1st Day in London

Well here goes my first attempt at blogging on the trip (Dana does so good that I might just get her to do the rest). Yesterday was our first day in London and was full of different activities. After leaving the hotel, we found our way to the nearest bus station to catch a lift on a double decker bus to London Bridge. I thought that London Bridge would be really impressive, but it wasn't anything like the Tower of London Bridge which towered above most of the city. We walked along the Thames River between the two bridges and then got some lunch (fish and chips that is pictured below) before heading inside of the Tower of London to take an audio tour. This was once where the Kings of London lived during Medieval times and where the Crown Jewels are kept. The Tower itself was pretty impressive and parts were around 1,000 years old and still intact. We weren't allowed to take pictures of the Crown Jewels, but take my word for it, they were really nice. Inside we saw where Sir Walter Raleigh was imprisoned 3 times.

Next, we climbed what seemed like a neverending spiral staircase to the top of the Tower Bridge. From here, there was a beautiful view of the city.

Upon leaving the Tower, we walked through the Borough Market with 18th-century food stalls. This market had produce, bread, cheese, fish and meat! We cruised along the south bank of the Thames River (pronouced "Tims" Dana) in search of Shakespeare's Globe. We weren't able to get inside due to the fact that there was a matinee show going on at the time. Upon leaving the Globe, we crossed a bridge to the other side of the Thames and saw beautiful views of St. Paul's Cathedral along the way. Afterwards we headed to dinner. We had a hard time finding a spot due the the fact that there seems like the ratio of pubs to restaurants is 50:1 (often pubs don't even serve food). We dined at a local place called Rivington Grill Bar near the hotel. Dana had Game Faggots (pheasant and vegetables pureed and formed to look like a big meatball and sealed with cow stomach lining). This was one of the dishes the waiter recommended. It wasn't too bad in Dana's opinion. I had another one of his recommendations (Sea Bass with Samphire and wild mussels). Samphire is a type of seaweed that grows along the coast. We also had Bubble and Squeak, which is a side item made up of leftover vegetables and potatoes soaked in meat juices and fried into a patty). Not too bad. After a somewhat long European dinner (Angie, after getting tired of waiting I asked for the check and he brought it right away) we went back to the Hoxton worn out from a long first day. More to come tomorrow.

The pictures are out of order, but we need to leave to see all the sights today.

Picture of HMS Belfast (thought you would enjoy this dad)

Fish and chips

Me trying some kind of curry stew at the Borough (Shaloot, this proves that I have tried some ethnic foods)

Dana and I on doubledecker bus

Pic of me in British phone booth

Picture of the hotel room at the Hoxton (note the mural of the city on the wall)