We have reached my last day in London. It started off with lunch at a local market. I ate BOAR on a French baguette with Sweet Chili Sauce. Delish.
Our second stop was the Tower of London. This was the original palace, which eventually turned into a jail. A bloody one at that. It seriously seemed like the Royal Monarchy just kept killing each other. I'm talking kings, queens, and princes. Our tour guide was again, ridiculous and had us laughing the entire time. He had the ability to talk about the most disgusting of executions and then quickly make the masses crack up. One of the most famous executions was the Queen of England Anne Boleyn. Apparently they took her up to the gallows but she didn't want to be hanged so they took a sword and quickly cut off her head. Because they started her first so she lifted her head, she had no idea it was coming. When the executioner went to pick up her head to show to the crowds below, her eyes and mouth were STILL MOVING 25 seconds later!! As in, everyone saw a head without a body and it was moving. UGH. Sounds awful. We also heard about a guy who was supposed to be executed with a guillotine and apparently it took 5 chops before he was even unconscious and 7 chops until he was dead. WTF England.
Then for the fun part!! They have the crown jewels on display in one of the Towers. There were so many shiny pieces of jewelry. All I kept thinking to myself was, "Thank God I'm not engaged. No engagement ring could ever compare to this stuff." And then I'd probably think, "Wow, my mom was right. This guy is a loser." Unfortunately, no cameras allowed inside the castle so all I have for you is one of the towers.
Photography Exhibit near Tower Bridge. It was entitled "Rites of Life" and highlighted all types of celebrations from birth to death all over the world. I learned so much about different cultures from Africa, Asia, and even Canada. Despite the downpour we walked the entire exhibit, probably taking about an hour, because the photographs were so detailed and we learned so much. In some cultures, people are castrated at 20. In some cultures, boys live in the wilderness until they are ready to be men of the tribe. Some women are held in seclusion for a week before their wedding day. Now, surprise, surprise. The United States was represented. YES NEW JERSEY. And what was our cultural piece of information? JEWISH WEDDINGS IN NEW JERSEY! The husband must break a glass during the Jewish wedding ceremony. Represent.
We eventually made our way to a Pub Quiz. Of the 40 questions, I think I only knew like 4. We had a solid team but the questions were absolutely ridiculous. For those of you who make fun of my fanny pack, it was actually an answer. So take that.
The walk home is where the pain comes in. A huge blister developed on the bottom of my foot making it almost impossible to walk the mile home. I changed shoes with Jess but that made it even worse. Who knew this would be the beginning of a solid week on crutches? Don't worry kiddos, you'll get the mess of a story in tomorrow's entry. All you need to know is that my vacation to London was totally worth the pain.
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