London, take 2

Yesterday was, by far, one of the best days ever! Why? Because I got to see Wicked on Broadway!!!! Well, let me back up a few hours...we (Catie, Joanna, Allison, and Laura) headed out of Warkworth House really early in the morning to catch the 9am train to London. We got an awesome deal on an all day bus/train/tube pass for £10 a piece! We arrived at the Liverpool train station around 11:15 am....just minutes away from missing the Changing of the Guards ceremony at 11:30!! So we all ran across the streets, intersections, and sidewalks a few blocks up to finally get to Buckingham Palace. It was soo crowded with tons and tons of people! We got as close as we could to the palace gates, but this was as close as I could get. I think we were all pleased with that, though.



We ran back to the Victoria station to see if there were any more student tickets left for Wicked. Just for background information, Wicked is the "untold story of the witches of Oz." One of the great things about having a student ID is that you can get into a show that would normally be £65 for £25! After that, I was so happy that I could care less what we did in London that day. The next place we headed for was Westminster Abbey - absolutely amazing! I had never really known the history of it until I visited. The place was so big and the high Gothic architecture was amazing. I remember learning all about some of the terms in art history in high school so it was cool to see it all in real life - the rose windows, flying buttresses, etc. Here is where they buried all of the royal families for almost a thousand years! All the kings, queens, and even famous scientists (like Charles Darwin) and writers were buried here. I couldn't take any pictures in there though. :(


Afterwards, the group split up to do different things and so Catie and I wanted to go to Trafalgar Square to see the National Gallery and to take pictures on the giant lions in the front. Well, on our walk there what sounded like a distant riot/mob seemed to be getting closer and closer. We kept walking and passed a few "gay pride" trucks and flags. How wonderful - the one day we wanted to go to Trafalgar Square was the day that the whole street was blocked off for this massive parade. It was incredibly crowded and so we just made new plans to see the Museum of Natural History in South Kensington. We were becoming pros at the whole tube navigation thing. The last thing we did was dinner at the ORIGINAL Hard Rock Cafe in Hyde Park. Although it took us a while to find, the food was well worth it! We decided to save the best for last and made it to the Victoria Apollo to see Wicked. It was well worth it and undoubtedly the highlight of the day. :)