quintessential american tourist

On Friday, after waking up around noon, we decided to try and go to the Tower of London.  We knew that the last admission to the Tower of London was at 4 so we tried to rally everyone together to leave and get there before it closed.  Unfortunatley, once we got on the tube and headed east toward the Tower, we realized that we were not going to be able to make it in time.  Instead, we got off at the Westminster stop.  When we emerged from the Tube stop, not only was it pouring rain, but we were greeted by a beautiful view of Big Ben and the House of Parliament. I'm pretty sure we spent a good 20 minutes taking pictures of Big Ben while it down poured on us.

Then we walked around the area in attempts to figure out where we were and what we were looking at.  Jenna stopped and asked a security guard about going in to see Parliament and he said that they offered tours on Saturday starting at 9 onward.  So we decided we would definitely come and do that the next day.  He then pointed us in the direction of Westminster Abbey, which we all basically died over.  Although the Abbey was closed to viewers, we stood in awe of the beauty of the building.  Meagan just kept saying "you guys, this is where he's gonna walk in... this is where they are getting married.. this is where they are going to enter.."  It was pretty spectacular and I can't wait to go inside and go on the audio tour.

After standing in the rain for long enough, we made moves to find a place to eat.  We found a cute little restaurant located over a pub.  Meagan and Skylar split a burger with a fried egg on top which they said was absolutely incredible.  I ordered a brie and bacon salad which, not gonna lie, might have been the best thing I have eaten since I've been here. 

sam, jenna, meagan & me

steph, skylar, and katie

Saturday morning we woke up at 8 am and left the building by 9 so we could go tour the house of parliament.  the tour took us through the way the queen would enter on the day she opens parliament.  Of course, I followed the exact path in order to get the true idea of what a queen feels like (I am a Barry after all).  What I found interesting is we weren't allowed to sit down in both the House of Lords or the House of Commons because we had not "won" a seat.  Truth be told, I would definitely rather be in the House of Lords than the House of Commons.  The House of Lords has much prettier scenery.  We weren't allowed to take any pictures inside unfortunately, but it was unbelievable.

steph, katie, me, skylar, sam, meagan, and jenna 

steph, jenna, me, sam, meagan, katie, and skylar

After our tour was done, we jumped on the Tube and headed to Portobello Market in Notting Hill.  This will definitely be a place I take mom when her and dad come to visit.  It was the most epic swat meet/street fair ever.  There were antiques, furs, clothes, scarves, chachkies (sp?), and the best looking thing of all were the crepes they were cooking on the side of the street.  Meagan and Jenna both bought a banana and nutella crepe for 4 pounds and they were EPIC.  So EPIC that they couldn't finish them alone and the rest of us had to help out.  they were actually unreal.

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steph, me, meagan, and skylar

Yesterday, we went to the Tower of London.  But to clarify, the Tower of London is actually a castle like complex where Edward I and many other famous monarchs lived.  The most important/notable aspect about the Tower of London is that it is where the crowned jewels are held.  Did you know the Queen has a 315 carat diamond on her crown?  Lucky lucky girl.

 Ravens are still kept at the Tower of London in order to please the people who still believe that if the ravens left the premises, the kingdom would fall.

 me & katie

We leave on Friday morning for Amsterdam. 

Until next time,

Katie

P.S. Met a british boy this weekend who is insisting on taking me out for a meal, taking a walk down the river thames, and signs all of his bbms "xxxxx"... i don't think i'm ready for this