Our Touristy Weekend in London

This past weekend Tim and Christopher ventured on their own to Germany, and Haley to Prague. So, this left Erin, Emilee, Caroline and me to have the weekend to ourselves. We started our weekend with a trip to St. Pauls Cathedral on Friday afternoon. It was absolutely breath taking. Conveniently as soon as we arrived, a mass was just about to start, so we stayed for mass, I know it will make Grams and Gramps proud. The rest of the tour included climbing up into the dome and walking around the outside. Amazing does not describe the panoramic views from the top. Next thing on the schedule was a trip to the famous “Zoo Bar” in Leicester Square. We got there just before they started charging cover, and because Emilee had called ahead to put us on the guest list, we just hopped right in front of the line and moseyed our ways in, talk about convenient! We started out with some sugary cosmopolitans and the rest was history. It was fun, but I’m glad we didn’t have to pay cover. The next morning everyone was a little “under the weather”, except for me...and so I decided to head to the Cabinet War Rooms. These rooms are located under the British Treasury Building in Westminster area. They house most of the original furniture, maps, phones and other paraphernalia from when Winston Churchill lived here during World War II. Housed under the ground, he ran the country in complete protection. Most of the rooms remain in original form and most have original furniture. It was very interesting, and actually very pleasant to do by myself. I planned on meeting everyone at Portobello Market afterwards for some shopping and sight seeing, but ended up never finding them. I walked around for about 2 hours taking it all in. The market was fabulous, there were thousands of people and merchants along Portobello Road selling mainly antiques, clothes and food. It is one of the largest open air markets in the world and once you arrive you understand why, it goes on for miles! People were bargaining left and right, and speaking hundreds of different languages. After the market, I headed back to Nido and we all planned dinner at an Indian Restaurant for the night. London is known for its Indian cuisine and after eating at Angel’s Curry Centre I understood why. I have never eaten Indian food before and fell in love with my first bite. I love spicy food, so this it was a perfect match. We headed back to Nido after dinner for a quiet night in, and hit the sack. Sunday morning we all got up and went to Tower of London. The admission price was quite pricey at £17. Once we got inside we headed straight for the Queen’s Jewels. Almost everyone says the jewels are the best part, but the lines get very long. The exhibition was very well done, videos of the christening of the queen played throughout the line as we waited. The videos had excerpts on every jewel and crown, giving us more background before we actually saw the jewels. Once we finally made it through the vault (which weighs over 2000 kg, no messing around) the jewels on the crowns and orbs were amazing. It was hard to imagine that these jewels were real rubies and emeralds and not imitations from Claire’s. They were huge! The biggest diamond in the world (The first start of Africa) was displayed with the crowns. It is part of one of the orbs on display. After the jewels and cutlery we headed to “The White Tower” to view King Henry VIII’s armour. This was a sight. He was overweight so the armour was huge and definitely custom made...if you know what I mean. Emilee and Caroline headed back to Nido after the Tower of London, but Erin and I ventured onward to meet Haley at Camden Market. Emilee and Caroline had gone the week before and told us about all the fake things we could get, so we were definitely interested. Unfortunately we didn’t find much at the market, but it was fascinating to see. Imagine an enormous box made out of blankets and then divided by more blankets and sheets inside. The merchants were down to bargain and would not leave you alone if you even glanced at an item. We headed back to Nido, after a long journey home and got ready for Haley’s birthday dinner. We made reservations on Saturday at a cute restaurant near Nido called “The Castle.” We sat outside on the terrace, ate and had a glass of wine, it was lovely. Another successful weekend!