"Nothing is certain in London, but expense!" - Shakespeare

This weekend, we headed off into London, and since I finally had a camera again to take pictures with, I was probably slightly more enthusiastic than I may have been otherwise. The journey there was particularly enjoyable because of the leather seats with extra leg room on our coach! This was welcome, because our coach left at 7:15, and thus we were able to fit in some much missed sleep from the night before. When we finally arrived, it was about 11:45, a significant delay from our itinerary, but we didn't really seem to have minded the extra hour of shut eye. The city was pretty much as any city is, especially close to a major center of transportation: loud, busy, and unforgiving. We made our way towards the nearest tube station, which also happens to be the busiest. After about a 20 minute queue, we purchased our three day tube pass (one of the smarter things we have managed to do), and headed out towards our hotel. The tube is the easiest way around the city, but can be enormously expensive, if you do not have some sort of discount: £4.00 per journey. The card we bought, for £16.50, allowed us to travel unlimited for three days, in zones 1 and 2, which covers anything you would want to see- a real bargain!

We opted for a hotel this time, since there were four of us, and splitting the cost of one room four ways was actually about the same as staying in a hostel. Of course our hotel was a bit stripped down, and we still had to share a community toilet and shower, but on the bright side, we didn't have to share a room with twelve of our closest strangers, and the hotel actually included a full English breakfast each morning! Once we had checked in and settled, a bit, we headed out towards the major sites. Coming out of the underground, we were amazed to see the London eye right there, in front of our faces, until we turned around and saw Big Ben literally towering over us, a mere 500 meters away! After recovering from the shock, we walked a bit further, past Parliament, and towards Westminster Abbey. We decided to go inside, and have a look around, despite the £7.00 price tag! The abbey is amazing, and unfortunately you are not allowed to take pictures inside. This is the case with most cathedrals in Europe, but Westminster was unusually diligent about enforcing this rule. Inside are monuments to almost every famous and significant person in British history, not to mention the graves of people such as Queen Elizabeth I, and her sister, Bloody Mary, as well as authors like Dickens, and Composers like George Frederick Handel. There is so much in the abbey, that it is literally just piled up on itself, in every crease and crevasse left inside! After wandering around for a bit, we made our way towards Piccadilly Circus, or London's version of Times Square, but far less impressive. It was interesting, but defiantly over rated! We soon met one of Justin's friends from high school for dinner. Dan is actually studying in London for the semester, just a few blocks from where we were staying. We opted to head to china town, where we had the most expensive bad Chinese food I have ever had in my life. At £10.00, this should have been excellent, but I think the bad Chinese food in mall food courts would have suited us all better. It was now that we decided that London defiantly lives up to its name as one of the most expensive cities in the world! The rest of the night we just hung out with Dan, in his flat. We attempted to head out with him later, but we were rejected for the first time since being in England, to a bar, and instead we opted to go the local pub for a quick pint before heading off to bed.

Saturday we took one of Dan's recommendations, and went to the Tower of London. He had warned us about the cost, but said it was well worth it. After dishing out the £12.00, we headed inside and waited for the tour to begin. One of the coolest things about the Tower of London, (apart from its history of torture and death), its its rich tradition. The tour guides, are actually known as Yeomen Warders, or Beef eaters, members of the Royal Armed Forces, for 22 years, and trained in history. The Beef eaters are all incredibly charismatic, and enthusiastic, and actually live on the premises within the Tower of London! It was really interesting to listen to the history, and see the arms stores, the old palace, the chamber of Anne Bolelyn, and Queen Elizabeth, as well as other tyrants. You also get to see the various methods of torture known to the towers, and the crown jewels, not to mention an amazing view of the Tower Bridge. Once we had finished there, we headed across the River Thames, to the Globe, and the Tate Modern Art Museum, where we just looked around, before getting back on the tube towards Harrods. Harrods, was crowded, hot and over priced- not to mention there was demonstration going on out-side against Harrods selling of real fur products- making the area even more chaotic. Even still it is cool to be able to say that I was there, and I wish that I had bought something small to bring back-maybe when I am back there in June! The inside is, as well magnificent, and the most interesting thing we saw, was actually a memorial to Princess Diana, and Dodi Al Fayed, with her engagement ring, and the wine glass she drank from the night she died at the Ritz. After a stroll through Hyde Park, we went back to the hotel for a quick rest, before heading out to meet some of our fellow exchange students from Wolverhampton for dinner on the other side of the city.

Sunday, we went to the Imperial War Museum, which was thankfully free. It was incredible! There was so much to see and do, that we could have spent all day in there, but instead, we hit the highlights, so that we could meet Dan again for the British Museum before the left. Outside the museum is a chunk of the Berlin wall, while inside are thousands of artifacts, including hundreds of planes, tanks, submarines, and trucks from throughout the twentieth century. We went to the exhibits on WWI, WWII, British Espionage, and the Holocaust. All of it was really well done, and I wouldn't hesitate to go back again. Later we went to British Museum, which was enormous, to say the very least! It basically holds all of the items that Britain has pillaged throughout its years of conquest. There are items from Africa, Ancient Egypt, the Americas, Asia, everywhere. There is so much, it is truly daunting to try to see it all. The highlights were probably the Rosetta Stone, which unlocked the key to deciphering the Hieroglyphics from Latin and Hebrew, and the Parthenon. Yep, thats right, the Parthenon, a huge ancient Greek Temple is in the British Museum! Well, sort of. Most of what is significant is in the Museum, including all of the sculptures, and arches and such. It is really incredible, and much more controversial than I had realized. Apparently, the Greeks aren't particularly happy that the British have such a significant part of their heritage and history on display in their national museum- who'd of thought. After the British Museum, we were exhausted, and made our way towards our hotel to pick up our things, and grab some dinner before we met our bus back at Victoria Station.

London is definitely a dynamic and fascinating city, with a lot to do and see, if you're willing to dish out the cash. Personally, I think Paris still remains my favorite, but that does not diminish the outstanding character and history and London, and I am excited to go back!