Day 4: Last Lovely Day in London

While I have enjoyed each day in London, day four was by far my favorite. After a large breakfast at the hotel we headed over Buckingham Palace to watch the changing of the guard. Since it is vacation time for many students it was quite busy all around the Palace but we managed to work our way to the front gates. From there we watched the guards walk in and change positions. I was surprised by the lovely music performance the guards put on for the crowd using instruments like the flute, clarinet, drums, and much more.

Following the changing of the guards we headed over to the Tower of London. This is a historic castle located in central London along the Thames river. We had a large group tour, given by a very comical man, which provided us with the proper historical background that we otherwise would not be able to piece together on our on own by just walking around. The most eventful part of the Tower of London, in my opinion, was the crown jewels. I was amazed by the detail of all the crowns and various pieces on display. By the ended of the tour it started drizzling and the group was getting a little cold and hungry. We took a bus across the London Bridge to head to Borough Market for lunch. This was my favorite meal of the entire trip just because it was so fun to walk around and see the wide variety of food options. Only after a few minutes the group split up into pairs devouring various foods. Maggy and I ended up ordering food from Cafe Brood, a Mediterranean/Spanish option. The meal was lovely and followed by a freshly baked vanilla custard doughnut from an artisanal bakery. 

After lunch the group met up to decide what activities to pursue next. The group I was with headed over to the London Eye. Although it was a somewhat typical cloudy British day the ride was still very enjoyable and had a beautiful view. I was disappointed to see that the Big Ben is under construction, but that was the only small drawback. We then headed into the Piccadilly Circus area to walk around and window shop. From there we headed back to the hotel after our long, eventful, and exciting day.