our day in London :)

After waking up and taking the Tube to Westminster (yes, we minded the gap), we began our day at the London Eye. This was an incredible experience and the views were spectacular (no worries group photos were taken!). It was then decided that we were in dire need of coffee so we stopped at Cafe Nero, where each one of us got a version of a frappuchino- lucky enough for us our barista was SUPER sweet and adorable. We then progressed to Parliament Square. This is a small grass area where people were holding a protest against a variety of things including the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. In fact there is one man who has lived in this square for 14 YEARS. Morgan felt the need to talk to him, yet as she approached his general area he began LOUDLY communicating with a news reporter (in a not so friendly way). Once seeing that he was occupied we instead watched from approximately 10 yards away. After the reporter got flustered enough to leave he approached our group and asked to interview us (from the tourists perspective). After talking to Morgan and Emily it was obvious that he was not getting the answers he wanted (because we didn't call the protest a "visual sore") and we continued on our journey.

We came across one of the lovely red phone booths on our way to see the changing of the horse guards, and a team photo was taken (all girls in 1 not so flowery smelling phone booth). We continued our team photoing by taken pics with a guard and his horse. We then trekked into the stable area only to find a seductive blue eyed young lad slash guard. No worries lady readers, we broke his silence. We unfortunately had to leave him and began our walk through Green Park where Ariel became best friends for life with a variety of squirrels (aka rodents) and creatures of flight. The park led us to Buckingham Palace, home of the queen. We stopped for a photo op and dubbed the house Ms. Loretta's since she is "Queen Kong." Here, Ms. Loretta also suggested that Kiera make friends with a pole and Ariel also was able to 'fly' at this stop. Herrod's was our next desired stop, but of course we had adventures on the way there- this includes Chelsea further demonstrating her Chuck Norris skill's on an innocent by-standing tree, and also channeling her inner Mary Catherine Gallagher.

So if you are not aware of what Herrod's is, it is an uber expensive (AS IN REALLY REALLY expensive) 5 story shopping mall that includes an entire section for Pet Fashion. We kid you not. There was a dress for a small dog (at the puppy age) that was priced at 70 pounds. Also the baby carriage section was more like a car dealership with a variety of models priced around FOUR THOUSAND pounds. We visited a wide variety of stores from touristy places, to the most expensive kinds, and then in between. The streets were constantly packed with people, even some very attractive London boys, which triggered the "alert heifers."

Our food selection today was interesting, with lunch at quite the authentic Italian restaurant and then light appetizers in the early evening at a local bar and grill. At the bar and grill Chelsea successfully managed to try an anchovy after first throwing it in Ariel's glass. Let's just say she would not recommend them. We then headed to the show The Lion King, which we were all pretty thrilled about. The show was PHENOMENAL, with amazing voices, rocking, and dancing that shook the playhouse. Kudos to the woman playing Rafikki, and the intense puppetry and set design. Our favorites were the giraffes and the jaguar, which realistically pranced about the stage by ballet dancers. The light effects and musical talent swept us away in the African spirit, and we were uplifted leaving the theater.
(Believe me, we opted to join in a sing-song).

After navigating the tube, we came home for the night; it was indeed a long and packed day. Tomorrow we have quite the early morning starting at 5am, where we head to Paris for one day and one night. While we had tons of packing to do, Chelsea decided to try on every piece of Morgan's 30 pounds of jewelry and name every necklace. Equipped in shades and a scarf dewrag, she was definitely a figure of amusement to end the long day.

Good night all,
The Team:)