My Trip To London

My Trip to London

After our 11 hour plane ride, non-stop from LAX to London, we had a 2 hour bus tour, which I have to admit, I slept through, and that was probably the best sleep I had the whole trip. I remember seeing 2 things: the MI-6 building, which is like the CIA here, and nobody is supposed to know what it is but everyone does; and a big glass building the tour guide called the College for Window Washers because there were so many window washers all over it.

Monday, we went to the Tower of London and St. Paul's Cathedral. We learned that the Tower was built to resist absolutely anything, probably even a nuclear attack. We saw where the royals were beheaded, but weren't able to see where all the torture happened. Under the stairs in one tower was where the bodies of the two nephews of Richard III were found. There's a myth that if the ravens ever leave the Tower of London, the monarchy will fall, so they keep ravens in cages to make sure they will be safe. The Beefeaters (guards at the Tower) have taught some of the ravens to speak like parrots. St. Paul's Cathedral was pretty impressive. When it was first built it wasn't done the way it was designed, but after the bombing in World War II, it was rebuilt from the original designs. There was a shop and cafe down in the crypt, which was strange. That night, we had lousy fish, but the chips were good. Chips are like fat French fries.

Tuesday, we went to the Royal National Theatre for a tour of the backstage. The stage was cool because there were these 2 circular things that work like lifts, so you can move scenery, spin it in a circle, lower it down, and there were these cool hook things that could pick up things off the set, even people, so they can fly around. Then we went to Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, a remake of the old theatre, for a workshop. That night we saw Les Miserables. The set was cool, with a big spinning platform that they used a lot, but I didn't like the play very much.

Wednesday was a trip to Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare's birthplace. It took us about 2 hours on a bus to get there, and the ride was through the English countryside, which was different from America. All of what we saw was very old, which was cool. That night we saw Stomp, which was really great. They even made music with an empty soda cup and straw.

Thursday, we went to Windsor Castle and Eton College, a school for boys only. You have to apply before you're 10. You take one test when you're 11 and another when you are 13, and then they interview you and if they think you're good enough they let you in. I'm glad I don't have to go there because it was too formal and strict. Even the grass has been replaced with stones, some sharp. Dinner that night was lasagna and it was pretty good. Then we saw the Blue Man Group, which was amazing. I don't think I will ever forget that for the rest of my life.

Friday, we had a tour of the Theatre Museum for a make-up demonstration and afterwards we just went back to the hotel and slept. We were so tired.

Saturday, our last day in London, we saw Big Ben and the London Eye, which I filmed for Mr. Copley, and then we went to Harrod's, the big department store.

Sunday, we were back at Heathrow and on our way home. And this time I slept on the plane.

It was an amazing trip, and once I get over the jet lag, I'm sure I will remember more of it.