5th of November…see the movie if you don’t know what I’m talking about).

As we made our way back to our hostel we stopped at a local deli for some dinner. We are currently resting before trying to go visit the Carnival that I talked about in yesterday’s blog. Today we heard someone say that they expect 2 million people to show up. I don’t really believe that number but I think it speaks to how big an event it is.

Until next time bloggers: Cheers! (be sure to say it with an accent!)