First day in London...

So today is our first day here! It was LONG and hectic so I'm going to make it short! We went on a 4.5 hour bus tour and then to the Tower of London.

This is a photo of the part of Tower of London where the Imperial Jewels are kept! One of the pieces queen uses during ceremonies has the 530 ct African diamond in it!!!

I hadn't been there when I came in high school and it was pretty interesting. I have to admit it was almost like 'just another castle' except for when our tour guide tied it into WWII.

It was rainy and cold also today and my coat was still in my suitcase...which was NOT in a room yet because they wouldn't give us rooms till after 2pm. So, wet feet, my dirty white sweats, and poofy curly hair later...haha

The city is unbelievably HUGE! I don't think that I ever imagined that it could be as big as it seemed today. We ate at a small pub down the street from the hotel tonight...wasn't great but it was cheap! Cheap is good!

The area where we are staying is dark narrow streets where cars drive way too fast! I'm constantly having to remind myself to look both ways...but opposite to what we're used to because they drive on the wrong side. The hotel is nice and quiet. But I was a little disappointed in the number of restaurants around it. Even when we walked 2 or 3 blocks in any direction we count' find anything except questionable grocery stores, pawn shops, and money exchange places.

Tomorrow we're going to try to take the tube into the shopping or theater districts for some good food and hanging out during free time. I think that those areas of London are going to be so totally different from the area where we are staying!

Tomorrow is Saint Brides (the unofficial 'journalists' church on Fleet Streets). Yes, that's right Fleet Street...like in Sweeny Todd. Then Saint Paul's which is gorgeous...can't believe I don't remember going there in high school. Then we are also hitting the imperial war museum tomorrow.

I'll write more then...I need to get some sleep!