I was able to take the opportunity to visit Niall in London, where he's been taking some courses at the London School of Economics. I got there mid-morning on Saturday and left in the late afternoon on Sunday, so it was a pretty short trip, but it was great to see him and to get a tour of the city.
Since Niall doesn't have a camera there, I had to be the irritating older sister and insist on some stereotypical pictures...
And a similar one of me!
On Saturday, after a quick lunch at the LSE dorm, we went for a nice walk along the Thames and did some sightseeing.
Me in front of Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament.
And one of Niall, looking cool by the old architecture.
I was really amazed at the intricacy of the buildings - I can't imagine how many people worked on the construction of these places. It's also amazing to think how much history is included in all of the details.
This is a lion by the sovereign's entrance to the Houses of Parliament.
A small square near Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament.
We continued our walk through streets such as this one...
And made our way to Buckingham Palace, where the flowers and gates were very impressive.
I think I would feel pretty important walking through this gate.
I feel kind of guilty taking a picture of this poor guy on guard duty, but I was kind of tickled to see the guards in real life.
The Canada gate - I think there are gates for all of the Commonwealth countries - is, of course, the most impressive!
We walked to Hyde Park after visiting the Palace. It's great to have so much green space in the middle of the city and the gardens are very well-kept.
I don't have pictures from the rest of Saturday - we went to the National Gallery and looked at paintings for a while. After, we went back to Niall's room for a short rest, and then went out for fish and chips and a pint (okay, a half-pint for me!). We went to see Carrie's War at the Apollo Theater in the evening. The play is set in WWII England and follows a girl and her brother who are sent to the country during the heavy bombing. The play was extremely well done and we both enjoyed the taste of London that it provided. The atmosphere of the playhouse, which was built in 1901, was intimate and ornate.
On Sunday, we got to see the sun! We went to the British Museum in the morning.
One of the bigger rooms in the museum includes George III's library and various artifacts from the early museum days.
Another museum exhibit...
What could be better than a giant clock in the form of a golden boat?
Egyptian artifacts.
We had a bit of lunch, visited the National Portrait gallery, and then went for a walk along the Thames, on the other side this time. Here's a cafe (the Sherlock Homes) that just looked too stereotypical, I had to take a photo.
Niall posing on one of the many bridges, with the London Eye in the background.
A view from the bridge.
St. Paul's Cathedral. We also got a view of the Globe Theatre, but weren't able to go inside since there was a rehearsal in progress.
And my favorite picture from the trip - Niall posing near a school building. This will be a pretty cool summer experience for him, I'm sure!
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