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Kari goes to Lincoln, England
This was our only full day in London so we wanted to see a lot. I got up around 7.15 because we were going to meet for breakfast at 7.30 but when I got there Danielle was there even though I was 10 minutes late. She got there around 8 and ate and then we left around 8.30 after buying tube passes and tickets for the double-decker tour bus. We started out trying to find Abbey Road and the lady at the hostel told us which tube lines to take. We got off and asked how to walk to the road and then guy was like you need to get off at this tube station and take a bus. So that is what we did. We asked a guy on the bus where we should get off and he said a few more stops from now but then a few minutes later was like I take that back get off at the next one and it is right down that road. Danielle was so excited and freaking out before we even got off the bus. We had to walk backwards a block to get to the street that we needed to go down and you know what was on the corner? A tube station. Why couldn't we have taken the metro all the way here? Better yet, why didn't anyone tell us to just take the metro here? It would have been a lot less hassle. Oh well.
Danielle freaked out when we got to Abbey Road and took a bunch of pictures and signed the wall. I was just walking around and this guy came up to me and asked if I would take a picture. He was like this must sound really lame and I was like no I understand. You have to meet my friend over there taking pictures. This guy was a huge fan because he took his shoes off for the picture because that was what Paul McCartney did. I admired him because it was so cold out so the ground was freezing. The road was pretty busy but we still managed to get a picture and of course Danielle had to get one too. And then I thought what the heck - how often am I at Abbey Road so I took one too. It was a crazy road so we always had to wait for people to stop but they were really good about it. I got my picture and then we left because it was cold out and one can only stand there and stare at a zebra crossing for so long. There was a little Beatles gift shop by the tube station so Danielle got a few souvenirs and then we were going to take the tube from there to the London Tower. We got the map out and were trying to plan which line we wanted to take when I guy came up to us and asked if we were lost. I said no we aren't we just don't know how to get to where we want to go. " He was really nice and friendly. We must have looked like tourists.
We got to the London Tower and that was really cool to learn about how they had executed people and such. Our tour guide was funny but some of his little commentaries got a little long. We took a pretty short tour around the inside and ended in the church. We learned from him that in order to be a tour guide he had to have served in the military for a number of years and that he lived at the tower and something else. After we left the church we to the building next door and saw the crown jewels. Those are incredible!!!! From here we walked to the tower bridge, which was really cool. After this we decided to get on the double decker tour bus, which we had bought tickets for earlier that day but still hadn't ridden yet. It was about 2.30 when we got on the bus and learned a number of interesting facts on the ride. We crossed under the infamous London Bridge and then we saw Shakespeare's Globe and Danielle really wanted to see that so we got off the bus.
Shakespeare's Globe is a recreation of the original but they were unable to build it in the original location because something else is there now. So it is about 200 meters over or something. It is made out of all the same materials and such and there are only a few differences because of modern times and fire codes etc. It was a really cool building. We had a few minutes to wait before our tour of the globe began so we walked about the display area and that is where we saw a copy of William's will and his signature and stuff. We got pictures of that. The tour was really cool. After we left the globe we got back on the bus for a while. We drove past parliament and Big Ben and the London Eye and I got some good pictures from the top of the bus. Danielle was down below because she was really cold. When I went back down there a guy from the bus company was talking to her and almost wasn't going to let me sit by her because he wanted to. I sat down there for a while and the bus driver was talking to her, and told her that she could drive the bus. Apparently Danielle had been making friends with everyone down there while I had been upstairs. One of the next stops was Buckingham Palace so we got off and saw that. It looks like the photos and the guards were far away and behind gates so we couldn't get pictures with them. Sad L we went into this gift store by the bus stop because we didn't want to wait outside and there was a bunch of royal family and Buckingham stuff to look at that was pretty cool. Danielle was frozen at this point when we got back on and didn't want to ride the bus for much longer so we planned to get off soon. A couple of stops later we were near Trafalgar Square and decided that would be close to her majesty theatre where the show was that night. We were walking along this one street underneath some scaffolding and Danielle saw a sign that said the crypt. She had gotten some recommendations from family friend who has traveled to London a number of times about places to go. The friend had said something about eating at the crypt. We were going to eat soon anyways. It was such a cute little place underneath the church aka the Crypt. We had lamb, potatoes, broccoli and this apple stuff for dessert. It was yummy homemade kind of food that was cheap, really good and hot. It was adorable and we really enjoyed ourselves here.
We decided it was time to head over to the theatre now because we wanted to get there early.
The Theatre was so pretty inside and the show was AMAZING. The actors were so good and I really loved the music. Oh yeah we saw Phantom of the Opera. It was so worth the price we paid for tickets. I was so involved in the show and could not believe that it had gone so fast when intermission was there. The second half went just as fast. It was incredible and something that I will never forget. Too bad we couldn't take any pictures, or at least one of the theatre because that in itself was so beautiful. A bunch of people look pictures and got in trouble and I wanted to take just one and get in trouble, but Danielle said I shouldn't. I should have taken one in the beginning before I knew that I couldn't. I really wanted to take one at intermission when everyone was, but I was on the end and kind of exposed and knew I wouldn't get away with it very easily. Oh well. It was still a good show. After the show we went straight back to the hostel because Danielle had to get up early the next day to get to the train to the airport and be there early enough before her flight. We were just hanging out when we got back but I fell asleep about 11.30 and I had meant to write in my journal, but had just been too tired.
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