Day Six: The Double Decker Bus Tour

Our day started early by waking up to a clear sky (a rarity for London) and crisp chilly winds blowing from the east. A perfect day for our double decker tour, because apparently it's one of those things you must do when in London. We met our courier bus at a hotel near baker street. At the time we weren't aware that this was the courier bus, but we did think that it was strange that our bus was not open-topped. Also, the driver didn't seem to narrate at all and really only spoke to let us know we couldn't bring coffee on board the bus because the last time someone did that there was a lawsuit. The poor fellow even almost sideswiped a car on our way there! Not a good way to start the day, I'd imagine.

Being in Britain for almost one week now, my favorite game to play is Guess the Accent. Today we met two ladies on the courier bus who sounded awfully Australian. I made a mental note of it and didn't think anymore about it until Galen happened to ask where they were from. They said Sydney, of course, and I smiled secretly at my success, only known to myself. They were friendly, and when we switched buses they waved at us as they went away. Thus confirming, once again, that Australians are some of the nicest people around.

We got on our green vintage double decker bus and got a seat on the top and began riding around the city. For around 2 hours we drove around Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, St. Paul's Cathedral, London Bridge, the Churchill state buildings, and the Tower of London. Some of these places we will tour next week, while others we have already toured. It was good to see the places we've already toured and to get a preview of the places we're going. While on the way there, we got a bit peckish and snacked a bit. I had about 3 ounces of the infamous IrnBru that Galen had been sipping on since we left. (If you have not read my dissertation on this substance, read this post about IrnBru.) The first sip is always bad, but then you just keep going and it gets better. Then you let it do its work, and by the time it its your bloodstream, WHOOO! You better be sitting down. To quote my brother, after said assimilation of the substance, "I feel the sudden urge to wear a kilt and fight someone!" It would make a good pre-workout, for sure.

Anyway, sufficiently hyped up by our dose of orange gold, we were dropped off for a little photo op at the Tower. As if we (Galen and I) needed any more energy, we hedged our bets by adding some Starbucks for good measure. Victoria has not yet succumbed to the IrnBru craze. We're working on her.

We were told a bit about the Tower itself. It was built in 1078 by William the Conquerer and served as a palace armory, mint, prison, and execution ground. One of the most famous executed there was the greatly misunderstood Anne Boleyn, who was beheaded on essentially false adultery charges. Apparently, she chose a French swordsman for her executioner, as the clumsy English Axemen often took 3 chops or more to do the job. ouch. Here's the tower.

Next, we took a little boat for cruise on the famous River Thames. We got to see a lot of the waterfront before hopping off onto a dock near St. James' Palace. Our very nice guide led us over and told us a bit about the place. Henry the 8th built it and lived there for a while and today Prince Harry, Princess Beatrice, and Princess Eugenie all have quarters in the palace, as well as the staff in charge of seeing after William, Kate, and Prince George. Lovely palace and wonderful detailed tudor architecture. We passed some guards along the way, who were dressed like you always see them but were carrying M16's topped with....you guessed it....bayonets. Crazy. I mean, what is that going to do when you are carrying a weapon like the M16?

Next we got 20 minutes of exploring around the outside of Buckingham, which is minutes away from St. James Palace. We are touring the inside next week, so it was a good chance to look round the outside.
Here's a quick picture to show you one of the most stunning of the outdoor grounds of Buckingham, this gold plated statue.

Tour guides here use a closed umbrella as a rallying point. Think a re-incarnation of the statue of Liberty awaiting a rain shower. Our guide had a purple umbrella with red roses on the outside. We noticed a lot of different designs of other guides' umbrellas-polka dots, plain, curved handled, etc. Whilst waiting to go, a tour headed up by a guide with a umbrella sporting a duck on the handle, parted through the throng to get to the best views. As they pushed their way by, an African American guy with a Bronx accent said, "Better get outta the way people, de duck is comin' through" in an attempt to make this forced entry into an already crowded area less awkward. Everyone laughed.

We hopped back onto the bus and made our way to Madam Tussaud's, which is a giant collection of incredibly realistic waxworks that you can pose for pictures with. You know it's an incredibly lifelike waxwork when you have your arm around Captain America and he looks so real that your heart starts beating faster. My favorites included Robert Downey Jr., John Wayne, and Adele. I also had my picture taken with Churchill and Hitler, together again.

When we were walking into the superheroes section, I saw a wax figure up ahead of spider man in his crouched position, ready to strike. Next to him, in the same position, was a figure that looked like Spock. "Oh wow!" I said "they have Spock too!"
Just after this, the Spock-like figure stood up, and walked away with his family who had been taking his picture. It was just this guy with a hook nose, funny ears, and dark hair JUST like Spock. Oops! The lady standing next to me heard me mention my assumption and she saw what happened and was laughing too. "I thought the same thing!" she said. I guess you can't stand too still in a wax museum or you'll get mistaken for one!

We wisely opted out of the "Scream" exhibit, as it showed definite signs of demented-ness. Later, Galen searched it online and we discovered that indeed it was indeed both demented and indefinite, as you couldn't tell the waxwork serial killers to the actor serial killers. Creepy.

The only other thing that I would add about Madame Tussaud's is that on the way out, we walked through the gift shop where they were selling, among other junk, 3 pound chupa chups. For 17 pounds, you too can have a sugar coma! They also played Sweet Home Alabama. You haven't seen funny till you see a British cashier singing along to Lynyrd Skynyrd!

After that, we ate at a lovely little restaurant on Baker's street called The Volunteer. Galen got bangers and mash (sausages and mashed vegs) and Victoria and I both got an excellent Caesar salad with Chicken. That's the best Caesar salad I've ever had. Homemade dressing, crisp leaves, super crunchy croutons, and WHOLE anchovies gracing the top. I have never eaten straight anchovies but on the salad with the other elements playing in, it was sublime.

Okay, enough about food.
but....
We also stopped at  little drugstore for a couple of thing and saw that Dairymilk bars were on sale! We each got 3. I'm saving mine in a secret stash away from any hungry flatmates roaming around.

Hey, you get rather hungry doing all this walking!

Um, while we're still on the subject of food, here's a compilation of

British-isims, Food court edition

Queue=line of waiting people

"peckish"=hungry. Very common to see this word used in restaurants.

You'll rarely visit a restaurant with trash cans; you leave your food for the staff to clean up off the table.

Apparently, no sales tax is charged on restaurant food, it's already factored in the price.

Military time is the norm here. Clocks and times of closing in the restaurants or take away places are all displaying millitary time.

The crisp (chip) brand of choice is Walker's. Basically, the bag looks identical to Frito Lay, except the banner is Walker's instead of Lay's.

There is a security guard at all grocery stores and drugstores. Sometimes, there are two if the store is large. It was strange at first, but it makes a lot of sense. Who is going to shoplift when there's a policeman eyeing your every move? Not to mention that CCTV (closed circuit television) is in operation in all stores and on some main streets.

The lady at The Volunteer, a restaurant we went to for lunch today, asked us "What would you like, me lovelies" for when we were ordeing.  Apparently, it's a common phrase too, just like using "Love."

My new paradigm, which I invented after seeing the prices at a particular overpriced sandwich shop:
"Save a pound, don't eat. Lose a pound, eat!"

This one isn't about restaurants, but I have to add:
Firemen here are incredibly dashing. They wear sharp looking suits-(yes, suits!) until they strap into their gear to save you out of a burning building.

I am SO EXCITED about tomorrow, 'cause it's Lake District Day! :)