England Part III: Pints and Pudding

Welcome to the final installment of our England escapade. We had about 2 weeks to explore London and our trip was to come to a sorrowful end. The city has so much to offer and we hoped we could fit everything in before returning to the Stars and Stripes.

This is the church that Michelle's parents were married in. King Henry VIII rid the country of the Catholicism and created the Church of England. This church is full of old world charm. 

Kensington Gardens has this statue of Peter Pan. The author J.M Barrie used this park to draw inspiration for the fabled tale.

Black Pudding - Check! This salty treat is a sausage made of congealed blood. Actually tasted good!

Michelle and family in Kensington Gardens on a sunny day.

Royal Albert Hall is host to over 350 events per year including concerts, award ceremonies, banquets, operas, etc.

One of the greatest appeals of London is all the FREE museums. Both Michelle and I went on a 2 day binge to check them out. The first was the Natural History Museum.

What a grand entryway!

Once the dinosaur discovers she is vegan I think it would spit her out, hahaha

Kensington Palace + Garden

The Science Museum was a feast for the senses. Unfortunately we had to cut our visit short after a bomb threat caused everyone to evacuate the building. 

The Victoria and Albert Museum had an abundance of clothing, photography, sculpture, and much more. We stayed very shortly because it was close to putting us to sleep. ZZZzzZZzZ

Built to Last

The museum's library

Stain glass windows 

Harrods is like a Neiman Marcus on steroids. Prices are extremely inflated. A cup of joe will set you back 5 pounds. A chicken sandwich 15 pounds?! People go there to be seen and it is really no place for a backpacker to shop. Social classes play a important role in English society and you would be considered upper class if you were a frequent consumer here. It is fun to look around as they spare no expense for the ambiance. If you are feeling a lil' lavish you can spend a pound to use their restrooms.

Check out the grocery area section. Chandeliers on the ceiling... GET OUT of HERE!!

To commemorate 60 years in Queen Elizabeth's reign, the UK is celebrating a Diamond Jubilee. These union jack flags are hanging all over the UK.

The Covent Garden Market pops every Thursday as the local cookeries bring in their one of a kind foods. In addition to the street performers, this is a very unique experience to visitors. Strangely enough we saw a lot of parallels to markets in SE Asia. I guess the only difference are the prices. 

Brownies, muffins, and cakes, OH MY!

The rainy weather did not discourage this street performer from his acrobatics.

In all of London, Michelle's grandma might have one of the most prized real estates. Her window over look Little Venice. It is quiet and in walking distance to everything.

Having enjoyed our first play, we sprung and purchased tickets to Wicked. The show is an adaptation of the Wizard of OZ. The performers were world class!

We definitely couldn't leave the country without getting a little history in the process so we decided to visit the London Towers. I even used my OSU student ID to get a discount, haha. Pictured is the White Tower. This building housed all the royalty while also serving as torture chamber in the basement. The Tower of London is home to the crown jewels and used to be an armoury, treasury, menagerie, home of the royal mint, and a public records office.  The structure was founded by William the Conqueror in 1066. It is located on the river Thames and is fortified by several feet of solid brick and used to have a moat. It was home to several monarchs including King Richard the Lionheart, Henry III, and Edward I.  To be a fly on the wall in this structure's past would mean bearing witness to lots of bloodshed and the beginnings of English royalty.  

Thrown inside of the King's chambers

Mich on the outer wall with umbrella to shield against the rain

The guards were trained military and wore these heavy helmet to deflect any blows. They were extremely heavy.

From the outer wall you could see London's business district. Pictured is the Gherkin building.

Included in the admission price was a tour with a Yeomen Warder commonly referred to as a Beefeater. They are the guardians of the tower and are very prestigious indeed. Don't mistake these individuals as simple tour guides wearing costumes. To be a Yeomen Warder you need to have had an illustrious military career with England. In fact, they live on the premises with their families and are locked in every might at 10 pm. They have the initials E.R. on the front of their uniform that stand for Elizabeth Regina or Queen Elizabeth. Our guide was very humorous and stoic at the same time. It's a must do when visiting.

This was the site of non public executions as opposed to the public beheadings at Tower Hill. In total 10 were executed at this spot including the English queen Anne Boleyn in 1536.

Unfortunately no pictures were allowed inside but the diamonds inside made Michelle's head spin.

Charles II was said to have given "wings" to the legend of the ravens. Pictured is the courtyard where the ravens call home. It is said that if these birds were to leave, the towers and the kingdom would fall. Therefore these birds wings are clipped and taking care of accordingly. The average life span of a raven is 10-15 years while these royal ravens have lived as old as 45!

Instrument of Death : X

They bloody tower holds one of the greatest murder mysteries. Both young prince Edward V, aged 12, and Richard Duke of York, 10, were murdered around 1483 and there bodies were recovered 1674. It was thought that Duke of Gloucestershire, aka Richard III, who would never become king with the two young princes next in line to the throne, might have been responsible for their deaths. Still nothing has ever been proven to this day and we may never know.

While many make the mistake that this is the London Bridge it is actually the Tower of London Bridge. The London Bridge is a very unassuming bridge just west of it.

Speaker's Corner is inside Hyde Park. It is where people can say whatever they like without any prosecution. It occurs most Sunday mornings and usually stirs very interesting, comedic dialogue. Unfortunately this man  was preaching his faith and was very disrespectful towards every other religion minus his own so we left shortly after arriving.

A cafe commemorating Speaker's Corner

Little Venice had a weekend market where live bands and local goods were sold.

Glory, Glory Man United!!!

Aunt Vera was gracious to take both Michelle and I to a bingo hall where unfortunately we didn't strike it rich :(  It was a fun and Michelle catch up with her aunt that she hadn't seen in years!

The following day Nicola and Kelly graced us with their presence.  After a stop at a restaurant overlooking the entire city, we headed to St. Paul's Cathedral. This beauty dates back to 604 AD!

Michelle was not thwarted by the no picture taking signs. She took this shot of the dome of the cathedral without getting caught. Sneaky, sneaky.

Picture of London's newest high rise - The Shard

Just on the other side of the Thames you can see Shakespeare's Theater. While the original burnt down, it was rebuilt and hosts some of Shakespeare's more famous works.

Family Bonding :)

What another awesome night on the town! Nicola definitely outdid herself this time. She was even gracious enough to hail us cab. We will miss her and hopefully she can visit us the States soon.

Our last night in London we all headed to this nice restaurant Little Bay. With Nana turning 86 in a couple days it was an excellent opportunity to reflect on all the fun we had in this beautiful country and celebrate her birthday. Jillian, James, and Baby Liam joined us as well. What a great end to our trip!

We left the following morning and made the 10 hr. flight back to America. Both Michelle and I have a serious case of jet lag, but we are happy to be back in Arizona. We both felt as if it was time to return home. We couldn't have asked for a more life changing experience. We are grateful for the people we met along the way. Personally after spending 6+ months with Michelle I know are relationship is stronger than ever. I am more committed to her than I have ever been in the past. AND She only tried to ditch me a few times as well, jk! Now I have a greater sense of family, having meeting Michelle's and staying in contact with mine in the US. We both have changed in so many positive ways. We will go into more detail in later posts because as far as we are concerned this adventure, or The Pad Thai Diaries for that matter, is not over till we are home in Oregon tirelessly looking for employment. So bare with us for a few more weeks as we draw towards a conclusion to this chapter in both our lives.

So happy to be back and can't wait to reunite with all of you soon!

Love Jason and Michelle