Finally... Fish and Chips!!

We started out the day with our first class periods! I am taking a Western Humanities and a History of the British Isles class while I'm here (both of which fall under general studies credits).  They were actually a lot more interesting than I thought they would be! It is much more enjoyable to learn about famous paintings and works of art, and then, for your homework assignment, go to a museum to see the actual painting!  It is quite an awesome experience.  For our assignment today, we visited the National Gallery Museum, which is full of well know paintings from many different eras.  We also decided that today was the day for finding the best fish and chips.  It took about half an hour, but we finally found a place to stop. As we were waiting, a man walked up to us and said something like, "This is the best place to find fish and chips in London, it is definitely worth the wait. Take it from a proper Englishman, I know what I'm talking about!"  He was definitely right, and they were so amazing. :)

This is the square in front of the National Gallery.  There were so many interesting statues! 

Madeline and I making a wish in the fountain! If you look closely, you can see the pennies we tossed:)

National Gallery

Saturday Market and Walking the Thames River

Today we didn't have class, so we were able to go out on our own.  I went with Kim and Kindal to a Saturday morning market called the Spitalfields Market, and it was amazing! We found so many cute things that were nice and cheap. It was a very fun environment and great to just go and look around. Everything there was very unique.  This afternoon we were able to get another walk for one of our classes out of the way, which was along the Thames River.  This river runs right through the city, and many of the famous landmarks of London are found right along the bank.  After that, we concluded the night with a very enjoyable dinner at a Chinese restaurant near our house.  It was surprisingly delicious, and a place I would definitely eat at again! Of course, it does help when you go with fun people and end up laughing until you cry more than once. :)  I just feel bad before the people around us, because it was a small and quiet restaurant. Oh well. We had a great time!

We found an Asian wrap place in the market for lunch... I'm still not exactly sure what was in it, but it was pretty good!

Tower of London near the Bridge

Hayli going to the extreme to get the perfect picture!

View ON the Tower Bridge

Replica of the ship Sir Francis Drake sailed on

Because I'm a huge Harry Potter nerd, I remembered that this one is shown in the sixth movie! It is called the Millennium Bridge.

Shakespeare's Globe Theatre

The graffiti at this skate park was fantastic!

The London Eye

We finally got to see Big Ben!

The London Tower and Walking the Walls

We had our first official class excursion today!  As a group, we took the tube and visited the Tower of London, which is actually a huge group of towers, walls, houses, and buildings.  We definitely didn't have time to see it all, but what we did see was very amazing! The Tower of London is famous mostly for the prisoners held there and all the executions that took place inside the walls.  One of the most well-known people to live there and later die there was Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII's second wife. The Crown Jewels of England are also kept at the Tower, so we were able to see the crowns, jewels and other important and valuable treasures from monarchs both present and past.  After we visited the Tower, we walked along the sight of the old London Wall, which was completed in the year 200 and only a section of it still stands.  We took lots of pictures today, and here are some of the best!

In front of the Tower of London

Up close of the Tower Bridge

You have to have one of these if you visit England:)

The White Tower (most of the armor is displayed in this building)

Prisoners of the tower have carved their names into the walls

This is the building where all the Crown Jewels are kept; unfortunately no photography was allowed inside.

This was Queen Anne Boleyn's house when she was forced to live here.

One of the Beefeaters, or Yeomen Warders in full uniform.

Waffels on a stick, of course we had to get one!

Remains of the old Tower of London wall: it was built sometime during the first or second century.

The Armory in the White Tower; King Henry VIII's Armor

This is a Norman Garderobe, or a medieval toilet... Yeah.

One last shot of the Tower!

A lot of these pictures are just random buildings, but I thought they looked pretty cool! All the architecture here is just amazing.

The Croquet Greens near Liverpool Station

Liverpool Station

This is the ancient London wall.  It was built beginning in the year 110 and finished in 200.