I had so much fun and experienced so much in London that I am going to break this down in several blogs. Today's blog will be about my sight seeing and a seperat blog about my Hostel ecperience. Tomorrow will be about the PASSION conference. If you know me, you know I have dreamed about going to London since high school. All the history there, all the people, all the great ideas that have impacted the world, I just wanted to see it and feel it. Before I left I made a list of must sees, some friends in London said it was ambitious, but I did complete it. I met a friend in London and to save money we got crazy and stayed in a hostel - it was crazy we met some characters - that may need to be a whole nother blog come to think of it. The first thing and most important for me to see was the Westminster area. This includes Big Ben, Palace of Parliament, and Westminster Abbey. I got up early Friday and headed out. The day was beautiful, crisp and clear blue skys (rare for London). As I came around the corner there was Big Ben. It was magnificent! I just had to stop, I could not believe I was there. To see Parliament, such an important part of our history was amazing. After crossing the bridge and walking around Parliament I came to the highlight of my trip Westminster Abbey. Unfortunately it was not open yet (I was there pretty early) so I took some outside pictures and headed out to Buckingham Palace. I mean if you are in London you have to see the Queens crib right. From Buckingham Palace i headed to Trafalgar Square and the monument of Admiral Lord Nelson. If your unfamiliar with this spot it is dedicated to the famous naval battle when the British defeated the French in 1805. From Trafalgar I headed down to 10 Downing Street (home of the prime minister). By now it was close to 9:30 and time to head back to Westminster. Worship has been taking place at the Westminster site since 960. It has been the place of corination since 1066 when William the Conqueror was crowned king. The present abbey has been used for worship since 1245. 17 Monarchs as well as numerous hero's, writters, poets and many more are buried at this site. For me it was undescribeable. I spent about 2 hours wondering around trying not to look to crazy with my mouth wide open. I could have stopped my sight seeing right there and for day 1 that was enough. I had to change locations and get ready for PASSION in the evening. Saturday I had one thing left on my to do list - The Tower Of London. England's oldest
castle and the Henry VIII's favorite prison for his wives. It was amazing, very touristy. Way different from Westminster. Westminster was solemn, a house of worship and the Tower was a castle with great stories to be told. William originally started on the Tower of London in 1070. It was added to for many years and the London living quarters of many monarchs starting with Edward I (the king in Braveheart). 70 prisoners were held there including Anne Bolyn, Lady Jane Gray, Sir Francis Raleigh, Mary and many more. Like Friday I was very early and one of the first people there. The guard at the gate said I needed to see the crown jewels first. These are the actual crown jewels used by British Royals. The crown dates to 1612. The diamond in the queen's scepter is the largest cut diamond in the world and was about 530 karats. It was bigger then a golfball. Truly one of the most spectacular things I have ever seen. After that I toured the armory in the castle. This was amazing, they had the actual Knights armor from Henry VIII and several other kings on display. That's one great thing about the English, they are super organized and have all that history catalouged and well taken care of. The highlight of the Tower was the Yeoman Warder tour. The YW's are the kings special guard and have been living at the castle since around 1400. Today they give great one hour tours. They told all the stories of mystery and intrigue, why people were held prisoner and executed. It was one of those little known fact tours and I loved it. From the Tower you can see Tower Bridge, so I was able to wonder over there and get some pics. I finished my afternoon by meeting some great friends for Lunch who live in London. It was good to see like minded people and share our experiences. London is a beautiful city, with a multicultural sense and energy that I can not describe. There are lots of things still left to see on my London list and i hope to be able to see it all again. Check out my facebook page for lots of pictures.
I had so much fun and experienced so much in London that I am going to break this down in several blogs. Today's blog will be about my sight seeing and a seperat blog about my Hostel ecperience. Tomorrow will be about the PASSION conference. If you know me, you know I have dreamed about going to London since high school. All the history there, all the people, all the great ideas that have impacted the world, I just wanted to see it and feel it. Before I left I made a list of must sees, some friends in London said it was ambitious, but I did complete it. I met a friend in London and to save money we got crazy and stayed in a hostel - it was crazy we met some characters - that may need to be a whole nother blog come to think of it. The first thing and most important for me to see was the Westminster area. This includes Big Ben, Palace of Parliament, and Westminster Abbey. I got up early Friday and headed out. The day was beautiful, crisp and clear blue skys (rare for London). As I came around the corner there was Big Ben. It was magnificent! I just had to stop, I could not believe I was there. To see Parliament, such an important part of our history was amazing. After crossing the bridge and walking around Parliament I came to the highlight of my trip Westminster Abbey. Unfortunately it was not open yet (I was there pretty early) so I took some outside pictures and headed out to Buckingham Palace. I mean if you are in London you have to see the Queens crib right. From Buckingham Palace i headed to Trafalgar Square and the monument of Admiral Lord Nelson. If your unfamiliar with this spot it is dedicated to the famous naval battle when the British defeated the French in 1805. From Trafalgar I headed down to 10 Downing Street (home of the prime minister). By now it was close to 9:30 and time to head back to Westminster. Worship has been taking place at the Westminster site since 960. It has been the place of corination since 1066 when William the Conqueror was crowned king. The present abbey has been used for worship since 1245. 17 Monarchs as well as numerous hero's, writters, poets and many more are buried at this site. For me it was undescribeable. I spent about 2 hours wondering around trying not to look to crazy with my mouth wide open. I could have stopped my sight seeing right there and for day 1 that was enough. I had to change locations and get ready for PASSION in the evening. Saturday I had one thing left on my to do list - The Tower Of London. England's oldest 
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