First Weekend in London Part 1

I cannot believe how fast this first week has gone. I got to see go around London a little more on Saturday and finally got a good idea of how the Tube works.

In terms of weather it was pretty cold and it was the first of many rainy days that I would witness during my time in London. I and a few other study abroad students had gotten tickets to go see the Tower of London. Although it was pouring up until we were about to leave, it was still very interesting.

We were able to walk through and see a film of the coronation ceremony for Queen Elizabeth II, which was pretty interesting. I can only imagine how exciting and historic it would to be in London as it took place.

There was a viewing of the crown jewels, crowns of previous kings and queens, and nearly everything was covered in diamonds, emeralds, rubies and gold. Sadly I wasn’t able to take pictures at the exhibit, but the image of such historically important items is still vivid in my memory.

As we moved on from the “Jewel House” we went to the White Tower located at the center of the square where were able to see an exhibit on the infamous King Henry VII.

YOUR HISTORY LESSON OF THE DAY:

For those of you who are not familiar with the story and legend of Henry VIII, he belonged to the Tudors. He is most well known for having six wives and because under the rules of the church he was not able to divorce his wife, he became the head of his own church and had two of them executed. While he wasn’t the friendliest of kings, his 37 year reign as king left him a legend. He is also the father of Queen Elizabeth I; she too left a lasting legacy for London’s history.

Later that evening I went to dinner with a group of students in my program at a local pub called Gloucester Arms right near our campus dorm. I tried the ever popular “Fish &Chips” for the first time, and let me tell you that was what every person in the pub had ordered.

After dinner we met up with the rest of the study abroad students to go on the “Jack the Ripper Tour.” It was a walking tour of the area where London’s first serial killer took the lives of five women, and was never caught. At the end of it all were left with was the only a handful of possible suspects and a long walk back to the Tube.

Pictures: Tower of London