We started off day seven by paying a visit to one of the most famous historical locations in the world: the Tower of London. It's home to so many stories, and so much history, (mostly the gory stuff) and it's actually amazing to me that the palace is still standing, given that it was built before the year 1100, if I remember correctly.
I've said it before and I'll say it again. Our apartment was in such an amazing location. A quick walk to the Temple Tube station and like two stops later, we were there. I am definitely staying at that same flat next time, if possible. (It'll be a little difficult to afford if I don't have one or two travel companions.)
We got to the Tower or London like 15 minutes before it opened, which was my plan, since I know it's a very busy attraction. There was already a line at the gates, but the line to purchase tickets was even longer. I'm so glad I took care of all the ticket-buying ahead of time.
Since we got inside as soon as they opened, we headed straight to see the Crown Jewels, as was recommended by the people checking tickets. I'm sure it's the most popular part of the whole site, so it surely has the longest lines. Of course, since we went there immediately, there was barely any line to speak of. And the jewels were amazing. You're not allowed to take pictures in there, and there are moving walkways that take you past the jewels, I guess because people stopping to gawk would really hold up the line. I wish I could tell you in detail about everything we saw, but there was an awful lot of it and I didn't read too many of the plaques as I was being whisked by. We saw all sorts of priceless crowns and coronation regalia. There were golden plates and scepters, diamonds as big as my eyeball (and bigger) and all kinds of jeweled swords and whatnot.
Once outside the jewel house, I had my first taste of what would immediately become my favorite UK delicacy: ice cream with a flake.
I know what you're thinking to yourself. "What the hell is a flake?" Well, it's a fairly common ice cream topping over there, but you can't find it here in the States, unless you order it online -- which I am planning to do once the weather cools down and I don't have to worry about it melting. Flake is a candy bar by Cadbury which is made from all the run-off chocolate that drips off their machines. It collects and folds in on itself and then hardens into a log of flakey, crumbly chocolate that they stick into your ice cream cone and let you devour. It's absolutely amazing. And for some reason, I was always craving ice cream when we were in London. (Real talk, I don't even like ice cream that much, but if you put a flake in it, I'm obsessed.)
As I ate my ice cream, we explored some of the other amazing historical sites, like the Traitors Gate, where people who were under arrest (like Anne Boleyn) would be rowed through when they first arrived at the Tower. Most people who entered through the Traitors Gate never got out of the Tower again. We also saw the eponymous tower where the princes in the tower were held in captivity (and probably killed) to keep them from laying claim to the throne.
After visiting the gift shop (duh) we left the Tower in plenty of time to get to our next destination: the Golden Tours visitor center at Victoria Station. This time we knew how to get there. Hop on the Tube, no line changes, and we were there. We grabbed some sandwiches from my one true love, Pret a Manger and then ate before lining up for our trip: an afternoon excursion to Stonehenge.
I would be doing you a disservice if I didn't tell you about our driver/tour guide for the afternoon, Benson. On the day trip to Warwick Castle and Stratford, we had a tour guide AND a driver, but on this tour, it was just Benson. He was a native of Ghana, with a very thick, sometimes hard-to-understand accent, but he was also part comedian, because he was silly and cracking jokes practically the whole time. Sarah hated him because I guess she found him rather over-the-top and grating, but I thought he was the best. He told us interesting little tidbits and quizzed us on our way out of London. En route to Stonehenge, he also drove us by a gorgeous view of Windsor Castle, which I definitely want to visit next time I'm in the UK.
Stonehenge is weird. I know you've probably seen pictures of it, but nothing compares to how bizarre it is when you're riding through the fairly mundane British countryside and then all of a sudden it's there, looming on the hilltop like a weird, unexplained...oddity.
Of course,we were not the only tour group arriving at Stonehenge in the late afternoon. As luck would have it, we got there at the same time as Ann and Teresa, who had been on an all day trip to Bath, Windsor Castle and Stonehenge. We linked up with them as soon as possible, after taking the shuttle bus from the visitors center to the stones, themselves.
I can't even tell you how eerie it is, walking up to those stones, sitting there in the middle of nowhere, bold as brass. It's just....weird. Who put them there? What do they mean? Nobody fucking knows. How strange is that? They're really astonishing to see, even though they don't let you get very close to them. They're just huge and imposing, somehow. It's like you can feel their significance from the moment you lay eyes on them. I don't know how else to explain it. It's just...it's really something to be there in person.
After we walked around the stones and a nice stranger took our picture for us, we rode the shuttle back to the visitors center and looked at the gift shop. For once in my life, I didn't buy anything, except some wine and snacks at the little food area. We drank and nibbled but then Ann and Teresa's tour group was leaving. Shortly after that, our group left too.
I don't know if this was in line with Golden Tour's policies, but Benson went around the bus and asked where everyone would like to be dropped off back in London. We chose the official stop at Gloucester Road, because I don't think we could have handled an extra hour of Benson navigating the narrow streets of London and slowly dropping off everyone at their hotels. We got off at Gloucester Road and hailed a black cab back to our place. It was probably the longest cab ride we took during our trip, but how can you get tired of sitting in the back seat and watching London go by? (Answer: you can't.)
After a nice drive home, we hiked up the three flights of stairs to our flat and promptly went to bed, exhausted, as always.
After a nice drive home, we hiked up the three flights of stairs to our flat and promptly went to bed, exhausted, as always.
thanks for reading, guys. I'll see you for Day 8, the penultimate day of our trip. Stay tuned until the last day to hear my awards for the bests and worsts!
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