Touring London and London Eye (June 30th)

After my morning dose of peanut butter, we set out to tour the city. Today we would be participating in a free walking tour of London. At 11:00 a.m., we met up with our tour guide and about ten other people. The first stop on the tour was Buckingham Palace and the changing of the guards. Apparently, the changing of the guards is a big deal. Everyone in the city of London was there, so the view wasn't fantastic. We could see the band and guards marching up to the gates, but once they went through the gates, our view disappeared. Despite the less than ideal view of this show, I can still say that I've been to London and seen the changing of the guards. Checking that off the list. The rest of our tour included stops at famous landmarks such as Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Parliament, and the Horse Guards Parade. It was another beautiful day in London; we had truly lucked out with the weather. Our tour ended around 1:30, and by that time we were starving. Our tour guide, sweet girl, walked us to a local pub called Fuller's for lunch. The service was awful and slow, but the food was great. This is where I had the sausage apple onion pie that you may have seen pictures of on Facebook. With fresh veggies and fries, I was a happy camper.

The other main thing on today's agenda was the London Eye. The London Eye is like a giant Ferris wheel that takes 30 minutes to revolve. Those inside of the glass "eyes" get to see one of the best views of the city of London. The line was very long, winding around blocks and little shops, but it moved at a consistent pace which made it seem like it was moving fast. I think we waited in line for about an hour before boarding. It was hard to tell that the London Eye was actually moving until you saw the change in views. From the top of the London Eye, you could see for miles and miles. On a rare clear day like this in London, the view was amazing. We spotted all the landmarks that we had walked by earlier in the day. London was definitely my favorite city that I've been to.

After the London Eye, we were exhausted. It was day 9 of traveling, which means that we had been walking and not sleeping for 9 days straight. Our bodies and minds were ready to be back in Rome. It wasn't so much about the city of Rome, it was more about the ceasing of traveling and being able to shave our legs and sleep for more than 5 or 6 hours. We headed back to the hostel early. Dylan, one of the St. John's kids, was actually in London with his family and he offered to come meet us at our hostel to have a little reunion. We gave him the name of the hostel and after setting our stuff down in the room, chilled downstairs in the pub for a half an hour or so. We ordered a pizza from the pub and kept an eye out for Dylan. We were particularly looking for Burberry fedora that he would be wearing, his signature look. To our amazement, he made it! We hung out downstairs for a couple hours, catching up on our adventures since the goodbye two weeks ago in Rome. It was so nice to see a familiar face! Around 11 o'clock or so, Dylan headed back to his hotel and we headed to bed. We had to pack efficiently once more for the final plane ride back to Rome in the morning.


P.S. Happy 22nd anniversary to my wonderful parents!!