My dream realized! and other such things

Today was a different sort of day. I overslept but was at Great Portland Station by 9:40, not too shabby considering I was only allowed to use my travel card after 9:30. I went straight to Tower Hill station and traipsed around the Tower of London for 2 hours, climbing even more stairs and reading plaques and oohing and aahing over the Crown Jewels (never in my life have I seen so much opulence. It was almost obscene). I got charged by a raven at one point; they're smart buggers, and they're really scary. Legend has it that if the ravens were to leave the Tower, it would fall; they clip the birds' wings to ensure that never happens. A little superstitious, don't you think?
After the Tower I had a snack along the Thames (hard boiled eggs. I got a few funny looks. It was amusing.) and then I headed for the Tower Bridge to see the Exhibition. More stairs! The exhibition is mostly on the two upper footpaths, which were actually used by pedestrians for a while after the bridge opened in the late 1800s (they must have been in really good shape!) and there were some great videos and placards explaining all of the history and engineering behind its construction, design, and current use. In the basement you could see the engines that powered the whole thing (the middle of the bridge lifts for tall ships, but you knew that) and then a dinky gift shop.
After the Tower Bridge I made an executive decision; I was going to go climb the Monument for the view (and the certificate of achievement they apparently give you) but I wasn't up for the stairs so I headed for the tube and went to Westminster station to see...you guessed it, Westminster Abbey! What a gorgeous building! I would have gone in, but it cost £15. No thanks. I walked around it for a bit and then headed across Westminster Bridge to get some awesome shots of the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben. It was raining off and on and I was so exhausted suddenly that when I was finished with that, at around 3, I went back to the hostel and took a nap.
I felt really refreshed when I woke up and I was about to leave when a new roommate showed up, so we had a visit and I headed out; it had rained while I was asleep (surprise, surprise) and I wondered if it would start up again, but I wanted to go to Hyde Park and see the Peter Pan statue. It's a favourite of mine because of the end of the movie Hook, so I couldn't very well not see it.
Well, it rained again. And rained. And misted. And rained. And I walked all the way around the Serpentine lake in the middle of the park, saw the Peter Pan statue, the Diana memorial fountain (oddly designed but very nice), was the subject of amusement of some teenagers who were drunk and playing in said fountain, and never got soaked because I was packing my trusty umbrella.
When I was finished there I went to Bond street station to eat Fish and Chips at the Golden Hind restaurant because it was recommended in my guide book; it was very tricky to find so a lovely local lady on her way home from work showed me where it was. I ate in the corner next to a leaky air conditioning unit and it was DELICIOUS! Totally worth it.
Now I'm back at the hostel, waiting for my laundry to dry because tomorrow I leave this place for greener pastures (aka the Royal National Hotel, a 20 minute walk away). Monday morning I leave on my Contiki tour! Woohoo!
Tomorrow I will be seeing Buckingham Palace (from the outside), doing a bit of light shopping on Oxford and Regent Streets, and going on a London walk of the places that inspired Harry Potter YAY!
Time to go downstairs and check my laundry!

-Laur