FINALLY an update! LONDON TOWN!

OK so I have been out of the blog updating game for too long and I have to apologize... but in my defense for the last couple months we only had a USB stick internet connection with a limited amount of data and I couldn't upload pics! And no one likes a blog of just my writing, boring!  So now that I have a glorious wireless connection again I will try to keep catching up this blog with our crazy adventures!!!

So where did I leave off...

We were just leaving Paris (sad face, Paris was absolutely wonderfully awesomely fantastic) and heading to ENGLAND!!! (happy face because England is pretty rad as well!)  Our first stop in the lovely country was London, and we got there by way of bus.  This was an interesting experience, as England is an island.  So we were on a bus, which drove onto a train, which went through an underwater tunnel.  Here's a little view of that experience -------------




But once we got there we fell in love with the beautiful country!  We arrived at the town of Dover, by the gorgeous white cliffs and drove though the cutest little towns on the way to London.  Seriously adorable places!  Then, when we arrived in London we made our way to our apartment which, though itself was a bit... interesting... was across from the prettiest little square you've ever seen.

  And it was also just steps from the tube station!  Yes the tube.  I feel English just saying it, and am definitely proud to say Erin and I navigated the tube ALL OVER London very successfully!





Up until now, we had been staying in each place for a whole month.  Plenty of time to explore, leisurely wandering around, and we had the ability to go back to our favorite places several times.  However, we split our time in England between three different cities, one week in each, so we had to get right out and explore, maximizing our time.  One of the first places we went to see is probably the most iconic in all of London, Big Ben and Westminster.




We just happened to pick the most awesome way to walk up to the tower, coming up the street towards the river, and happened upon this perfect photo-op, complete with a famous London phone booth and Big Ben hanging out in the back of the scene!  I had to of course give a nod to my absolute favorite show ever, and did the "Joey" and got in the map!  Here's a link to a video refresher in case you aren't familiar with Joey and going into the map :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUK8UXwX4dc

We also went to go see Buckingham Palace and again had some impeccable timing- we got there just as the changing of the guard was about to happen!

There were huge crowds there though and if felt a little like being in a mosh pit at times, but it sure is a spectacle.  Those guards are so fancy in their big furry hats and it really is a huge production.  We were surprised by their choice of songs though, as among them were the "Star Wars" theme and "Copacabana"  We wondered if these were personal favorites of the Queen and they were playing them specifically for the Diamond Jubilee (which was going on while we were in London) or if they're regulars on the Changing of the Guard playlist.  

We enjoyed watching the show but decided to go back by a little later in the evening to be able to actually see the palace gates and get some non mosh pit pictures out front.  Since the Jubilee was going on there was a huge stage set up around the front of the palace, which we got to see all lit up when we went back    

                           by at night time!

 After the changing of the guard, we took a stroll though the beautiful palace gardens and St. James' Park, which also had some pretty cute displays set up for the Jubilee. (See the fancy crown topiary to the left) Long Live the Queen!

 We also saw one of the weirdest things ever as we were walking through the parks.  One minute we were looking at these cute little ducks with their new baby ducklings and then OUT OF NOWHERE a seagull SWOOPS in and snatches one right up!  It was crazy!  It apparently over-estimated its own weight carrying capacity and couldn't really fly while carrying the little guy and ended up dropping it on the other side of the path and just took off.  It was pretty horrific.  I imagine even more so for that poor little duckling!  Some nice ladies went over and scooped it up and got it back to it's mom and I'm happy to report he seemed unharmed.  Big day for a little duck!

Next up on our quest to knock out the famous landmarks of London was the Tower Bridge.  It got a little bit rainy when we went down there, but we just accepted we were getting to experience some "true London weather" and soldiered on.  The bridge itself is actually quite cool, it pretty much looks like it was taken straight out of a fairy tale and I'm fairly certain Snow White and Sleeping Beauty have both crossed it at one time or another :)  

There are also some pretty great views down the River Themes (don't you just love how they put the "river" before the name?  I'm going to start calling it the "River Salt" at home!) of London and it's great skylines, including the oh-so-fun-to-say "Gherkin" building in downtown (shaped like a bullet) and the newest addition to the London skyline, "The Shard" (which is a terrible name and definitely not as fun to say as the Gherkin!)

It got dark as we were leaving the Bridge and as the lights came on it just increased it's fairy tale like appearance and its resemblance to The Disneyland castle!  

 We went to go hang out in the area by the tower bridge, which has a really cool vibe, with narrow walking streets that reminded us a lot of Florence, and was a fun area full of great shops and bars.  It's also the area where most of the crazy "horror" attractions are based, including the Jack the Ripper Walk and what is basically a huge year round haunted house in the middle of London called the London Dungeon.


This area was also all decorated for the Jubilee, and all of the windows/balconies of the buildings lining the river were adorned with Union Jack flags making the whole area just very Joyfully British!  Very Festive!

 Well there's a start to my updating and our time in England, more to come soooooon! I promise!