London Day 7

Thursday was a busy day! First we went back to the Tower of London to take a tour. I was really dreading coming here, because I thought it would be all about torture implements... but that was definitely not the case! It was pretty cool! I think Sam figured out what he is going to be when he grows up... a beefeater. haha.

One of the beef-eaters took us on a quick tour of the castle. We ended up at the Tower of London Church. Apparently there is a step coming out of the church that people tend to trip on, and he joked to the crowd saying that he would catch the girls who fell. Sam and I were hanging out a little longer in the church seeing the tombs that were still in there (including Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard). We were the last to leave the church, and as we were passing the dubious stair, the beef eater kind of hugged me and whispered, "You should have fallen." Hehe. Sam and I laughed pretty hard, it was a tad creepy, but funny nonetheless!

ANYWAY... Sam and I split up for a bit to divide and conquer. He went down to the dungeon, and I went to view the crown jewels! Sam was a little disappointed because they didn't have many torture implements down there to see. The crown jewels were beautiful! I really wanted to get a replica from the gift shop, but they were ridiculously expensive!

We then went to see the Henry the VIII: Dressed to Kill. It was pretty cool to see all his suits of armor. They were actually his! Isn't it awesome that we still have his armor and weapons?! We were laughing pretty hard because a few of his suits of armor were VERY anatomically "correct"/generous. A tad awkward!

(This photo was actually in the gift shop. We weren't allowed to take photos in the Henry VIII exhibit! But trust me, it was cool!)

Afterward, we went to the Tower Bridge. We had fun walking all the way up and across the bridge! It was pretty cool to be up over the Thames like that!

(The walkway across the Tower Bridge)

Next we headed over to the British Museum--which has NOT lost its charm. We saw SO many amazing artifacts. Did you know they actually have the remains of the Parthenon there?! We got to see the Rosetta Stone as well as those cool Easter Island guys! And of course lots of cool mummies.

(reenacting our Easter Island pic at the PCC in Hawaii!!)

Sam might have more to say on these subjects. I was pretty dead by the end of the day! hehe. But all in all a very productive day!

So I have more pictures of the British museum... but I think they are all on Sam's computer! So we will probably be adding more pictures to this post!

London Day 6

Wednesday morning we took the bus over to the London Eye. We got a banana covered in chocolate and sprinkles as we waited in line... which I didn't think was very good, but Sam sure seemed to enjoy it. The line was pretty long to get up there, but once we got in the pod, it was worth it! So cool to see the city like that! It would have been much more romantic if there weren't 20 more people in there, but at least we had someone to take our picture!



After the London Eye, we took a ferry down the River Thames. It was pretty fun! We stopped at the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge, but decided to come back another day when we had more time to look around as it was already pretty late in the day.

Confession: Prior to visiting London, we were both in the vast majority of people that mistake the Tower Bridge for the London Bridge--which is actually a pretty ordinary bridge just west of the Tower Bridge. For hundreds of years, London only had one bridge crossing the Thames at any given time. As one would was destroyed, another one was built. Whatever bridge was in place at the time was referred to as "London Bridge."

(I saw this Ben and Jerry's vending machine while we were waiting for the Ferry. It made me happy! haha)

We took the ferry all the way to Greenwich. Don't make fun of me, but for some reason I always thought Greenwich was in Switzerland... not sure why. Haha. So it was a surprise to me we could go there! We actually got there after the Observatory was closed, but we still got to see the huge green laser that shows the path of the prime meridian. It was pretty awesome! I think my favorite part was when I asked Sam what time it was when we were walking back to the river. He said it was probably about 9:30 or so. Then we saw a clock and it was only 5! It was quite dark outside!



We then went back to Canary Wharf where we got to see one of the KPMG offices (the company Sam works for) at One Canada Square. Though it is soon to be surpassed, it is currently the tallest building in the entire United Kingdom. Canary Wharf also has some great shopping. Man I LOVED the shops in London!

One Canada Square is the one in the middle with the point on the top.

