First Dip into Sightseeing!

I just got back from my very first sightseeing tour. Us study abroad kids got picked up by coach and were met by a tour guide who would spend the next three hours showing us some of the sights before dropping us at Millennium Pier (where the London Eye is) for a river cruise.

We were pretty rushed through everything, so I only managed to snap a few pics as we ran around, but I definitely plan on returning to get more pics (and hopefully be in a few).

Our tour guide was super passionate, which made everything he was saying ten times more interesting (though, as a history nerd, I would have found it interesting regardless).

We saw Westminster Abbey

It was absolutely gorgeous. We didn't get to go inside, but we did wander to the left of it and saw the cloisters, which were beautiful.

We wandered under the silent arches that are the oldest parts of the church, dating way back to medieval London. I got chills the entire time we were in there, it was so cool.

Around the back of the Abbey, we found ourselves at the House of Parliament and could see Big Ben (or rather, the clock tower it is housed in) peeking out at us. Our guide talked for 15 minutes about the history of the House of Parliament because he really wanted us to hear Big Ben being struck when the clocked reached 11.

Apparently the first time Big Ben was struck, it cracked, which gives it a distinct sound. He also told us that the same company that made a few other famous bells, cracked when they were first struck too, the Liberty Bell included.

We then went into this large arcade (which is a shopping center, not a video game mecca) and rode the lift to the roof, where we found ourselves standing directly across from St Paul's Cathedral. He told us of how it was built, and how hard people worked to keep it safe during the Blitz in World War II. When he started talking, bagpipes started playing from somewhere behind the Cathedral, which made everything he was saying sound that much more epic.

Our last stop was to the Guildhall where we saw the remnants of an ancient Roman amphitheatre located under the city. It was discovered in 1988 and they haven't been able to recover most of it because of the buildings that currently sit over the area.

We were told to meet at the Millennium Pier docks within an hour and a half of being dropped off at the Millennium Pier. I was separated from my friends, so I was on my own for lunch. There was a huge end of summer festival going on along the Thames. It was basically a huge street fair with food and goods, live music, art, and interesting people doing interesting things.

I walked along it for about an hour before getting a smoothie from a street vendor, and heading back to the pier.

I took some pics from the pier, including this one (I realized I was standing as close to under the Eye as you could)

I then met up with my friends and we boarded the boat together. We cruised around the Thames for 2 hours.

Blogspot doesn't seem to want to let me load any more pics (it just keeps freezing). I'll put them (along with the others) on facebook soon.

By the time we got off the cruise, it was pouring rain. My friends and I managed to find our way to the closest underground station (Waterloo, which is ginormous). It was a smooth trip home, even after I had to part ways with them (since I live on the other side of town).

I need to get an umbrella.

School starts tomorrow! I am excited for the normalcy that will bring, as well as all of the field trips we are taking.