London / Romania Mission Trip 2009...post 3

Monday, July 6
dinner at this amazing and very fancy hotel- the regent, i think. it says it on the plate, but i can't read it. us, the seals, the grahams and todd bell (our music minister) and his son parker. todd also takes pictures of his plated food - if the meal is amazing. i know this looks like something from dr. seuss, but i had to try something local. holstein was my selection for the evening. at first i was scared, but honestly it was incredible. don't be scared off by the ingredients, it sounds like an accident and maybe thats how it started, but i thank whoever put together the weinerschnitzel, egg, capers and anchovies. yummy! don't judge me.


just a pic of the streets.


buckingham palace at night. this is on the to-do list for next time.


Tuesday, July 7
visited the tower of london. it was fascinating and massive. i didn't get my picture taken with a beefeater like i wanted, next time. this tour was worth it. lots of interesting facts and stories. this is the place where traitors of the crown were taken and held. then when their day came they were marched up the hill to another property to have their heads chopped off and then they hung the heads off the bridges so people going down the thames would know thats what happened to people who opposed the crown - the royal family.


another angle. you can see a bridge in the back, not the london bridge like everyone assumes (including me), i think its called the tower bridge.





this little round building is the tower of blood. i know there is a story of two little heirs to the throne that were murdered and buried on the property by their uncle so he could inherit the throne. this building had a torture exhibit, you know the regular rack, 4 corners and the ball techniques we have always seen. this building was packed with men and young boys - go figure.


this guy "guards" the building where the royal jewels are kept. his stomping/marching was echoing (due to his 2" soles on his shoes - no joke, look at them) all over the property, i guess so you know he is always there in case you have any ideas of lifting a crown or two. the royal jewels exhibit was amazing. and i am a diamond girl, lover, not necessarily a collector (yet??). all the crowns and silver used for their coronations and other very important ceremonies. i felt so proper and formal when we left the building...


changing of the guards. they had a girl guard who was yelling all the commands. cool. i did take a gander at their guns and they had very very scary knives on the ends. i don't think they were pretend. the canons, i am not sure about. across the street from the crowd is a building with a huge henry VIII exhibit. it was cool. although he was a large (and merciless) man, he loved armor, horses and jousting so there were tons of weapons, and outfits (thru all his sizes).


we also visited the imperial war museum. aka the churchill museum. it was amazing. i didnt get any pictures cause it was pouring down rain and jarrett also almost got smashed by a lady on a bicycle trying to hail a taxi and i was laughing so hard (in love). it really was tough crossing the street around there. thank goodness they have painted on most of the major intersections "look left" or "look right", regardless i still looked the wrong way first. i just made sure i triple checked every time. they are wild drivers.

here we are with a traditional guard. his hat is taller than his torso. i just wonder what kind of people they are like off duty. its not like you can turn the "ignore everything, but attack an intrusion" on and off at the drop of a hat. we are not at buckingham palace, but where charles and camilla live. i think its called st. andrews - but im not sure.


this is camilla and charles's pad. not too shabby.