MY BIRTHDAY!!! aka july 1st - aka the 7th day

so the best day of the year has finally arrived, and for the third time out of the last 4 years i have been in a different country to celebrate it - argentina, costa rica, irvine, london. so the most wonderful day of the year began with me waking up at 7:30. i passed on breakfast cuz i am sick of the ham and cheese sandwiches and went to pimlico tube station down the street. i got off at st. pauls tube station and went in right when it opened at 8:30 so there was hardly anyone else there, so it was really nice. the cathedral was huge, especially the dome. a bunch of famous people who died in wars were burried there, and mom will be happy to know that so is florence nightengale, and i saw her grave, although i couldnt get a picture so just believe me. after that i made my way up, up, and up some more to the golden gallery (it took about 15 minutes just to climb all the stairs). the stairs let you out right above the dome of st. pauls which made for a spectacular view. i stayed up there for about 15 minutes getting all sorts of pictures then made my way back down while laughing to myself at all the people at the bottom who were just about to head up and had no idea how far they had to go. after exiting the cathedral i took the tube from mansion house to tower hill where i met up with london walks for the tower of london tour. our guides name was tom and he was really funny and interesting. we got a big discount on the entrance price and made our way inside. he stoped at many various locations and told us about the history of each spot. the main highlights of the tower was henry viii who used the tower as a death row of the 16th century (or 17th im not sure). not to mention the death row included two of his six wives. we learned a little rhyme to remember the fate of each of his wives - divorced, beheaded, died - divorced, beheaded, survived. and thats how it goes. after the tour was over i walked around the tower a bit on my own and saw some of the exhibition including the crown jewels. after leaving the tower of london i went to this small restaurant to get some lunch. i ordered fish and chips and when i was right about to eat it i noticed that the skin was still on the fish which i found to be very surprising and gross. luckily, the meat fell off easy enough, so i left the skin behind. i then took the tube to westminster where i went inside westminster abbey and saw the graves of many kings and queens throughout the history of great britain. after leaving the abbey i found a nice patch of grass and took a 30 minute nap which was much needed. from there i made my way to the london eye, and picked up my fast track ticket. this allowed me to get in line with only a 15 minute wait as opposed to 2 hours like many of the other people in line. the flight on the eye was realllllllly cool. it took about a half hour and i got a bunch of pictures and got to see everything within about 30 miles (thank you jessica). following that i made my way to a pub that i noticed offered free wi-fi. i went inside and that is where i am at this moment. it is still rather early at only 6:50pm. so following this i plan to go find a pub (most likely the highly acclaimed sherlock holmes pub near trafalgar square) and enjoy a birthday dinner that is (as kevin insisted) other than mcdonalds. and so i am off. thank you for all the birthday wishes. check back tomorrow byeeeeee


me on the london eye!



the view to the north on the london eye



me in front on the london eye (on westminster bridge)



me in front of westminster abbey



me in front of tower bridge



me in front of the white tower inside the fortress known as the tower of london



me outside of tower hill tube station (and in front of the tower of london)



st. pauls cathedral on a rare, perfectly clear london morning



me atop the dome of st. pauls cathedral in the "golden gallery"



the view from atop st. pauls cathedral



since i am so sneaky i took a pic inside st. pauls cathedral even when it said no cameras allowed