Thanks Jess, now for my update on behalf of both of us (she'll interject more I promise, she has a lot to say). So, let's start with yesterday! We went to the Tower of London! It was our first ride on the bus, and Jess enjoyed it very much (possibly more than the tower itself).
First off, I should have you all know that my days as a summer camp counselor have completely paid off!! We went to the Tower as a group of 17, and I somehow wound up running the day, keeping track of us all getting to the bus and finding our way there. I then took the initiative to speak with the ticket salesman about a group rate and, with Gem's help, gathered all of the money, paid him, and dispersed the tickets and guidebooks to everyone before telling them to use the bathroom before the tour and leading them all to the entrance! Thanks for the wonderful training Sue!
The Tower was AMAZING!!!! I still can't believe that I stood at the spot where Anne Boleyn was buried!!! Jess would have you all know that she felt the same way and you shouldn't think it was all me. She thinks she's being presented in a negative light in this particular entry and is worried what future employees will think. Back to Anne Boleyn. We saw the Tower Green as well and saw the plaque to Anne Boleyn, Jane Grey, Katherine Howard, and all of the others who lost their heads. We made sure to keep a good watch on ours!! Jess and I would like to thank everyone for making that joke, because, well.. everybody did!
Other highlights of the Tower:
Really really good hot chocolate!!! (It was Cadbury, Jess drank two of them!)
The Crown Jewels- absolutely amazing to look at. The detail and condition in which they have been kept for hundreds of years is incredible! Jess wanted to steal them (ok, we both did), but our jackets weren't big enough!
There was a cell we were able to visit which still contained on the walls graffiti carvings from the prisoners who were kept in there. A lot of it was really intricate and actually pretty impressive. The room overlooked the Tower Green, and from their window they could hear the scaffolds being built for those who would perish upon it. They could also see the bodies of those executed publicly being brought back for burial as they sat awaiting their own similar demise.
The stairs were all pretty crazy.
We saw the portrait of Henry VIII... he really doesn't look like Eric Bana. Good job casting Hollywood!
Ok, done with the Tower for now. As Jess said, if you're interested in knowing more, check out the website. Now we must touch upon the bus ride back. We sat on the top of a double decker bus (so cool!) and there was a girl sitting next to us who basically made Gem ashamed of being from England! She was the most obnoxious person we have ever seen in our entire lives! She was screaming to begin with, and most of what she was saying was curse words and things you need to be at least 17 to see in a movie theater!! Around children too!!!! She made fun of a baby who was crying!!!!
Anyway, we ended the night by coming home and making dinner in the flat and all just hanging around half talking, half watching TV for the rest of the night. We were too knackered to do anything else!
Today, Jess, Gem, and I all woke up late and we went to have a Sunday roast at a pub. The pub we went to was called Lamb, and it's famous for having often served Charles Dickens!!! Unfortunately, they ran out of roast, so we had other food, which was fine. Gemma's Nana will hopefully make us a home cooked one when we visit her in 2 weeks! Oh, on our way to the pub we passed the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children. For those of you who don't know what this is, it is the children's hospital to which J.M. Barrie left all of the rights to Peter Pan! There is a gorgeous Peter Pan statue and plaque donated to him right outside of it.
After dropping Gemma off at her train, Jess, Dustin and I headed to Leicester Square for the Revolutionary Road premiere!!!!! We stood out in the cold for about 2 hours (don't worry Donna, Arnie and Stan, we bundled!) and it was completely worth it! Surrounded by hundreds of screaming fans, we we able to see Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet from about 8 feet away!! It was awesome!!! Check out facebook for some cool pictures.
Jess, Dustin and I then headed back to the flat and Jess made pancakes!!! I decided I wanted chocolate chip pancakes, but we couldn't find chocolate chips at the store. Instead, we bought a Cadbury bar and I sat at the table with a knife and made my own!!! While this did produce sufficient "chocolate chips," it also produced a significant mess and a bruise on my finger. The pancakes were delectable though!!!
Since then, we've been hanging out, posting pictures, catching up with friends, etc. Don't think there's much else to tell. Heading to sleep soon, planning on hitting Camden Town tomorrow! Hope everything is good at home, we miss you all! Oh! We're also really excited because we're heading to Scotland this weekend!!!! 3 1/2 days in Edinburgh with Naomi, Lauren, and Richard!!!!! You'll hear more about that soon :-)
Love and Crumpets,
Mel and Jess
Jess is a smart girl. Funny too! Some might even say....a badass.
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Jess, I like that you think things through very well. After all, you'd hate to have one huge, muscular right arm and a scrawny left. Although, that would be a good conversation starter, and you could easily segue straight into "oh, this? This is my jewel arm, I use it to carry my jewels. They're very heavy, cause I have so many."
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