Friday, April 14, 2017
Woke up, ate some toaster waffles, an orange, and drank some milk.
Our goal was to go see the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace which took place at 11am. We got off the Tube no knowing where to go but decided to follow the masses of people that got off the Tube also. Turns out you should get there more than 15 minutes before if you want to see anything when its a holiday weekend. Thanks for nothing Rick Steve. We did get a couple videos trying to hold our phones as high as we could. All the police on the horses were women which was cool. We did get to find the best place to be for when we go hours in advance next Friday. While trying to get out of the crowd we passed a palace gate in which people we climbing all over just to get a glimpse of what was happening. The guy at the very top was probably 20 feet up.
We then walked down the mall in front of the palace, looked to our right and got to see the guards marching down the road. We had brunch at a place called Garfunkels and ate some tasty croissants and tea. We walked to Trafalgar Square and there was a live show going on of Jesus’ Passion. They projected it on a huge screen for the people who couldn’t see. They did a great job finding someone to play Jesus.
Off to China town we went. Seeing all the red lanterns being strung along the streets was neat.
Next was Leicester Square with some really cool buildings and then Convent Gardens. We walked through a bustling market and walked into a bakery with the freshest bread. On our way, we stopped at the oldest known pub so my dad could get a drink he wanted. D and I had fun taking artsy pictures in the streets. We also saw a Peruvian restaurant called Lima. Street performing is also very popular, wether it is dancing around and playing violins or showing off how you can fit inside a tennis racket (which was quite scary).
Took the Tube to the British Museum and got to see the Rosetta Stone in person. It was a really neat place that you could spend hours in but it was really hot and people were starting to get tired. We had an early dinner at a place called Pizza Express and I have to say it may have been better than my Sunset Burger which is saying a whole lot. As an appetizer we got a dish called Dough Balls, which were little balls of really really really fresh bread and you could dip it in pesto, garlic butter, or sun dried tomatoes. We also got Garlic Cheese Bread, which was delicious, and Bruschetta, also delicious. After those we scarfed we ordered a Caesar Salad, Anti Pasta, and a Buffala Margarita Pizza. You cant even imagine how fabulosity it was.
On the Tube trying to get to Kingscross Station to take our picture in front of platform 9 and 3/4 for the Harry Potter fans, Daniela says, “I have lots of energy but my legs are kinda floppy.” It made me laugh out loud. Turns out there are TONS of Harry Potter fans (wouldn’t have thought anything less though) and there was probably like a 45 minute line to take your picture with the cart going into the wall, holding a wand, with someone flapping the scarf in the air to make it look like your flying. We decided to come back in the morning another day when it is hopefully less crowded. There is big Harry Potter store right next to it too.
Back to the apartment we went to get a goodnights rest before waking up early to catch a flight to Barcelona the next day!
