The Day of the Underground

We went everywhere on day 3. We bought an all day pass for the underground (5.10 pounds) and went everywhere we could think of. Well, first we walked to Buckingham Palace with the "Changing of the Guard" set to go off at 11:30. The morning was pretty drizzly, nothing too awful. Yet, the red coats decided the weather was too much to march in. So after standing around for an hour, we witnessed a very small changing of the guard with no elaborate marching or band playing. I took a million pictures and videos anyway. Be prepared to see a very humorous march once I get around to uploading the videos.


After making absolutely sure nothing else interesting was going to happen, we left the touristy bustle of the Palace in favor of the serenity of St. James' park. They had an impressive array of bird life and this amazing tree. How fun would it be to sit at the top?





After making our way over the river and through the woods, we headed down the street towards Trafalgar Square. The street ended in these impressive arches. Here they are as a whole.

And for perspective, here's Mika in the bottom right hand corner (in the red pants).

Trafalgar Square featured an interesting array of statues and fountains. The kids seemed to favor the four giant lion statues and can you blame them? If I were younger, I would have totally climbed up on one too.

I particularly enjoyed the statues in the two large fountains.

I mean, come on, yay mermaids!


They all had split tails, making it much more convenient for them to ride dolphins.

And mermen, how gender equalityfied.

Ascending to the upper tier of the square, we stumbled into the infamous pigeons. There weren't as many as I expected, but there were a fair few. We hadn't been there long when one of the gentlemen (who we came to term 'pigeon pimps') forced some rice upon us. By us, I mean Mika and Sarah. On their heads.


I shielded myself with my camera and managed to avoid giving away any change.
Feeling the need to press on, we headed towards the Australia House, the interior of which was used as Gringott's bank. On our arrival, we found that we weren't actually allowed inside and so got no more than a peek through the door. That excursion foiled, we headed to the nearest underground station.


Thereafter, we rode various trains about a million times, going here there and everywhere as best we could. First, we went to King's Cross Station. Eeeeee! Platform 9 3/4!!!
A nice gentleman took a photo for us. At least he got us and the trolly half-way through the wall in it.

But he totally missed the sign! There was a sign. Tee-hee!



Then I used my magic umbrella wand to access Harry Potter Land where we spent the rest of the day.

We also tried to see the actual platform 9, but they wouldn't let us through without tickets. We also went and saw platform 4. I'm not sure we were sposed to, but no one said anything, so we did. The filming took place between platform 4 and 5. Once again, the arches looked much bigger in the film. I have a video. You will see later.
Next stop, London Bridge!

Maybe not quite as exciting as the Tower Bridge, visible from London Bridge, which I'm standing on in this photo.

You can also see the HMS Belfast, floating naval museum.
We walked from one bridge to the other, seeing some interesting things along the way. We stopped into the courtyard of a shopping center where a smiling, bronze boat sculpture entertained us all.

We also passed City Hall and Mika hugged an egg.


We crossed Tower Bridge to see the London Tower, home of the crown jewels and the place to be for beheadings.

We decided not to pay the entry fee and use our money for fish n' chips instead. The food was good, but the diner contained this creepy suit in the corner. I kept expecting it to suddenly leap up and start trying to eat people's faces off or something. I think I'm scarred for life.

From there, we headed back to Trafalgar Square to play with the pigeons some more. The pigeon pimps kept trying to force seed upon us. I even acted like I was scared to be near birds and he still wouldn't go away.

So we went and sat on the edge of the Square and admired the pigeons from afar.




We eventually tired of chilling at Trafalgar and made our next stop Hyde Park.

Hyde Park was so amazing. The air was literally sweeter there. They had so many rosebushes, the whole place smelled amazing. I think I'm going to grow up and live in Hyde Park. But first, we crossed these awesome gates. (Remember, I told you London was full of awesome gates?)


We were walking along like we normally do. You know, like this...

Mika and Sarah are checking out a St. George and the Dragon statue, when I'm like "Wow, it's a fox." Then I'm like "No, that can't be a fox. Not in the middle of the park with everyone staring at it." So then I'm like, "Hey Mika and Sarah, come check out this dog that looks just like a fox." Needless to say it really was a fox. Trotting around like there was nothing out of the ordinary. It eventually ran off into a more wooded area, but talk about neat-o. Meanwhile, the park had a beautiful garden area.





The park even had another one of those amazing trees, the likes of which we saw in St. James' Park. This one was even more tent like.

Yes, we went inside.

It wasn't really that dark, but it was amazing.
We wandered down more paths, until we came to the river. I was afraid we had found another pigeon pusher, but no, just a bird-loving old lady. Apparently all the pigeons and ducks and swans and herons were all named James. James got to enjoy loaves and loaves of bread from the woman's cart. In Hyde Park, we watched the sun set and contemplated how our last day in London could end any more perfectly, or beautifully.

Then there were the mice! The tiny, adorable little mice running back and forth between the rose bushes. I think I should live in the park, under the tent tree, and protect the mice from the fox.
We made our very last London stop Big Ben. I really wanted to see the tower lit up at night. The view was well worth it. We also got an up-close look at the Millennium Wheel (after spotting it from afar everywhere). Even if my camera could have captured the purples and blues of the Wheel reflected in the waves of the black river, I had already filled my memory card with 500+ pictures.
When we got back, we tried to pack up as quickly as we could without disturbing the one sleeper. We ate a midnight snack and grabbed a couple hours of sleep. We had to be at the bus station by 2:40 in the morning. Our flight departed around 6 and we got home around 7 somethingdy. Needless to say we all promptly passed out in our respective apartments. Meanwhile, I've finished one more exam and have my last on Monday. So, this brief summary of London done, I must go study for the Book of Kells.