(25.08.11) I started this day by taking the City Cruise from Tower Bridge to Westminster. Its just a boat tour that goes down the Thames. Fun to see the city from the river.
After disembarking from the boat I got completely lost. And it was raining. Hard. I seem to fail at the whole "you need three reference points to know where you are" rule. Meaning I apparently can't read a map. I was trying to get to The Banqueting House. It took me about 40 minutes to find something that was 10 minutes from where I started. In the rain. This is where I put a plug in for Tom's shoes. They were soaked about 3 minutes into my being lost. But they didn't get tight or fall apart or give me blisters. They just kept being very comfortable if not a little bit squishy. I think that I would have died during all my walking around in anything except my Tom's. Anyway, I found the banqueting house. Its got a downstairs where King George I entertained guests which is where I learned that this is where George I was beheaded. Not downstairs but on a scaffolding built outside the Banqueting House. The house was used for banquets. (duh) Maybe still is? At any rate George the first ticked off Oliver Cromwell by claiming that he was basically the same as God because he was king. The upstairs room, the banquet hall, has paintings on the ceiling honoring his father, King James, which depicts this king=god belief. My favorite part was the two dudes dressed up out front who said they would guard my umbrella with their lives while I was inside. And indeed they did. They're in my outfit picture which makes me look hideous but they look cool - so focus on them, k?
Oh and here's a video I stumbled on (on someone's blog) which is about Charles II, the son of Charles I, and talks a bit about what happened to Charles I. It's funny.
I headed across the street to the Horse Guards Museum. I can't remember if this is what it's actually called but its a museum about the personal guards of the Queen who are the part of the military who ride horses. (Run-on sentence much?) Today the soldiers that are part of this Guard do intense training with the horses but they also drive the tanks. They spend 10 hours a day cleaning their horses and their uniforms. That is SO much time. Outside of the Guards House, which is also part museum, there is one guard on foot and two on the street on their horses. I learned that the guard who gets the lowest score as far as cleaning his gear is the one assigned to the on foot duty and the ones with the best score get duty on the horse.
I sat down on a bench at the end of the museum to determine my next stop on my tour. I had set my camera on the bench and my umbrella on the floor. And then I set my backpack down. Then I sat down next to my backpack. I planned my next move and left the museum. I walked out to the street and decided I should take a picture of the horse guards. It was as I was fishing in my bag for my camera that I realized I had left it IN THE MUSEUM! I ran back and luckily it was still sitting on the bench and the umbrella was still on the floor. I nearly had a heart attack thinking about the pictures I would have lost if I'd lost my camera. Oh man.
I headed out to Kew Gardens after this. I think this may have been one of my favorite things I saw in London. It is a giant park, kind of on the outskirts of the city, with some large greenhouses in the park. There was a tropical greenhouse and a temperate greenhouse and a water lily house. The greenhouses were AMAZING. I loved seeing the plants that the fruit I eat comes from. Especially the star fruit. I had no idea it grew on trees. There were also lots of secret little garden areas throughout the bigger park. So beautiful. I love the peacefulness and the feeling that you aren't in the middle of a big city. After this I just headed home to have dinner with Jeff and hang out at the flat.
After disembarking from the boat I got completely lost. And it was raining. Hard. I seem to fail at the whole "you need three reference points to know where you are" rule. Meaning I apparently can't read a map. I was trying to get to The Banqueting House. It took me about 40 minutes to find something that was 10 minutes from where I started. In the rain. This is where I put a plug in for Tom's shoes. They were soaked about 3 minutes into my being lost. But they didn't get tight or fall apart or give me blisters. They just kept being very comfortable if not a little bit squishy. I think that I would have died during all my walking around in anything except my Tom's. Anyway, I found the banqueting house. Its got a downstairs where King George I entertained guests which is where I learned that this is where George I was beheaded. Not downstairs but on a scaffolding built outside the Banqueting House. The house was used for banquets. (duh) Maybe still is? At any rate George the first ticked off Oliver Cromwell by claiming that he was basically the same as God because he was king. The upstairs room, the banquet hall, has paintings on the ceiling honoring his father, King James, which depicts this king=god belief. My favorite part was the two dudes dressed up out front who said they would guard my umbrella with their lives while I was inside. And indeed they did. They're in my outfit picture which makes me look hideous but they look cool - so focus on them, k?
Oh and here's a video I stumbled on (on someone's blog) which is about Charles II, the son of Charles I, and talks a bit about what happened to Charles I. It's funny.
I headed across the street to the Horse Guards Museum. I can't remember if this is what it's actually called but its a museum about the personal guards of the Queen who are the part of the military who ride horses. (Run-on sentence much?) Today the soldiers that are part of this Guard do intense training with the horses but they also drive the tanks. They spend 10 hours a day cleaning their horses and their uniforms. That is SO much time. Outside of the Guards House, which is also part museum, there is one guard on foot and two on the street on their horses. I learned that the guard who gets the lowest score as far as cleaning his gear is the one assigned to the on foot duty and the ones with the best score get duty on the horse.
I sat down on a bench at the end of the museum to determine my next stop on my tour. I had set my camera on the bench and my umbrella on the floor. And then I set my backpack down. Then I sat down next to my backpack. I planned my next move and left the museum. I walked out to the street and decided I should take a picture of the horse guards. It was as I was fishing in my bag for my camera that I realized I had left it IN THE MUSEUM! I ran back and luckily it was still sitting on the bench and the umbrella was still on the floor. I nearly had a heart attack thinking about the pictures I would have lost if I'd lost my camera. Oh man.
I headed out to Kew Gardens after this. I think this may have been one of my favorite things I saw in London. It is a giant park, kind of on the outskirts of the city, with some large greenhouses in the park. There was a tropical greenhouse and a temperate greenhouse and a water lily house. The greenhouses were AMAZING. I loved seeing the plants that the fruit I eat comes from. Especially the star fruit. I had no idea it grew on trees. There were also lots of secret little garden areas throughout the bigger park. So beautiful. I love the peacefulness and the feeling that you aren't in the middle of a big city. After this I just headed home to have dinner with Jeff and hang out at the flat.
\P.S. I used to be able to change the size of these pictures but I can't anymore for some reason. Sorry this one is weird.
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