Monday, April 12, 2010

London Trip- Day 2

We've had another great day in the UK. This morning we walked from the house to the train station in Egham to catch the train into London. As we were waiting trying to figure out which tube (subway) we needed to take to get to the Tower of London a man approched us and asked if we needed help. We told him where we wanted to go and he told us that we would sit in the same train car as him and he would show us when we go there. We talked with him on the way over and soon realized that he was a very big deal. His name is Michael Edwards and he developed a system for all catagrizing and labeling all fragrances. He also writes the industry standard guide each year that stores like sephora use. If you google him you can read more about him.
We spent the majority of the day at the Tower of London, very interesting. It was mostly used to hold prisoners until they were executed and all of their bodies were buried. We also saw the crown jewels there... pretty amazing, one of the pieces has a 530+ carat diamond. From there we could also see the London Bridge. After that, we hopped on the tube and went to Trafalgar Square. We hoped to be able to walk around the National Gallery but it was closing as we were getting there... I'll have to see the Van Goghs another day.

Upon Michael's recomendation we ate dinner at Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese. It is the oldest pub in London built in 1538, destroyed by fire in 1666 and then rebuilt in 1667†. Some of it's famous patrons include, Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, and Samuel Johnson (the one responsible of the Oxford English Dictionary) Ben had bangers and mash (sausages with mashed potatoes), I had chicken with leeks and mushrooms and we ordered a side of bubbles and squeak (mashed potatoes mixed with cabbage, broccoli, and peas). It was all very good, even if we had to ask the waitress
to translate half the menu... I mean "bubbles and squeak"... who came up with naming it that??

We leave in the morning to spend a few days in Scotland. Ben is very excited about seeing it, especially St. Andrews. He says it is a very beautiful place... looking forward to it.


Here are some more pictures of our adventures today:
The Tower of London:
The grass was once a mote
Below is where Anne Boleyn was held prisoner while she awaited her execution
The London Bridge:

Trafalgar Square:

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