After the long travel day yesterday, it was no surprise that Ruth and I slept in a little bit in the nice comfy bed we now had available to us for the first time in the trip. However, when Ruth's friend from UNC-Charlotte, Cassie, messaged Ruth that she would be able to meet us at 2pm at the Tower of London, we mobilised quickly. I was able to get in a quick 6 mile run along the canals of Little Venice and then finished with roughly 400m, 800m, 800m, 400m intervals around Westborne Green, immediately next to the flat we are staying at. This run really helped clear my chest of a my cold and get me going for the day ahead.
A few quick tube rides on the Bakerloo and Circle lines and we arrived right next to the Tower of London. The British are really quite spoiled by this amazing public transportation; who would need a car in this city?? Unfortunately, as we walked across the street to the Tower ticket offices, we realised that we were really unsure where Cassie would be meeting us (ticket office, entrance, or somewhere in between). We also had no way to immediately contact her...enter our saviour Starbucks. We jetted over to the Starbucks nearby, jumped online, and Ruth was able to catch a Facebook message from Cassie saying that she was running late and would be there around 2:30pm (the time at that moment exactly). We ran back to where we were waiting originally and finally got a glimpse of Cassie as her and her classmates as Regents College (they are doing a one month program there in PR this summer) crossed the street from the tube station. At this point, looking at the steep price of admission to the Tower (almost $40!) and remembering that I had actually been to it before 4 years prior, I elected to let Ruth and Cassie's group go in together while I made a replica key for the flat we are staying at. This ended up working out extremely well as I got to do a ton of stuff in my 2+ hours flying solo. I made the key, picked up stamps to mail Ruth's postcards (what a great brother I am...right?), and did a self-guided loop across both London and Tower Bridges. This was a great time for me to get some personal space and just explore on my own after being with Ruth or other new friends to this point in the trip. I took some funny "selfy" pictures on my Windows Phone, observed what looked like the taping of a Japanese bachelor show, and explored the back alleys around the River Thames. All the while, I was listening to Beatles playlist, which really got me in the right state of mind. After completing my loop of the two bridges, I headed back to Starbucks to post a few of the pictures I had taken on Facebook and hang out until I needed to meet Ruth. While there, I had the pleasure of meeting a nice young woman from Israel who was visiting a friend in London. We had a long conversation about technology (she is a computer programmer), Israel, and traveling the world. I told her I would be in touch if I am ever in Israel on vacation or working, and told her to do the same if she was in the States.
The timing worked out perfectly as Ruth and Cassie walked out of the Tower just as I was walking over to meet them. Unfortunately, the two southern sorority girls had lost their friends while inside the Tower and we waited for them about 20 minutes by the exit with no success. We headed back to Cassie's school, Regents College, by tube during the busiest time of day as work let out (5:30pm). This was quite an experience and not something I would recommend for anyone claustrophobic. However, the trip was well worth it as Ruth and I were shown to one of the most beautiful little campuses we had ever seen right in the middle of humongous Regent's Park. As if the location and old, ivy covered buildings weren't enough, the food at the cafeteria was awesome and cheap. I had some risotto and a mix of different salads...delicious! After dinner, I let Ruth and Cassie talk sorority stuff for awhile while I browsed the internet on my phone. Around 8pm, Ruth and I started walking back to the flat so that Cassie could do homework and pack for her trip to Dublin the next day. It was a long walk back but with the weather nice and it still light out, Ruth and I thoroughly enjoyed being out there and saving the tube ride. When we returned, we were quite exhausted and just watched the Eurocup game on.
Overall, a great first full day in London complete with sights and seeing friends.
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