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To pick up where we left off, we headed through the chaos in Hyde Park and sat outside the fenced off concert area. It paid off for the mere chance to hear Bruno Mars sing (from a distance) but hey it was fo free! The attire of the concert-goers was quite interesting and made people watching very entertaining to say the least. Afterwards we headed to the East side of the city for the Grim Reaper tour. We followed the foot steps of Jack the Ripper and learned about his 5 murders. Also on the tour was the outside of the Tower of London (where we heard stories of London ghosts and the fates of the numerous prisoners) and a poorer part of the city. After that uplifting experience we decided to go see a funny movie, Bad Teacher. We took the metro to the West side of the city where the "cinema" is apparently cheaper... still cost almost £5 for popcorn but it was worth it. The concessions included Ben and Jerry's ice cream, a wall of candy and beer of course. The commercials and previews lasted 26 minutes but when the movie was over we were still able to catch the very last metro back to our hostel! Got lucky on that one.
Saturday morning we got up to go see the horse guard ceremony at the parade grounds. It involved watching men on horses as they stood in place in the heat for 30 minutes. Thrilling. After blowing that popsicle stand we decided to head to St. James' park which is known for its pigeon-eating pelicans. Of course we had to witness this glorious act of nature but unfortunately we missed the action. We did get to see a black swan (and from eavesdropping we learned these are from Australia) and a bunch of neineis (or Hawaiian geese). After stopping at the only Quiznos we've seen for lunch, we headed to meet the Harry Potter Tour!!!! On the coach bus tour we drove around to various places where they filmed scenes from the series. We got to stop and walk around at each spot, following the tour guide with the wand of course. Our favorite stop was platform 9 3/4 and King's Cross Station which was the ideal photo opp. It definitely got us excited for HP 7 part 2!!! After the tour we headed up to Leicester Square and went to a stand-up comedy show. The comedian basically picked on the 15 people in the crowd (and loved to hate on Americans and the Czech) but it was hilarious and definitely worth our time. Afterwards we walked through China town and settled on one of the numerous buffets for dinner. Delish. We headed back to the hostel just in time for the start of our favorite movie playing in the cinema room. That's right. The Hangover. Win.
Sunday we got up and took a train to Salisbury, an old city about an hour and a half away. From there we took a tour bus to Stonehenge and got to see the beautiful countryside along the way. The site itself was very "mysterious" as they liked to say and it was cool to walk around it. It would have been brilliant if we could have played on them. Oh well. We took the bus back to Salisbury and walked around the quaint town for a while. We went into the cathedral which has the oldest running clock in the world and one of the original copies of the Magna Carta. The steeple is the highest in the UK and the fourth highest in the world and it was really pretty inside. We stopped at a Pizza Hut for lunch and were sad that the pizza buffet is only during the week but at least we got a free salad bar with our pizza (which didn't make up for the lack of breadsticks - whoever heard of a Pizza Hut with no breadsticks?!? they did have wine and beer though of course). We walked through a park and along a little stream that had a flock of swans! Or should we say a gaggle? We continued our adventure to the train station where we saw a train join another one! Exciting!
We ate at the bar in our hostel for dindin and then got ice cream from the grocery store (oh wait, they call them supermarkets here and look at you stupidly if you say anything else) across the street. We ate it while we sat in the cinema room and watched the end of SuperBad and then Chicago! Just preparing ourselves for the transition back home : )
This morning after breakfast in the hostel we went to go try and see the changing of the guards in from of Buckingham Palace. What better way to celebrate our independence from Britain?!? Like the horse guard ceremony this was again a disappointment, this time due to the hoard of people blocking every single view possible. We gave up and walked up to a shopping district on the north side. Our destination was the 250 yr-old toy store Hamely's, to see none other than the Harry Potter section that included a display case of every character's wand and the marauder's map! Not to mention a wizards' chess set and a few broomsticks. Needless to say we were jumping with excitement along with the swarms of children around us. Not at all embarrassing, perfectly normal for us. After that we parted ways and Dana and Kristi headed to the Tower of London where they got to see the crown jewels and King Henry VII's armor (among others). They also got to hear stories of prisoners who were contained within the walls up till the mid 1900s. Melissa went to the Tate Museum and saw an exhibit featuring photos taken of the war in Afghanistan. She also saw the Shakespeare Globe Theatre and soaked up some sun. We all met back up at 5 pm outside of St. Paul's Cathedral for an Evensong service, which unfortunately does not involve singing on Mondays. But hey at least we got to see the inside of the church fo free! We went to an Irish pub for our last meal in Europe (we figured it would be appropriate to end where we started). We reminisced about our favorite memories, food, cultures, cities, views, attractions etc., what we were surprised about the most, where we want to visit again and all the places we saved for next time : )
Tonight we have to reorganize our bags for the last time and get ready to get up at 3:30 in the morning to arrive back in the Chi at 10 am. It will be a long day.
We would like to thank everyone who has been reading our blog over the past 6 weeks. We hoped you enjoyed our entries as much as we enjoyed our travels! We have all learned a lot about each place we've been, other cultures and a lot about ourselves as well. It truly has been an experience we will never forget. Stay tuned for an entry in the future of random things we noticed along the way.
Cheers,
Dana, Kristi and Melissa
- comments
Mel's mom Can't believe you are coming "home" tomorrow! What an incredible experience you three have had together! SOOOO glad you all made it around so many ciuntries and cities safely!! Can't wait to her the rest of the story when we see you !! Love you !! Mom
Audrey Hurry! Hurry! :) Can't wait until tomorrow. Leaving for Susan & Bill's now for pork chops & watch the fireworks. We have really enjoyed your blogs. Hugs, Grandpa & Grandma
M & D Howard Girls, All of the family have loved hearing about your adventures! You will talk of this trip for many years to come. We are so glad that you all were able to travel safely all over Europe. Can't wait to see the pics and get a HUGE hug. Luv u Mom and Dad
Susie Welcome home!!!