Sunday, January 13, 2013

London, Its a city.


Hey! I went to London this weekend!

Hit the jump for the full story and MANY pictures.
Just click the title 'London, It's a city.'




Hey! look at that, you found the jump.

So this Thursday January the 10th I departed Harlaxton college with several bus loads of my fellow classmates. Apparently all bus drivers in this country are equally insane, because after a 2 hour rocket ride, we were finally in London! After only 3 hours, I was able to find my hotel room in the largest hotel I have ever seen. Too tired to go out (we arrived at 9 pm), I decided to stare out my window at the passerby for several hours.
The next morning, I woke up bright and early for a guided tour of some museums! Unfortunately  I woke up several hours before I needed to, so I ended up wandering the streets of London, trying desperately to get lost. During my random walking, I did manage to see some buildings of interest!



Here is a building that apparently serves no particular purpose!

After several hours I returned to the hotel, surprised to find that there was a Stamp collecting fair going on! Unfortunately, I did not have enough time to look at them all, so I went ahead and embarked on my first adventure!



First we went to the British Library, I was surprised to find that unlike the Bethany Library, this one had books. I spent the better part of an hour skipping merrily through the shelves. Soon I felt myself drawn to the museum part of the library, where they keep things like the Magna Carta and original copies of Shakespeare. Unfortunately, there was no photography inside the room, so here is a picture of the outside of the room!


After the Library, it was off to the British Museum. At the museum, I saw many things. I took pictures of the more interesting ones, which are below.

Here is a picture of the oldest surviving recreational equipment. (chess set) It was found by a cow! How about that?

Here are some old artifacts and books, made to look how the British museum may have looked in the 1850's

The Museum itself was immense, and standing in the main circle-room-thing was very interesting.

Each room was dedicated to a different culture, and I tried to get a picture of at least every culture. This one is Egyptian in case you were wondering.


Easter island of course.


This dragon was made by Mexicans.... long long ago I guess.


The Rosetta Stone! Well, kinda.


Oh, ya know, me just standing in the PARTHENON. No big deal or anything.

This one isnt the real Rosetta Stone either.

This room was built to be the same size as the Parthenon was originally.


Egyptian Spinx 'borrowed' by England.


After I left the museum, I thought it may be a good idea to take some pictures of the outside of the building, as it is quite impressive.



After I got more comfortable with taking pictures, I may have started to go overboard and take pictures of everything.

Here is a picture of a street!


Oh look! The same street, just after I crossed it.


There was a store in London, that had every nerdy thing I ever thought I may ever want. For the life of me however, I cant remember what its called

Here (in that store) is an entire wall dedicated to the Simons Cat Youtube series.


Here is another wall full of things that are awesome. I think you'll notice a Batmobile, star wars figurines (a foot tall), marvel characters, sonic characters, the mustang from bullet, an original monopoly board, street fighter characters, DC comics characters, portal turrets, and anything else you could possibly think of.


While I was drooling over this merchandise, it suddenly got dark!


To avoid the darkness, I went in a store where everything was British themed, including this wonderful little Mini.

I went outside to check, and yes, it's still dark.

I had a nice local take a picture of my in front of Piccadilly Circus, but unfortunately in this picture, you cant see any of the Elephants or tight rope walkers.

I did find the horses though!

That night, I decided to go out for traditional British sushi, which was served on a delightful conveyor belt. This defiantly catered to my need of not actually having to order anything.

 That night, I decided to unwind with something that reminded me of home.


The next morning, I decided to go out with a new group of friends, (my old ones having left me to die in the British themed store from the night before).

The first stop after a 16 mile walk was St Paul's Cathedral.




In the distance I spotted some good looking women on horses!


Using infinite charm, I was able to pose for some pictures with the horses, which were remarkably cooperative.



My new Colleagues decided to cross Millennium bridge, but were less excited when I told them the story on how the bridge kept trying to fall down right after they built it.

Some blurry views from the bridge itself. I assume the blur is caused by the way the bridge sways in the wind.


 We stopped at the globe to entertain some of the English majors in our group, and while I was standing outside, I noticed some familiar names.


After another 29 mile walk, we decided to go to the tower of London, where I took LOTS of unnecessary pictures.

Because we were not allowed to take pictures of the Crown Jewels, I took a picture of the sign. Hope that helps!

Here was our guide (beef-eater) who gave us a very exciting tour of the buildings.

I managed to corner, and get a picture with one of the 'Royal Ravens', which by Royal Decree, are to be kept inside the Tower grounds at all times. And I thought our laws were silly.


The horses of past kings.

A large book. Full of words I assume.


The move from golden swords to golden machine guns never really took off.

I assume some archivist got bored with priceless artifacts, and decided to arrange a bunch of them into a giant glowing dragon.

On the return journey (our group now down to just 3 people) took us back past the Cathedral, which was even better at night.


I took these next two photos for my father, because I was under the Impression I would go the whole trip without seeing another '69 Camaro. But look at that! Cherry red with a drop top.

On the way home today, we stopped at the summer house of Henry VIII. It was a very large house on the river.


His garden was equally large.








Unfortunately, all the effort of the last days, mixed with freezing cold weather caused me to go into cardiopulmonary arrest, sending pain all down my left side. The rest of the afternoon was spent limping after my companions and trying not to look like I was dying.

Here you'll notice my two companions leaving me to die as they return to the bus.



Well, Thats all the pictures I took!

Feel free to comment below if you want more information about any specific part. 



2 comments:

  1. Later in the semester, you will experience a guided tour of St. Paul's. Also, there is a very nice eating option in the lower level of the cathedral.

    ReplyDelete
  2. An utterly Fascinating read, good job old chap. I look forward to more invigorating posts and pictures. For now though I must go smoke my midday fag while I feast on crumpets and tea.

    ReplyDelete