This morning we set our alarm for the first time...and Terri woke up before it even went off! We spent far too much time getting "cute" and then headed down to breakfast. Once we were ready to leave the hotel it was "bucketing" again...really pouring! So we had the doorman hail us a Taxi and set off for the Tower of London.
^^ Terri sad because of all the bucketing. =(
We spent three and a half hours touring the Tower. We took the audio tour (headphones that allow you to go at your own pace ~ fast forwarding through what you don't care about and pausing to see the things we want to spend some time on). We saw the Crown Jewels (highly overrated in Terri's opinion! Can you say "UGLY"?!?!), the execution site of two of King Henry VIII's wives, and toured the towers different buildings. It bucketed the entire time we were there, but we had a great time seeing a site we have been eagerly awaiting.
^^The guard outside the entrance to the crown jewels.
^^ Ashley guarding the crown jewels... hahaha.
^^ The memorial where the execution scaffolding (used to behead King Henry's wives) stood 400 years ago.
^^ Ashley posing with the beefeater. =) HAHAHA!
Next, we were off to Harrod's for shopping! Harrod's is one enormous store...four square blocks & six stories. We knew that Harrod's catered to upscale shoppers, but we had thought that they also had more "normal" items as well. Well, we were wrong! It was incredible to see the designer items they had...especially the SHOES...but there was absolutely nothing we could even dream of purchasing. OH! Ashley did purchase a gift for her mom...but it didn't break the bank! We had lunch at the pizzeria on the ground floor and it was wonderful. One of the pizza makers would break out into song when the mood struck him...he was terrific and made for a more "authentic" feel to our lunch. We shared a four cheese pizza (formaggio quattro) and each had a soda...it was delicious!
^^The Pizzaria guy singing. =)
After Harrod's we returned to our room, thinking we would stay in for the night. Well, shoes were calling Terri's name so we ventured out to Picadilly Square for some shopping! Terri found her souvenir...a new pair of boots! They are C-U-T-E...even Ashley approves! We toured the Square for a while, lots of great shops, big and small, well-known and one of a kind. It's a really great area, known as the "Times Square of London". Ashley also scored a souvenir for herself ~ a super cute new scarf!
We decided to call it a night...and just in time! When we were half a block from the hotel the rain turned to HAIL. We raced to the door and walked into the hotel declaring to each other how much we LOVE LONDON, rain and hail and all! We ordered room service, (from the kid's menu since the adult menu was full of things we'd never eat! Ashley had a ham & cheese toastie (ie; grilled ham and cheese) with chips (ie; fries) and a fruit platter; Terri had chicken strips and chips), then we skyped with Tyler, Wendy, and Josh, watched the US/Canada gold medal hockey game, and set out planning our next day.
Tomorrow we head out of town for the first time...to Windsor Castle!
^^ Terri sad because of all the bucketing. =(
We spent three and a half hours touring the Tower. We took the audio tour (headphones that allow you to go at your own pace ~ fast forwarding through what you don't care about and pausing to see the things we want to spend some time on). We saw the Crown Jewels (highly overrated in Terri's opinion! Can you say "UGLY"?!?!), the execution site of two of King Henry VIII's wives, and toured the towers different buildings. It bucketed the entire time we were there, but we had a great time seeing a site we have been eagerly awaiting.
^^The guard outside the entrance to the crown jewels.
^^ Ashley guarding the crown jewels... hahaha.
^^ The memorial where the execution scaffolding (used to behead King Henry's wives) stood 400 years ago.
^^ Ashley posing with the beefeater. =) HAHAHA!
Next, we were off to Harrod's for shopping! Harrod's is one enormous store...four square blocks & six stories. We knew that Harrod's catered to upscale shoppers, but we had thought that they also had more "normal" items as well. Well, we were wrong! It was incredible to see the designer items they had...especially the SHOES...but there was absolutely nothing we could even dream of purchasing. OH! Ashley did purchase a gift for her mom...but it didn't break the bank! We had lunch at the pizzeria on the ground floor and it was wonderful. One of the pizza makers would break out into song when the mood struck him...he was terrific and made for a more "authentic" feel to our lunch. We shared a four cheese pizza (formaggio quattro) and each had a soda...it was delicious!
^^The Pizzaria guy singing. =)
After Harrod's we returned to our room, thinking we would stay in for the night. Well, shoes were calling Terri's name so we ventured out to Picadilly Square for some shopping! Terri found her souvenir...a new pair of boots! They are C-U-T-E...even Ashley approves! We toured the Square for a while, lots of great shops, big and small, well-known and one of a kind. It's a really great area, known as the "Times Square of London". Ashley also scored a souvenir for herself ~ a super cute new scarf!
We decided to call it a night...and just in time! When we were half a block from the hotel the rain turned to HAIL. We raced to the door and walked into the hotel declaring to each other how much we LOVE LONDON, rain and hail and all! We ordered room service, (from the kid's menu since the adult menu was full of things we'd never eat! Ashley had a ham & cheese toastie (ie; grilled ham and cheese) with chips (ie; fries) and a fruit platter; Terri had chicken strips and chips), then we skyped with Tyler, Wendy, and Josh, watched the US/Canada gold medal hockey game, and set out planning our next day.
Tomorrow we head out of town for the first time...to Windsor Castle!
Labels:
Cab,
Crown Jewels,
Day 3,
Food,
Harrods,
Picadilly Square,
Pizzeria,
Souvenirs,
Tower of London
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