Hello, I'm a Tourist

I have yet to go out and experience Central London until today! Freshers week has been keeping me busy around the college and to be honest I am not a fan of the public transportation system yet. It looks REALLY confusing. So I waited until today. luckily an American married couple I made friends with were planning a trip as well to Buckingham Palace and a few museums in Kensington. Perfect! I purchased my first Oyster Card, which is a requirement for continuous travel throughout London and off we went. First stop, the Palace. If I had to describe it in one word it would be 'eh.' Yes I said eh. While it is big, it is very plain on the outside. Also I am convinced cameras make the outside of it look bigger although I am sure many would argue with me.

In the summer months (July thru September) you can purchase tickets to see certain rooms of the palace and we were lucky enough to see it the day before the summer run ends. Tickets were purchased then the tourism began. We had some time to kill so we joined the other worldly adventurers and took photos. Sadly we learned the changing of the guards was taking place at the same time as our tour through the palace so I already know I will have to return just to watch that.
The inside of the palace is beautiful, but for obvious reasons no photos allowed. I was most taken by the artwork in one of the halls. Centuries old and in amazing condition you could see works from the Renaissance period to the Baroque period and beyond.

Next stop was the Victoria and Albert Museum. Various time periods with clothing and original artworks from around Britain. The Natural History Museum and Science Museum also followed but our feet were beginning ache and our patience was growing thin. What do you do when this occurs? You find a good creamery! Ice cream for everyone!! Well at least for us. Having started our journey at 9am and ending after 5pm I would say it was a highly successful Saturday. Today, no workout was needed for I had gotten more cardio in than I expected. But… I'm still a wee bit confused by the trains, tubes, and underground. One of these days I will need to just get lost and find my way home.