London: Day 2

Fun British Fact: On July 9th of 1982 a man by the name of Michael Fagan managed to break into Buckingham Palace, steal a bottle of wine, and have a little peek at the Queen in her bedchamber. Mysteriously, the drunken man was able to navigate himself through the royal palace without running into any of the royal guards or tripping any of the security devices. As the story goes, upon meeting the Queen Mr. Fagan asked one of the nearby maids for some cigarettes and then patiently waited for the police to come and "escort" him off the premises. In the end Michael Fagan was only charged for the stolen wine bottle, which was latter dropped after he agreed to seek psychological treatment at a mental institution. 

According to his mother he still thinks very highly of the Queen.

On my second day in London I also got a peek at the royal Buckingham Palace. My stay, however, was not nearly as extensive as Mr. Fagan's visit. To be honest I really only got to see the outside of the palace. As much as I wanted to go inside and see what royalty looks like, touring the exterior of the palace had its benefits as well. For example, I got to watch the "changing of the guards" which was interesting. To be concise, it was a lot of "pomp and circumstance." The only downside was how VERY crowded it was. Every Tom, Dick, and Harry seemed to be waiting on the steps of the palace just to watch a bunch of fancy guards march around the square, playing music. I guess that's the sort of thing tourists are supposed to do when visiting London. 

Beefeaters

Mother in front of Buckingham Palace

More Marching Band Beefeaters

Every Tom, Dick, and Harry waiting to see the "changing of the guards"

Saw these guys at Buckingham Palace....Tweeting? While Biking? 

After Buckingham Palace we visited another sort of palace-y sort of landmark: the Tower of London. While not as ornate as Buckingham Palace, it is still a very famous historical site. This is where Anne Boleyn, the second wife of King Henry VII, had her"adulterous" head chopped off. It is also her, and many other poor souls, supposed "haunting" grounds. Whether or not its haunted, I was more interested in the London Tower's Crown Jewels. I wish I had some pictures of the royal jewels to show you but the lovely guards said "No pictures!"

No pictures allowed past this point.

Posing with a local

Ninja Brit and Local and Coffee

Mom and Beefeater

Not very talkative.

Other small adventures of the day included: trying "fish and chips" (not that great) and a go-around in the Eye of London. If any of you readers ever have a chance to visit London I would recommend going on the Eye, it's a great place to take pictures (that is, if it's not raining) and it gives you a new perspective of London. Here are some of the pictures I took in the Eye: 

In case you didn't know what I was talking about, this is the London Eye

Inside the Eye

Parlament Building

This concludes Day 2 in London.