What an amazing city! London is the perfect mash up of old and new. When you walk around you can find classic and gothic architecture right next to an all glass sky scraper. Our first day in London we went to the Tate Modern a collection of modern art that ranges from trippy to minimalist, to just plain weird. The art was also less censored than it is here in that artists use their bodies as part of their art, and not just in the form of paintings. One of the art pieces was a giant set of table and chairs (large enough for me to walk under without ducking) another was a door in the exhibition room that an artist had filled with dry layered bricks. The Andy Warhol room of the museum was hard to look at it was so bright, but it echoed the artists style really well. Another strange exhibit (one that I did not get at first) was a room that look liked an artists studio while he/she was in the middle of working. There were things everywhere. Pizza boxes, tools, buckets, wood, paintbrushes, cleaner. When I read the plaque I realized why it was a work of art: all of the pieces had been made from polyethene (sorry if thats wrong) foam to mimic the artists work space.
After the Tate we walked or should I say wandered around London for a few hours enjoying the scene. There are beautiful churches, incredible facades and buildings that now house stores and businesses, the red telephone booths that everyone expects to see, and the double decker busses. I also found it funny that at every crosswalk the ground is painted with the words ''look right' or ''look left' so that you know where to look before you cross the street. This was a huge help for us since we were still getting used to the driving on the wrong side of the street. One thing I noticed about walking around London is that it is very difficult to get lost. The city is built around the Thames on both side, find your way back to the river (which is connected to most major streets) and you've found your way back to wherever you need to go.
Our second day in London was a whirlwind of tourist attractions and adventures. We woke up early and got to the Tower of London before all of the tour groups arrived. We saw the crown jewels in the Jewel House, climbed the White Tower where there was an awesome exhibit on the armor and weapons used by Henry VIII and his court, and enjoyed the relative quiet of the compound. The Jewel House was more of a vault than a house, as you could imagine. There are knives, crowns, the royal ring and scepter and of course, the Grand Punch Bowl (I wish I were kidding about that but there really is a giant bowl and ladel in the vault called the Grand Punch Bowl). The exhibit featuring Henry VIII was funny because as Henry VIII got older his body changed and so did his armor. At every different suit of armor the description tags showed Henry VIII's measurements so you could tell the difference. There was also all of the armor for the horses (which looked very uncomfortable) as well as various weapons used in Henry's wars. Afterwards we walked towards Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, and Big Ben and the Parliment building.
There isn't really much to say about the palace. Its gorgeous but similar to the White House it is set far behind a gate and you can't go in. I enjoyed Westminster Abbey a lot more. It is a beatifully designed church in both architecture and decoration. It also the home of every royal birthday, wedding, coronation, and funeral. Kings, Queens, and other noblemen and women (including Oliver Cromwell which I thought was interesting) are buried in incredible monuments and tombs in the chapels and hallways of the Abbey. Although this may sound odd the tombs were beautiful. The time and effort that went into the design and building of these monuments is unimaginable. The colors, the details, and the way the effigies create such great likenesses of the people the tomb contains is incredible. In another section of the Abbey there is an altar with two monuments on either side. The intriguing thing about these monuments is that one is for Newton (who is buried in the Abbey) and the other is for Darwin. I saw that and couldn't help but wonder what a monument to Darwin was doing on a christian altar. I am really upset that I couldn't take pictures in the Abbey because I really wish you all could see it.
After the Abbey we walked across the street to Big Ben and the Parliment building. Its massive. The detail in the buildings architecture makes the building even more impressive. I felt so small standing next to it and even smaller when I tried to fit the whole thing into one camera frame and realized that I couldn't until I walked to the other side of the bridge. The security is also incredible
After our day of touring we stopped for Chinese food at a little restaurant about two doors down from our Hostel. We went inside to rest for a little bit, not really sure what we were gonna do at night, but planning on possibly going to Ministry of Sound, a recommended club in our area. I walked out of the room to call home because it'd been a couple of days when I ran into two other people sitting in the hallway on the phone (which is why I didn't talk for very long). I went inside and the two people in the hallway came too (don't worry, it was their room). Well it turns out the two people were guys from Switzerland, Daniel and Tony who had come to London for the weekend. They said they were going to Fabric ( http://www.fabriclondon.com/ )(another club) and that we should join them. We did, which was a great idea. The club spun live Drum and Bass which is actually a lot of fun. Its music I have never heard, but its neat if you can hear it on the website give it a shot.
I really enjoyed London and wished we could have spent more time there. We missed so much, but its ok because (earmuffs mom and dad) I am going to go back.
Next up: Amsterdam
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