Going out with a BANG!

Okay to say today was awesome would be an understatement!!! It was incredible, exhilarating, thrilling, pricey, tiring but at the end of the day I was really happy that I'd gone. The day started out with an early rise, off to London by 830 and arriving by 930. Though I was with another student on the tour Andrew on the way over, we quickly split up as we had different agendas for the day. My first destination was the London Eye - a special Ferris Wheel that's enclosed - to purchase a riverboat tour and a flight on the Eye. I went on the tour first and decided to hold off on my ride on the London Eye until 9pm. The tour of the River Thames was really cool. We saw Parliament, the Tower of London, Globe Theatre, and several other important landmarks.

Afterwards I headed off to the Tower of London, looked at the crown jewels which had recently been returned due to the State Address of Parliament the day before, checked out the towers - which showed some torture implements, and generally enjoyed the few hours I spent there. I have to admit, the Tower of London was not what I expected, but that did not make it any less cool. After the Tower of London, next on the list was the British Museum and British Library. First off, big kudos to the Brits on this aspect, they know who to give a nice quality experience and they make it FREE. So that was really cool. I enjoyed myself, saw the Magna Carta and other interesting historical documents such as Shakespeare's writings. The museum was more object oriented and featured ruins of the Egyptians, Romans, and Greek among others.

Next on the list was the Sherlock Holmes Museum which was small, but still cool. Basically it was a small building and you could go inside and see where he may have lived. An interesting diversion along with the metro station that was attached to it. Visiting Baker street was definitely an important need for a visit to London. I finished faster than I had expected and without really knowing what else to do, I headed back to the wharf close to Westminster Abbey and Parliament. At this point in the day, I was really tired, bored, and almost went on the London Eye early so I could get back to the school and rest. But I refrained ambling around hoping to find an internet cafe.

While I did not find an internet cafe, I did find a red carpet. Apparently, I have such the stupid luck that I stumbled upon the British National Movie Awards. Once it was mentioned that Tom Cruise and Orlando Bloom would be among attending stars, my mind was made up. I was going to stay right where I was, right next to the red carpet. It was great!!! I had an awesome view and received a lot of autographs among them being Tom Cruise and Orlando Bloom. Really I think only I would have the dumb luck to stumble upon an event such as this and to get autographs. Anyways after getting Tom Cruise's autograph - had to wait until 8:20pm for that because he arrived late - I headed off to grab pizza and then to go ride the London Eye. The London Eye was gorgeous at sundown/night and I was happy I'd signed up for it. London at night is beautiful and though I was sad to leave for what would be the last time for awhile, I also look forward to future visits. Arriving in Bracknell - where we are staying - I was very tired and it was raining. Not good weather conditions to stumble upon and I took a taxi to return. What awaits now is nothing more than just that, waiting. I'm packed already and all is in order. I won't be falling asleep tonight. This is nearly my final entry, until tomorrow.