The Tower... Which You Are Never To Enter...

Today has been a long, but very fun day! We started out our day going to the Tower of London, which was way cool! The tube ride was about 40 minutes, and it was raining when we got off. I'm trying to get used to the rain... I just keep telling myself that it wouldn't be London without it! I thought the tower was going to be an actual tower, but it's almost like its own little city inside. It's more like a castle I think, with a few different towers. First, we went to see the crown jewels. I think it's ironic that the crown jewels, which are a symbol of England and its monarchy, are kept at the Tower of London, which is known for torturing and beheading people. Just sort of interesting! The crown jewels are gorgeous, and I was blown away by the dishes they use at the coronation banquet. There's a golden castle bedazzled with jewels that's about a foot tall that they use as a salt holder! There's also a 3 feet wide golden punch bowl that holds around 144 glasses of wine. It's crazy! After looking at the jewels, we went to the White Tower, which displays armor and old weapons that the Brits used in battle. We went to the Bloody Tower next, where they display the different ways people were tortured back in the day. I had heard of "the rack" before, where they stretch you, but I had never heard of this one device where they do the exact opposite and compress you. It sounds terrible! We really wanted to find where Anne Boleyn was kept before she was executed, but apparently that tower no longer stands. All in all, I thought the tower was super interesting! I wish I could have gone off on my own though and explored, because when you're with a big group you have to wait for everybody, and all decide together where to go next.

We got lunch at this place called Pret A Manger, which was good. After that we went on a walk following the old wall of London. I was surprised again, because I thought we were going to be walking alongside an old wall. There are spots where the wall still stands, but the chunks aren't very big. The streets in old London have funny names like Houndsditch road, Jewry road, and Saracen's Head road. My professor said we were walking in East London, which is like Wall Street in New York. It had been pouring all morning, and then while we were walking the sun came out and it was beautiful! I think I know why the Beatles wrote a song about the sun--because it's so nice when it finally comes out, even just for a little bit! We went and saw a couple old churches, then we walked to the Museum of London. It goes through the whole history of London, and it took us a while to get through it. My favorite parts were the exhibits on the Black Death and the Great Fire. The Black Death killed off half the population of London, which was 40,000 people at a time. Half of the people in London died! The Great Fire burned down four-fifths of the city of London in 1666, and is believed to have been started by a baker who kept his fire burning during the night. Anyway, sorry for the boring facts, I just thought they were cool!

Tonight for dinner, we had pasta, broccoli, and corn, to balance out all the treats we've been eating. They make us such good food here! It's nice to come home to a home-cooked meal, even if we have to spend two extra hours helping to prepare and clean up after it :) Welp, right now I'm going to do some of the homework. Tomorrow, we're going to Portobello market which has excellent crepes and shopping. So pumped! On Sunday, we're all going to a single's ward together, then that night we'll be put into our wards and given callings. Monday, we're taking a coach to Stratford upon Avon where Shakespeare lived. We're going to see Twelfth Night, which is what She's the Man is based on! A quote from Samuel Johnson pretty much sums up my trip here so far, and motivates me when I get tired of walking: "He who is tired of London is tired of life." Cheerio!