February 5 "Platform Nine and Three Quarters"

London. London. London! Today was go, go, go as we wanted to see all the sights! Our day began at Buckingham Palace where we saw the Changing of the Guard—you know, those guys in the furry hats! We slithered through the HUGE crowd and got some pretty decent, and crowded, standing space for the spectacle. Next on our agenda was the famous Sherlock Holmes’ pub for a traditional meal of fish n chips, since Sherlock Holmes is sooooo English. Our next stop was Camden Town, which is famous for all of their markets and shops. I purchased some pretty cool souvenirs. J It was a BIG area, much bigger than Chinatown in New York, and comparable to the market I saw in Thailand last year. Following this, we tried to see Platform 9 and ¾ at King’s Cross Station, as every true Harry Potter fan knows that wizards aboard the train for Hogwarts. We found platforms 9 and 10, but the surrounding area was under construction, so they had this particular platform closed off. L J had to dash off for the night then to watch a rugby match, so T and I headed back to Leicester Square (pronounced Lester) for some touristy things—souvenir shops, discount play tickets (they were sold out), and some delicious caramel chicken at a local Chinese joint. And Ben and Jerry’s of course. We took a short break at the hostel to figure out the rest of the evening, and then ventured out around 7:45to see London Bridge and the Tower Bridge, two well known spectacles in London. Our walk around the River Thames was breezy and a bit chilly, but we kept reminding ourselves that it was the beginning of February and it was about 50 degrees and there was no snow. Our late night walk also included seeing the Tower of London and reading about the lions they kept at the gate as a kind of second moat and other random facts in its 1000 year history. As we walked across Tower Bridge to head back to the Tube, we kind of lost our way and took a slighty sketchy walk back to our original station. Let’s just say T and I were happy to find the Tube again after some of the shadiness we saw in those awkward twenty minutes. A quick jaunt at St. Paul’s Cathedral to see its grandeur at night was the final stop before heading back to the hostel for Mexican night at the bar, where we had fake moustaches drawn and I had a Guiness, per Dean Kolander’s request. J