Day 17: London As You Like It

After circling Heathrow airport for what felt like an eternity, we finally found our car rental drop-off point. When we were done there, Zach and I caught a shuttle to the tube station and bought passes into the city. This was Zach's first time on a subway system, so I had a great time showing him how it was done :) It seems as though there isn't much he doesn't know how to do, and it felt good to be the teacher.

Knowing that we had less than 48 hours in London, I planned ahead and mapped out a schedule for us. Our first stop was the Tower of London. Tours with Yeoman Warders are included in the ticket price, so we eagerly joined a very hilarious guide for a most informative tour. I will admit that it is a little unnerving to think about all the torture and bad deeds which occured at that place.

We hadn't been to our hotel yet, so we still had our backpacks on as we toured the Tower. I didn't feel sorry for myself, though, because there were two guys wheeling around suitcases. Besides the fact that they were noisy on the stone walk, they just looked plain silly.

About halfway through our tour, it began to rain. The Tower was also closing early that day for a special event being held there that evening. So, we decided to try to find our hotel using a map and the address I had written down. It wasn't too long before we arrived at the Travelodge, where I had booked for us a discounted room (they are a very budget-friendly hotel for UK travel). The hotel was clean and was in neither the best part of town nor the worst. We had little to complain about except that a tube ran, literally, right outside of our window.

Zach and I unloaded our packs and were off to find dinner before our show at the Globe. We decided on an over-priced pizza place across from the Globe. Since our tickets were in an area of the theatre with no overhead cover, we were really hoping that the rain would let up as we ate. However, it didn't. On top of that, we needed to get in line so that we could be close to the stage. So, we stood in the rain for about an hour. After about 15 minutes of that, Zach and I broke down and bought Shakespeare ponchos, which helped a ton and would prove useful at other points in our journey.

Being two of the first people in line, we were able to go right in and stand close to, actually against, the stage. At that point, Zach and I agreed that instead of being aggrevated by our soaking wet socks and shoes, we would enjoy the fact that we were there. Then, the performance of As You Like It began, and we laughed for 2 solid hours. The actors did an amazing job and really tried to include the audience in the story. The play ended with a music video-type dance that, for some reason, just thrilled me.

Cold, wet, and completely excited about our experience at the Globe, we walked home to thaw and rest up for the next day's marathon sight-seeing.