Crazy Friday!

I left my room around 10:20 to head to the meeting point for the London Walk I was going on. I got there and paid for the walk and then around 10:55 we started. We headed to Buckingham Palace to watch the Changing of the Guards. I had went before but we got a really good view and actually got to see them up close. Afterwards we walked down a couple streets and one street in particular were very old houses, mostly turned into business aside from one, which is owned by Sting. 

Then we made it to Westminster Abbey, and although I couldn't take pictures inside I did get to take some outside. The Abbey was quite a sight to see. First off, it was very large and is a very special place just because of everything inside. After it was built, they were able to fit 8,000 people in there for a coronation ceremony and today they allow about 2,500 people, for instance at the Royal Wedding there were 2,500 seats. By the one set of doors there was a memorial to Roosevelt which I thought was pretty cool that the United States is represented there. Also close by is the tomb of the Unknown Soldier which is the only tomb that no one is allowed to walk on. There is a row of poppies surrounding it. The poppy was chosen because it was the first flower to grow on the battle field following the war. Another interesting part is that the entire thing has pieces from various countries to symbolize all of the people that died in the war from all the countries. For instance, there was a United States congressional medal by the tomb and the soil came from the French. I believe the coffin came from Scotland and I can't remember who gave the ship bell. The unknown warrior was the last person to be buried in the Abbey. 

Some other famous people I recognized was Sir Isaac Newton who was actually buried there. Some people who had memorials there were Charles Darwin, Geoffrey Chaucer who wrote Canterbury tales, Jane Austen, Bronte Sisters, Shakespeare and Handel. Charles Dickens was another person who was buried there. Of course many kings and queens were buried there as well.

After exploring the Abbey for awhile I then headed to Emirates Stadium to check out the Arsenal Club. I ended up just going through the museum because of the price of the stadium tour, but I really enjoyed the museum. I have never really watched Arsenal play but I was impressed by the museum and they seem like a really good club. 

Afterwards I headed across London in search of Christopher Street, need less to say after some searching I found. Next up is Heather Road on Sunday. It is kind of fun to look for the random roads because it is an adventure to find it, and I get to explore other parts of London I wouldn't see otherwise. 

I then headed back to my room and rested for a bit before starting to work on random tasks and packing for our day trip to Oxford tomorrow. 

Also, after hearing about how a couple other people in our group really enjoy Buckingham Palace I decided it would be a good idea to check it out before I leave. It just opened last week for a couple months while the Queen is away in Scotland. So next Friday I will be going to see Buckingham Palace. A great way to end my stay in London.

London Walk (Changing of the Guards + Westminster Abbey)
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Emirates Stadium- Arsenal
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