Day 32 – London Day 1 – Sunday June 24th

Rob and I woke up at about 9am and went straight to breakfast. We took showers after and checked on the guys from last night. They weren’t so big on seeing the sights as early as we wanted to, so we left on our own. Our goal was to see the changing of the guard, but we came out pretty far from Buckingham Palace and only caught the end of the change. From there we walked down the Mall and St James’s Park, the horse guards, the Spring Garden, Parliament, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, and Westminster Bridge. It took quite a while to walk the whole section, but it was well wroth it. I got some great pictures of giant lion statues and guards (who must hate people like me taking a million photos of them).

We walked from there over the bridge and to the Eye of London. It would be about 30 US dollars to go on the giant Ferris wheel, so I decided I would spend my money somewhere else more worthwhile. We grabbed a cheap, quick bite to eat at McDonald’s (which had a very different menu than America). We went next into the London Aquarium. It was therapeutic really to see all the fish. There were plenty of screaming kids, but mostly it was peaceful. I got to touch several stingrays in the pool they had there. It was strange; the stingrays really seemed to enjoy all of the petting and attention.

Afterwards, I had a choice of seeing Dali’s sculptures or a Star Wars exhibition. Before I say which one I obviously chose, let me explain my reasoning. Dali’s paintings I love, but his sculptures are really just poor representations of images more beautiful in his other works. A Star Wars exhibition I have never seen, and I probably would never see except at this one place. I chose Star Wars. They had all of the costumes, a star fighter set piece, a pod-racer, concept drawings, a 30-minute documentary on the history of Star Wars special effects over the past 30 years, and much more. I took pictures with peope dressed up in costumes and watched people put on costumes and sword fight professionals against a green screen that put the two people inside the movie. It was worthwhile.
We went back to the hotel and rested up for a while. Brent took Rob and I out to eat at a Southwestern restaurant called Navajo Joe’s that was exceptional. I had a tostada that was unreal. Everyone met up with us at the restaurant before we went to a club called Roadhouse. It was okay, but the crowd was a little bit older. Three of our friends studying abroad and traveling met us there, so we had a big reunion. I took a cab with two of the girls to make sure that they made it home okay.

Day 31 – Travel to London – Saturday June 23rd

I woke up at about 10am and got a shower. I ate an early lunch that was a traditional Danish meal consisting of beef and potatoes mixed in a spicy sauce and covered in two fried eggs. It was very good. The boat landed on the shore of England at around 11:30am. We took and hour and a half train ride to London.

We had time in the train station to look around while Dr. Bob got us group day passes. Nothing was really there besides exchange places and fast food, but I did notice that no public trashcans were in the station at all. I suppose because of the bombings a few years ago. It was strange carrying trash out with me.

Our hotel was located right next to Paddington Station, so we were in a good part of town. Rob and I got our laundry done and took a nap before we met the group to go to Covent Garden for dinner. We ate at a place called Porter’s that was a great first meal to have in England. I got fish and chips that were phenomenal. We went to a bar up on a balcony in the Garden where most of our group was hanging out. It was Stifel’s birthday at midnight, so we had a lot of fun with him. Brent met up with us at the bar and took us to a sport’s bar he knew of that was fun. Rob and I took a cab back to the hotel. It took a while to find one that would stop for us. We had one approach us that was clearly not a cab, and one man approached us and showed us his beat up sedan that we quickly passed on. The one that took us back was an old black one that was clearly marked.

Day 30 – Travel and Cruise – Friday June 22nd

We had to get out of our rooms by 10am, so we all had an early wake-up call (since most of the rooms had four people in them). I missed breakfast, so I planned on having an early lunch. I went out with Jocelyn and Jill. We went to Strøget, a main strip near the hotel, that had plenty of tourist shops where they sold amber and paper cutouts and t-shirts. I got a book with the complete works of Hans Christian Anderson. Jocelyn was hard-set on going to a tea-store where they mix the teas to your liking in the store. They were apparently famous for the teas they made especially for the Danish royal family. The store smelled wonderful, as you can imagine, and Jocelyn got a small box of tea to bring home.

From there, we walked all the way to see Børsen, the old Copenhagen stock exchange building, with its beautiful, winding spire. We also went to see The Church of Our Saviour that had a winding tower that you could climb, but due to inclement weather, we were unable to go into it. The main part of the church was closed due to intensive renovations. Again, it seemed that Europe was under construction this year. We ate lunch at a place near the church that was just alright. We met everyone back at the hotel around 2pm and headed for the train station.

The train ride to the boat was only a few hours, so it really was not too bad compared to any other trip. The boat was not a luxury boat, but it was still reasonably nice for a one-night cruise. They had an all-you-can-eat buffet that was hit or miss but mostly good. Drinks were not free though, not even water. I went back to my room on the ship with the intention of taking a nap before hanging out later, but I fell asleep pretty quickly and woke up the next morning.