London Day 5

(The walking trail from the train station to the temple)

On Tuesday, Sam and I had the incredible opportunity to go to the London (LDS) Temple. It was such an incredible train ride out. We loved getting to see the English countryside. The next time we go, we will definitely spend more time out of the city! It was a pretty good walk from the train station to the temple. We walked most of the way, and had fun going through people's backyards on the walking trails! We ended up catching a cab, when our feet started to hurt a bit! I also ate at the temple cafeteria for the first time ever. I was pleasantly surprised! The food was amazing!!


We went to the temple to do some sealings, and we very nearly ended up in a French temple wedding! The temple worker thought we were with their group, so they ushered us into the room. We were some of the first ones there, so we didn't even realize anything was amiss until the room was completely filled, and we were the only ones not speaking French! Everyone there probably thought we "must be from the other side of the family." After some reverent chuckles between us, we quietly made our exit before the happy couple arrived.

We loved this tudor-style house on the temple grounds. Does anyone know if this is the London South Mission home?

We had such a wonderful experience here! I just love visiting the different temples when we travel! It makes our memories of our trip that much more special to us. After catching a ride back to the train station from two sweet temple-goers, we took the train back to the city.


That night we headed to the west end to see Jersey Boys (for real this time)!!! We got to our seats and realized they were literally the best seats in the house! We were just a few rows back from the stage so we could see everything, and directly in the middle. Right in front of us sat Tom Chambers (not Tom Chambers) who was in a few British shows and won Strictly Come Dancing (which is the UK's version of Dancing With The Stars). We got his autograph...hehe. Also next to us was apparently a very famous British actress, but we never figured out who it was! We were in the "celebrity" section! Pretty fun! haha.


If anyone has the opportunity to see Jersey Boys we highly recommend it! It was such an incredible show! Sam and I are still singing the songs. For those of you who don't know, it is the story of the Frankie Valli & Four Seasons. All of the songs in the show were their songs! It was the first musical in which Sam actually loved the songs!

All in all, one of my favorite days in England!

London Day 4

(Royal Albert Hall)

On Monday, we went for a bike tour of the city. Such an awesome way to see the city, and your feet don't hurt at the end of the day!

Our tour took us through all of the gorgeous royal parks. Fun fact: Did you know it is illegal to kill a swan in England? They are all owned by the queen!

I could spend so much time just walking around those parks! Can't wait to go back and have a picnic!(Hyde Park Corner)

While riding over to Buckingham Palace, we saw a motorcade approaching. We got a look at the car right next to us and it was actually the queen!! How cool is that? I was pretty excited about it. If you blow up the picture below and zoom in you can see her silhouette. It's a little like digging for buried treasure, so you'd better give it a shot.
We were a little disappointed that they didn't have the traditional palace guards in front of Buckingham. They just had soldiers there in normal uniforms.... sigh...

We saw pretty much everything there was to see in London on our bikes including (but not limited to) Hyde Park Corner, Westminster Abbey, Parliament (and heard some DISGUSTING torture stories here), Princess Di Memorial, Trafalgar Square, and The National Gallery. Such an exhausting, but fun day!!(Princess Di's Memorial)

(Westminster Abbey)

London Day 3

(right outside the Church)

Sunday in London!!

We had so much fun going to church in London! We went to the Hyde Park Ward, which is actually my sister-in-law Maria's old ward! Pretty fun! There was a seriously cute little boy in the pew in front of us! He reminded me of one of the little hobbit children from Lord of the Rings--from the smile, down to the curly locks! hehe. So fun!

The V&A is basically next door to the church, and we had high hopes of going, but we were both so tired. So, we went back to our hotel and took a nap!

We went to the restaurant in our hotel for dinner that night called Chino Latino. It was quite good! We had ribs, so they brought this cool bowl of lemon water for us to cleanse our hands in. Luckily, the server instructed us what it was for, because neither of us had a clue why it was put there on the table. That said, it worked brilliantly. I think we need to start doing that at my dad's house when he makes his amazing (and messy!) beef ribs.