European update 7/23

Hello all!

We left Paris around 1pm and took a 2.5 hour train to London. As soon as we
started out to find our hotel we got lost. Yep, we were not even a minute
out and we were lost. Luckily we found our hotel, though, and we all have
our own beds! Since we had nothing planned we decided to go down to
Leicester Square to see Harry Potter.

The underground (the tube) was packed. Imagine the greater Seattle area
stuck in the tube. That is what it felt like. Never have I been in such a
place so packed. Yuck!

We arrived safely to the square and it took us a few trips back and forth on
a street to find the cinema. Sigh. We had to ask where it was, but we found
it in the end! This was the first time that I have ever watched a movie in a
huge theatre that looks like a Broadway theatre. It was enormous! You will
see when I post the pictures when we get back home. No way to post pictures
now. :(

Harry Potter was amazing!! I think that was the best one so far. What was
even cooler was the fact that we arrived in St. Pancras station which is
connected to King's Cross station. Yep, we saw platform 9 3/4 the same day
we saw the new movie. They have a little sign setup between the platforms.
Pretty neat.

At the hotel all us girls were happy to have a TV with English speaking
people and some American shows.

23rd:

We went to the Tower of London to see the Crown Jewels. Those were beautiful
and all the fancy tableware was made of gold. Wow, there were some big
jewels there on those crowns.

At one point they had this interactive portion where some people in costume
showed us how a small trebuchet and a ballista (shot arrows at 2000 pound
force) worked. That was really cool. The trebuchet threw some pretty awesome
water balloons. Haha

Next we headed over to Starbucks and Subway for lunch. Yes, we wanted a
taste of home. I am now feeling a little homesick. Mostly I just want my own
bed!

In the afternoon we took a river cruise down the Thames river and ended up
down by Parliament, Big Ben, London Eye, and Westminster Abbey. We looked
around for a while and then went to the Aquarium for something a little
different than a museum. :) We also took a ride on the London Eye. Way cool!

Something that we were not planning on doing here in London was going to a
Broadway show. Last night we saw Harry Potter and on Saturday we will see
The Mousetrap play. Yet, we saw that the show Wicked was here and got
tickets to see it tomorrow night. After discussing it we decided to splurge
and get really good seats. We will be up on the balcony about six rows back.
Sweet! All of us are really excited and can't wait.

This evening we have been having fun watching some Star Trek: Next
Generation, Rush Hour, and bizarre British shows. We also found out that
surfing the channels can be dangerous. You really never know what you will
find. Yuck and a little disturbing. : (

Cheers,

Ladybug