Day 2: June 7, 2014

This day started at 11 am. After sleeping for 10 and a half hours and getting ready for the day, our group met up in the cinema room of Nido to for a presentation to learn a little more about the organization, and also for some general health and safety tips about the city. They were all pretty basic things, but the two that seemed the most alarming to me are crossing the street and getting my purse stolen. Just from the first day out in the city it was apparent that the drivers were insane. I didn't see a whole lot of blinkers use; cars, cyclists, and busses just cut one another off; busses sometimes run up on the sidewalks; and everyone drives incredibly fast. The speaker told us a lot of different ways that dippers (purse thieves; pickpockets) try and steal purses so that we could avoid it where ever we go. After the presentation we had lunch provided by Nido.

Following lunch, our group went down the lobby and all loaded on to a charter bus for a tour of the city of London. Where we are staying is not in the city of London, but in Camden Borough, just northwest of the city, and only  2 or 3 tube (underground train) stops away.  It was originally a small town, but became sucked in and is now considered to be included in the greater London area along with 12 other boroughs. Our tour lasted for a little over three hours and we learned so many historical things. We were on the bus for part of the tour, but also walked to some places as well. I only took pictures of things when I was outside walking, because the bus was going to fast for me to try and get a good picture, or there were things in the way. I saw a lot more than what I'm posting, an learned more, but I'll post all of that later.

                                                The first place was St. Thomas Cathedral.

This is the cross on top of the dome. On our Monday tour, we may be able to climb all the way up to the top balcony if the weather is nice enough.

This is a view from down the street. The streets were made wider so that the cathedrals could be seen no matter where you were.

We did not spend a whole lot of time on St. Thomas, because we have a tour guide scheduled on Monday, and they wanted to save some things.

 

This is the crest of the City of London School. This is also where Daniel Radcliff went to school before staring in the Harry Potter series.

 

This is

The tower bridge over the River on Thames. Often, people infuse it for the London Bridge, but it received its name because it is the entrance to the Tower of London from the East side of the river.

 

This building is actually complete, despite it's appearance. It's called The Shard, and for 40 quid (pounds) You can go all the way to the top and observe the view from outside, or for the price of a drink you could only go to the 40th floor and look at the view from the bar.

 

This is the rebuilt Globe Theatre. We'll be going there later this week to watch Titus Andronicus, Shakespeare's bloodiest play. So far every critic has reported that they love the show, but that they passed out for a part and that other patrons passed out as well during the performance. The theatre is on the East side of the river, because most of the population wanted to live on the west side, due to being upwind and not having to smell the city's filth. Also, of the playhouses were on the east side, because the protestants wanted to separate the secular from the religious. The east side was known for the 3 Ps: playhouses, prisons, and prostitutes.

There were 5 prisons, the most famous being The Clink, where people were sent right before being sentenced to death. Once, Queen Mary sentenced a man to be boiled alive. It took him 13 hours to die.

All of the original pubs were also here as well. Pub is short for "public house", because people could get a pint, order food, get a bed maybe, and most pubs were also brothels.  

 

 

This is the Rose theatre, also known as Christopher Marlow's theatre. It was discovered after rooms of it were found while excavating the land to build an underground parking lot. Several theatre actors found out and protested to make this cite a historical landmark.

 

 

This is the cite of the original Globe theatre. It has been gated off, because there are apartment buildings on either side where people currently live. It was also discovered shortly after the excavation of the Rose Theatre took place, and took a little time away from excavating The Rose Theatre.

This is The Anchor and is one of the original Pubs of London, since 1643. It is also where Shakespeare may have gone to change into costume for his plays, because original playhouses did not have backstage dressing rooms. It is also here, where it is said that  Samuel Peps is said to have watched the city burn across the river during the Great Fire of London, while drinking an Ale.

 

 

This is the Royal Palace of King James. It is currently a residence to the Queen's granddaughter. The building is so old, and has go through many fires. It's age is apparent through the various colors and types of brick used for its various repairs.

 

This is one of the beautiful statues that I found across from the King James Palace.

 

 

These were gorgeous flags down the street from Royal Palace and across from the King James Park.

 

 

This one of the Royal Guards in front of King James' Palace. Their coats are red, because in battle if they were shot, the blood would not show and frighten the other soldiers. They wear the bear skin cap to make them look taller in battle, and to intimidate their enemies.

 

                                             This is a far away picture of the Royal Palace.

Before Texas became a state of the union, but after it seceded from Mexico, it was it's own nation. This is where the Texas embassy use to be located in England.

This is the Angel of Christian Charity in Piccadilly Circus.

 

After our tour, we went back to Nido to get ready for our welcome dinner, which was held at 6 at the Portrait Gallery. The food was delicious, and very lovely. Following dinner, I left to go to King's Cross Station and meet up with Rachelle. We had our pictures taken at Platform 9 3/4 (still working on that picture). Then, we walked to a pub a few blocks away and talked. (Working on that picture too). Afterwards, we played pool and I walked her back to King's Cross Station to catch the last tube to go to her place. It was a pretty great day.

 

PS. I did wind up getting a roommate. One of the other girls was accidentally assigned the wrong room. She moved in later on the 1st day. I just forgot to add that part.