I do bite my thumb, sir.

Tuesday Septmeber 13th

With only one full day left for the three of us, this had to be last remaining biggies day. So that meant Westminster Abbey and Tower of London. Our idea was to catch the changing of the guard first. That required being there at 11:00. You'd think that would be easy. You would be wrong.

We as a group stay up late and wake up late. It takes a lot to get one of us up and moving early, much less all three of us. We wound up getting the Buckingham Palace around 11:25. In time to be there for the festivities, but not in time to see much. Jerry enjoyed the brass band, and I have to admit it was pretty funny when they broke out into a Billy Joel medley, but otherwise this was a disappointment. Likely would have been better with a better view. Still, it was nice to see the Palace up close and see all the pageantry involved with having a monarchy.

We walked toward Westminster, stopping at a pub for lunch along the way, and entered around oneish. Westminster Abbey was the best thing we did the whole time we were in London. Seriously. I mean sure in one sense its just a big church with a lot of monuments and tombs, but to see the grave and memorial of Elizabeth I? Amazing. We did the aduioguide as I heard it was well worth it and I knew this was a site Melissa would be into. It did not disappoint. I had goosebumps on more than one occasion. After picking up some souvenirs, we took the tube to Tower Hill.

The Tower of London, with it's Beefeater guided tours, is one of those things you think will be a let down and too touristy. Then you read every guidebook and hear everyone who went tell you it's a must see. For me, just seeing the White Tower that William the Conqueror built was cool enough. But truly it's the Beefeaters that make the Tower a must-see, and possibly the Crown Jewels too. We arrived just in time to catch the last tour so that worked out well. The guided tour was great, the jewels were amazing, and just seeing it all there, so old, was pretty cool. I especially liked all the Lady Jane Grey history. The whole site could do with a more comprehensive guided tour or a better map, but since we didn't map for the guidebook or the audiotour, I suppose I can't criticize too much. I just have the feeling that we missed a lot, but since people do live there, its likely not all open to the public. Leaving the Tower we headed downtown to one of the older pubs in town, Ye Ole Cheshire Cheese, for dinner. Very cool.

After dinner, we took a cab across the Thames to attend what may well be the crowning cultural activity of my life, a Shakespeare play in the rebuilt Globe as a groundling. It was fantastic. We were three rows from the stage staring up at the actors, turning from left to right to take it all in, dogging spit olive pits and thrown water. I felt like I was in the 1600s seeing Antony and Cleopatra for the first time. Watching Octavius insult women and seeing the girls in front of us get all pissed of was a particular highlight. That just doesn't happen when you Netflix a movie. One downside, man did my feet hurt. How did those 1600 peasants do it? After the play we grabbed dessert at a nearby place, walked across the Millennium Bridge, and took the tube home.