Our first stop was Big Ben. We got out to the Tube station right at the base of the clock, which was so impressive. It really is massive! We strolled around that area for a bit, taking a ton of pictures and video. We also saw a few war memorials along the Thames, which were quite nice.
We then headed southwest to see the Changing of the Guard. Boy was that an experience! It was not at ALL what we expected. First of all, we thought it started at 10:30. It didn't. We asked a local, who said it actually started at 11:30. Well, at 11:15 a troop of guards marched in and just paced for 15 minutes. Then another troop came in with a band. They did some business at the other side gate, and then, much to our surprise, the band came out and played a medley. Not just any medley, 3 songs including Grease and the Olympics Theme (the third and final one we didn't recognize). It sure was strange to hear that at this ceremony which we thought was going to be serious and quick. Eventually they marched off and the first troop left and the second troop went into Buckingham. All in all, it took about an hour! So after that, we walked over to Westminster Abbey and just saw it from the outside since it was over $20 to get in. Next we stopped for lunch at a place called Frankie's and got some pretty good food for a decent price. That was right near the National Galleries, so we stopped by the National Portrait Gallery. 3 floors of just paintings of people! And we got to see the official portrait of HRH Catherine. :D
After that we went on to Churchill War Rooms, which is a make-shift bunker near Downing Street (the home of the Prime Minister). That was one of the coolest museums I've ever seen. Much of the furnishings and such remain today exactly as they were left all those years ago. The museum was creatively and interactively designed, making it a really enlightening and enjoyable experience.
Now today we were done with plans around 5:30, and seeing an advertisement for the musical "Book of Mormon", we decided to go check it out. We made it out to the theater and discovered there were no tickets left for tonight. We continued walking around the theater district (which felt a little like Time Square) and saw Her Majesty's Theater, which is where The Phantom of the Opera premiered over 11,000 shows ago. In a spur of the moment decision, we got tickets to tonights show. It was really great! The music was fantastic and it was so cool to see the show in the theater that it originated.
Again, we got back around 10:30 and are now just wrapping things up. Today was the last day here, so tomorrow we say goodbye to foggy London town and hello to Berlin! Can't wait to test out our German skills...or whatever. :) We'll let you know how it goes.
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