Bus Tours, Ferris Wheels, and Wicked... Oh My!!!: London 2.0

London, you have my heart. This weekend was one of my favorites because we just got to walk around and see everything. There was absolutely no itinerary so we got to do what we wanted, when we wanted. We got there around 11 on Friday morning and got tickets to one of those super cheesy touristy open top bus tours. This really helped us get a better feel for where everything was located. After checking in to the hotel, we rode the bus for a few stops and got off at the London Eye. We hopped into one of the giant pods and took the 30 minutes to take the rotation. It was spectacular even though it was a little rainy and muggy!! It was also another great opportunity for a fun selfie, so we took advantage of it.

 Clock by our hotel

 Pod on the London Eye

 London Eye

 View from the top!!

Carnival we saw from the Eye

 Lindsay, Courtney (Lindsay's sister), and me after our ride on the Eye.

After the Eye, we showed Lindsay's family all of the fun, iconic London sights like Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, and the Queen Elizabeth II tower. 

 Buckingham Palace... Surprisingly not as crowded as the first time!!

Having fun at the Abbey...

There was an NFL game in London this Sunday!! It was the Raiders v. the Dolphins and they were playing in Wembley Stadium. It was really funny seeing people running around in football jerseys!!

 After four years of hearing Coach Coffey talk about and quote Winston Churchill, I Couldn't resist taking a picture of the statue!

There is a Half/Full Marathon happening in a few weeks... Wish I was in shape to run in it!! Maybe someday...

After an extremely long day of sight seeing and lots and lots of walking, we went and saw the musical Wicked. I saw it with my grandma when I was 11, but forgot how great the storyline was and how clever and funny the dialogue was. Getting to the theater was such a struggle because a few of the underground stations had been shut down. We had to take two different trains and we managed to squeeze ourselves in like sardines. We eventually got to Victoria Station and found the restaurant we were eating dinner at with ease. Conveniently enough, the theatre was right across the street! We had really good seats and Lindsay and I found ourselves singing along at certain points. After the show, we headed back over to our hotel and walked around Leicester Square. It was very lively because there are all kinds of clubs, pubs, and casinos.

Day two was filled with even more sight seeing!! But we spent most of our time on top of the bus. We rode it all over London and cracked jokes with our extremely sarcastic tour guide named James. We also stopped by Harrods (an extremely over the top and expensive store) and browsed through there. Lindsay and I played with this fake snow powder that turned into a snow-like substance when doused in water. It felt really weird when it absorbed the water and expanded! After eating lunch, we went over to Kensington Garden to see the Princess Diana memorial fountain and the Peter Pan statue. The Princess Di memorial was being used as a playground and a lot of little children were playing in the water so we decided not to stay for too long. The Peter Pan statue was fun to see and I got a little bit too excited about it.

 Peter Pan is my favorite... Other than Harry Potter of Course!! 

 Apparently the statue was placed in the dead of the night so that children would think it had appeared by magic! Anything thing can happen with faith, trust, and pixie dust!!

Special thanks to the Owen family for allowing me to tag along this weekend!! I had such a great time. Next weekend, we are spending Friday and Saturday touring Iron Bridge and Coughton Court, and then we leave Sunday for two magical, Harry Potter filled days in London!! Until then, Muggles!!

xoxo
SG

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