Her name really isn't Sally

J So after our first day in London we were pros, we knew when to cross the street, how to use the tubes, everything was going smashingly well. Then it started raining, we got quite wet, not owning an Umbrella and all. Sure you can buy them at every street corner from every merchant, but there was no way we were spending £5 or $10 on an umbrella. So we wore our jackets and saved enough money to buy tube passes for another day! Yay.
Besides, we don't have room for any more stuff in our packs!

We decided to hit Big Ben first, the parliment buildings (which Ben is attached to actually), Westminister Abbey, and finally Buckingham Palace where we witnessed the changing of the guard. We found ourselves a bit dissapointed however, it was a long affair, crowded, and we couldn't see much since everyone in front of us had umbrellas in use. After purchasing a t-shirt at The Hard Rock Cafe (yes I'm collecting them) we decided it was time to hit a museum, so we headed to the British museum. We were stopped suddenly but a sudden rumbling noise which seemed to be coming from the Tube station behind us, then we realised in horror it was my stomach. Lunch time! So we stopped at a local pub and experienced the authentic fish and chips of England.

M A tip for anyone going to a pub in England and ordering food.. there are no waitresses you simply go to the bartender to order, we sat at our table for quite some time before realising noone was coming.

The British museum was huge, and better yet it was free! We were there a short time before jet lag caught up with Jes, he literally fell asleep while looking at a piece of artwork. At first I thought this was cute until we attracted a security guard that seemed to be staring and talking on his radio. We decided to head back to the hostel which I too was grateful for. Back at the hostel we had a short 3 hour nap then forced ourselves to get up and out. We were cooking dinner in the tiny kitchen of our hostel when we met this sweet Tiwanese girl Jody, and after talking for a short time we agreed to spend the next day taking in sights together.

J The next day our happy trio left for the great Tower of London. It's looked upon by most as an old prison but in reality it's a palace, where for many many years kings and queens lived. Sure they had prisoners, sure they executed some of them, but only a tiny percentage, like 10%. The Yeomen Guard tour was hilarious and after learning so much about the grounds we saw the crown Jewels! Also in the White Tower was the arsenal or armery. It was very, very cool.

M My favorite part of the Tower of London was discovering that the legend of my ancestor Captain Thomas Blood, was true! He really was the only person to ever steal the crown jewels. This was confirmed by some of the Yeomen guards. I also loved watching Jesse get so excited at the Tower, he took so many pictures! lol

Afterwards we saw the Tower Bridge and London Bridge (which after waiting for some time, never did fall down). We took a trip on the London Eye and then spent the evening watching a hilarous play called Sir-Spam-A-Lot which was a Monty Python play. Although it was hilarious our jet-lag was still interfering and we often found ourselves nodding off whenever the theatres lights were dim. :)

J The next day we said goodbye to Journey's Padding and our new friend Jody, we dragged our big bags and took the tube to Michelle's great Aunt Sally's home in Chigwell (about 30 min out of the city). We were immediately welcomed into her beautiful home and had tea! Yay!
She made us a wonderful chicken currey meal for dinner and then we spent some time sharing stories but our evening wasn't over. We met her nephew Bin-der, his wife and two children who were really neat and an absolute hoot to talk to. We chatted about our travels so far and shared a few laughs at Cherin's Borat impression. Bin-der then invited us for dinner the next night and offered to take us to Greenwich was is pronounced "Grenich", where the G.M.T. line goes through! He also mentioned a few other very interesting sites we should see before leaving the London area on Wednesday to head off to Hull.

M It was so great to see my Aunt again and finally meet Bin-der and his family, they are some of the nicest people I've met and we can't wait to spend more time with them. I also learned this evening that my Aunt Sally is going by a false NAME!!! Her real name is actually Kathleen, her middle name is Sara, but because her mothers name was also Kathleen, she was always called Sally at home. The more you know! lol Goodnight from Chigwell, England