London: Dec 29 (Bus Tour, Wax Museum, Concert!)

Very early morning wakeup call on the 29^th. The phone rang at 6am, and we stumbled out the door shortly after 7. (Too early to take advantage of the free breakfast tea served at the hostel.) But it was worth it, because we got to see London from the top of an open double-decker bus! First we drove past some of London’s highlights: Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Trafalgar Square, Big Ben... We then were dropped off at the Tower of London, from where we rode a ferry down the Thames. Our tour guide was really excellent – as the sights passed by, he’d tell us interesting anecdotes and stories. Later in the day, we got to see the changing of the guard at St. James’ Palace, and walked to Buckingham Palace to see the cavalry ride through. It was very exciting to be standing in such iconic places, seeing the famous views through my own eyes…J

Westminster Abbey from the bus.

Buckingham Palace, with our tour guide.

C in front of our bus.

The changing of the guard, St. James' Palace.

The tour bus dropped us off at Madame Tussauds Wax Museum. Although we had “Priority Entrance”, we still stood in line for about 45 minutes before we could enter. I had never been to one of the wax museums, so it was pretty incredible to see how life-like the figures are. We were surprised, though, that there were no barriers between the wax figures and the visitors. You could walk right up to a figure, shake its hand, give it a hug…or strangle it, in the case of Justin Bieber. ;-) We also saw replicas of the death masks of Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI, which the real-life Madame Tussaud was required to model at the height of the French Revolution.

M with Audrey Hepburn.

C with Sir Issac Newton.

Look out, Justin Bieber! ;-)

The Crypt Cafe, St. Martin-in-the-Fields.

After the wax museum, we stopped by the Sherlock Holmes gift shop (the museum had another line stretching out the door) before heading over to St. Martin-in-the-Fields church. We had tickets to see a London chamber ensemble perform in the church that evening, playing all 6 Bach Brandenburg concertos! I was so excited. We discovered that there was a wonderful café in the crypt beneath the church – kind of like a buffet, where you could choose from a wide variety of delicious food. Very relaxing atmosphere after the bustle of the museum crowds. The concert was really lovely. I was so excited to hear the violas playing Brandenburg #6 – it really made my evening. :-D