DAY FOUR:

I got up at about 6:15 to work on thesis, however my allergies have been killing me in the morning, so it is hard to work. I did stay up to about one last night getting stuff done though. In effort to save money, I was going to try not buying coffee every morning, but this morning I somehow ended up at Starbucks. I would have gone to Costa Coffee, which apparently is their version of Starbucks, but Starbucks is right next to our place. We started out meeting at nine like usual. The tube is cheaper starting at nine and it avoids rush hour.

The first place we visited was the London Tower. The architecture was gorgeous, and the amount of history present was amazing, however.... it was tourist grand central station. I have not uploaded pictures yet, but got some really good ones when I was able to dodge the mass amounts of tourist. I am not even kidding, either. I have never been in a more packed place in my life. The tour guides were incredibly cheesy, but when we were able to get away it was better.

My favorite house was the Jewel house, where all the jewels are stored. Unfortunately, we were not able to take pictures there, but I did see the 2^nd largest diamond in the world. It was so big it seemed impossible to be real. The crowns of past queens and kings, as well as their swords, dinner plates, etc., were all on display. Many dated back to the 16^th century but still shined like they were brand new. I wish I had been brave enough to sneak a picture. Someone did try and the guards made them stand there and erase them off their camera right in front of them. But I found out later that one of the guys in our group (who is an awesome photographer) was able to get some shots, which I will most definitely burn to my computer :)

Next we headed to the HSS Belfast. Not much to say about this one. The one fun part was climbing to the top and seeing a view of the river.

For lunch, I tried a “Tango” Soda. It was like orange Fanta… but better. Maybe they will have it at World Market when I get back. I also learned at lunch that our phrase “To-Go” (Like when ordering food), is referred to as “take-out” in England.

Last, we went under the London Bridge for an attraction called “The London Bridge Experience.” It is hard to explain, but it is supposed to be like a haunted house thing, while also learning about the bridge at the same time…. and it was not good at all. The first part was about 40 minutes, and you could hardly understand what they were saying with their accents, therefore making it hard to learn. The next part was the “scary” part, which was a little better, but definitely not worth 21 Pounds (About 30 dollars) or the time to go see it… (We got in for free with our London Passes). We arrived back at the apartments around three, which is the earliest we have been back. We got to work on thesis for a while, actually the first time we have been able to since we arrived.

Well I’m off to bed to get maybe three hours of sleep before we have to get up at 4am, to be at the train station by 4:45am, to catch the Eurostar to Paris at 5:45am. A couple friends and I are headed there for the weekend, until Monday morning. I am not sure if I will have internet access, but will try to post when I do! Bon jour!