Escape From the Tower of London

When you are a single college student on a fixed income it's pretty rough. When you are a single college student on a fixed income and living abroad in a country where the dollar is not so hot it's even harder... and then GW decided to take us out for a Saturday afternoon filled with numerous free stuff! So in an essence this day killed two birds with one stone. I got to do touristy stuff at a price I could afford.

The hardest part of the day was quite honestly being at Trafalgar Square at 9am. Luckily it was a sunny morning for once and perfect for a walking tour. Our tour guide (Mark I think?) was pretty good, he showed us around the square and then took us near Buckingham Palace. Probably the most notable thing he showed us was the site of the beach volleyball at the 2012 Olympics. It's literally next to the park outside Buckingham Palace and next to the garden of Number 10 Downing Street. (That would be the home of the Prime Minister David Cameron for Americans who don't know their own governor let alone the PM of Great Britain).

After Mark's great tour we were on a boat! Going down the River Thames, which apparently is one of the cleanest urban rivers to the point that it is starting to form sand on the beaches. I'm still not taking chances. By this point I was so hungry since it was 12, and to add insult to injury the boat driver is calling the really cool oval shaped building in London the Gerken because it looks like a pickle...

Then we finally had lunch once we got to the Tower of London. For being there almost 1,000 year its in pretty good shape. When it comes to the murder mystery of the two princes in line to the British throne, Richard III so did it. End of discussion. And the Queen, now she has some bling. The crown jewels were pretty damn impressive.

And as always I'm getting to the food. It dawned on me during my meal that typical British food is no different then what evreryone on the Food Network labels "comfort food". For example, my lunch consisted of King's Ale Pie (a beef meat pie with gravy and onions), a vegetable mix of peas, onions, and onions, and french fries (or chips). For desert I had sponge cake with  a filling that was a less sweeter butter cream. I mean thats really no different then when on a rainy day you just wanna sit on the couch, watch some TV rerun marathon and eat mac and cheese or some sort of warm hearty dish that soothes the soul. And given the weather here, I feel like I'll be doing that quite often.

Since, our boat trip was free for the entire day. I decided to go with my fellow Phillies fan Caitie up to Greenwich and see the Prime Meridian.By this point the rain that dominated the day was replaced by overcast skies and of course, you betcha...rain. Never really thought there would be such a line just to see a line.Joe Dymond would be so proud seeing me stand in both the Eastern and Western Hemisphere.

Posted throughout are some pics from the day: Site of beach volleyball near Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Tower of London, and the Prime Meridian.