London, Part III

It was already dark when we took the tour of Tower Bridge, but the view was still pretty impressive!  I can only imagine what it must have been like to see the Olympic rings hanging from Tower Bridge in 2012.  The first part of the tour was a short film regarding the building of Tower Bridge, and then Kaylyn and I walked got to walk out on the walkway suspended over the bridge!  After the walkway there was a tour of the engine rooms, and then all that was left was the gift shop!

To start the Tour, you walk up one tower and out onto the walkway.  There are actually two side-by-side walkways, so once you make it to the second tower, you turn back around and walk across the second walkway. 

The view of one of the towers from sidewalk-level.

The view from the walkway

The view from the walkway

It was pretty late by the time we finished our tour of Tower Bridge, and we knew it would take almost an hour by tube to get back to our hotel in Greenwich.  So, Kaylyn and I decided to grab a quick bite to eat and head home.  We ended up stopping for pizza and a glass of wine at an Italian restaurant on St. Katharine's Docks called Zizzi.

The next morning was definitely our earliest!  I dragged Kaylyn to breakfast at the Bluebird Cafe in Chelsea at practically the crack of dawn.  Bluebird Chelsea includes a cafe, restaurant, bar, food store, bakery, and clothing shop.  How did I find Bluebird, you ask?  Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, has been sighted there numerous times!  Kaylyn and I each had classic English breakfasts with tea, but unfortunately it was too cold and rainy to eat in the courtyard.

A paparazzi photo of Kate Middleton outside of the Bluebird Cafe in what I believe were her pre-royalty days

Outside of the Bluebird Bar

This is a photo I found online.  It, reportedly, shows Kate Middleton eating at the Bluebird Cafe with her mother Carol and her sister Pippa.

Like I could possibly pass up the opportunity to take a photo at the same table!

From Bluebird Cafe, Kaylyn and I headed to the London Eye to meet up with Amanda, a friend of mine from high school.  Amanda is studying in London this semester.  Amanda's university in the United States is an approximately eleven hour drive from mine.  In the UK, Amanda and I are only a three hour drive apart.  I find it ironic that I'll see more of her during this semester in England than I do at home!  After the London Eye, the three of us headed to the Churchill War Rooms.  When we got to the War Rooms, Amanda realized that she wasn't going to have time to go all the way through the exhibit, so she had to leave.

Inside a capsule on the London Eye with Big Ben and Parliament in the background!

Amanda and I with Big Ben on the left

Kaylyn and I on Westminster Bridge headed to the Churchill War Rooms.

The Churchill War Rooms

The Churchill War Rooms are the rooms used by Winston Churchill's Cabinet during WWII.  Not only are there meeting rooms in this underground facility, but dormitory-style lodging for lower-ranking employees and private rooms for Churchill, his wife, and other high-ranking officials.  Part of the exhibit included video of men and women who worked in the Churchill War Rooms when they were in their twenties and thirties.  These employees explained how safe they felt in the underground War Rooms while London was being bombed during the Blitz.  These employees later learned that although the War Rooms were underground, they weren't impenetrable bomb shelters.  The ceiling of the War Rooms was reinforced, but it is said that if a bomb had been dropped directly onto the site of the War Rooms, it would've gone straight through the soft ground of St. James's Park and ended up in the underground War Rooms.

Kaylyn and I headed back to our hotel in Greenwich after visiting the Churchill War Rooms.  We needed to freshen up before we headed to Piccadilly Circus to see a show on the West End (aka London's Broadway).  We originally thought about seeing Les Miserables or another well-known show, but instead decided to see Mojo.  You may not have heard of the show, but you'll probably have heard of two of its main characters:

Your eyes do not deceive you!  Mojo starred Downton Abbey's Mr. Bates and Harry Potter's Ron Weasley!

Kaylyn and I sat in the center of the fourth row of the Harold Pinter Theatre, meaning that we were never farther than about 50 feet from Rupert Grint and Brendan Coyle.  In fact, there is a moment where Rupert Grint leans over the edge of the stage, and at that point he was only ten feet from us!  Mojo is described as a comedy, but it quickly develops into a murder mystery.  "Set against the fledgling rock 'n' roll scene of 50s Soho, this savagely funny play delves into the sleazy underworld and power games of London's most infamous district," according to the show's website.

Kaylyn and I ran around to the Stage Door as soon as the show was over, hoping to catch a glimpse of Rupert Grint or Brendan Coyle.  We stopped outside of a door that already had a small crowd growing, but unfortunately Rupert Grint exited from a different door.  We ran around the side of the building to that door in time to see him get into the backseat of a car.  He kept the window down, waving to those of us who had gathered.  The car drove right past me and Kaylyn.  I literally could have reached my arm out to touch him.  Rupert Grint was barely two feet in front of me!  We never did see Brendan Coyle, but I am more than satisfied with my experience in London's West End.

I do think that there is one more detail about Mojo that is worth mentioning.  There was a sign taped to the stage door that said something to the effect of "Actors will sign Mojo merchandise only."  I can't help but speculate on the reason that this sign was displayed.  It makes me laugh to think that there were probably crowds thronging toward the stage door on opening night, thrusting Harry Potter novels at Rupert Grint.

By the time we got home that night, Kaylyn and I were absolutely exhausted.  We went to bed without setting our alarms for a certain time the next morning, deciding that it would be a better idea to just get a good night's sleep.  Little did I know, the next morning would be entirely different from what I had expected.  Kaylyn had some homework to get done, so she stayed at the hotel while I set off for a few hours on my own!

Did I find my way around London?  Or was I a hopelessly confused tourist, lost deep underground in some tube station?  You'll have to wait until the next post to find out!