Jet lag sucks, after an overnight flight the first day of these trips is always the roughest. We've had a lot of crazy things happen on these days too. However, this time things went perfectly. We got to the hotel at about 7AM local time, expecting to just leave our bags with the desk. Instead, not only were they able to give us a room but they also gave us a Valentines/Lauren's Birthday surprise. As the first couple checking in on Valentines day they gave Lauren some flowers and some sort of red Champagne and we got a slight room upgrade. They also left Lauren a "Happy Birthday" in roses and cake on our bed. Very sweet; it should be a great first day,, already better than Paris.
After getting our stuff settled we dove straight into London; sleep is for the weak. We took the tube to the Tower of London and Lauren immediately loved it as soon as we rounded the corner. As usual, we seemed to get very lucky (thanks to Lauren's great planning) and we were able to walk right into the Crown Jewels display with almost no one else around. No pictures allowed though, so you'll have to see it for yourself. We took the guided tour given by one of the Yeoman Warders (Clive) and saw the rest of the Tower sights; just in time too as it started to get very crowded. Super touristy day so far, but perfect!
From there we walked across the Tower bridge and down towards the Globe theater. Of course it isn't the real Globe but we stopped by. We also hit the Tate Modern and as I don't really get modern "art" Lauren will cover that:
The Tate Modern has been re-done a few times in the past decade to reflect their feelings of the paintings for each floor. I went to see another Water Lily Painting and the information desk said oh no, that's been moved. Then I asked about the Weeping Woman from Piscaso and they have taken that down for now.
The most famous Cubism painting in the world and this museum decided it did not fit their vision for the floors. So I went straight for the respectable Piscaso cubism and enjoyed those three works out of the 100 I saw.
-Lauren
After this we walked over the famous Millennium pedestrian bridge to the City. The City refers to the walled in section from Roman Times. At the other end is St. Paul's Cathedral which we popped into. Lauren explored it while I sat as the jet lag caught up a bit. With it's three layer dome and unique architecture, it's quite a site.
Feeling pretty tired and having seen a pretty good amount for our first day, we found a classic Pub on a side street for a few beers, then we rode the long bus back to the hotel (double-decker naturally). We got a nice view of the city from that. We finished with some dinner, wine, and then exploring the local TV stations which is always fun.
Happy Valentine's Day to all!! This was one of our best! And we're excited to venture back out in London!
-Jordan
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