London

There's no way to sum up three days of London. I'll use short sentences. 

People drive like they're insane. 

People have better accents than me.

The buildings are much prettier.

The streets are much narrower.

The people are much skinnier. 

They're all runners, too. 

Our hotel was in the center of London, just around the corner from Big Ben, Westminster Abbey and 2 Starbucks. Basically, the ideal location. As for the hotel itself: Leicester definitely wanted us to stay there in order to better appreciate the university accommodations. I have never taken such uncomfortable showers. The first night, the faucet on the tub had a leak, so we had massive puddles to splash in. 

Went down the Thames on a boat.

Saw an amish hat in the Thames. 

Pretty sure a guy died. 

Went to the Tower of London.

Saw the execution area.

Positive that someone died. 

We went to bed early that night, hoping to combat jet lag. It didn't work out as well as we had hoped, at least for me.

Day two was long and rainy. I gawked at Buckingham Palace, visited dead people at Westminster Abbey, ate lunch with some pigeons, got lost in east London, was baffled by british apple pie and spent a bit too much bonding time with my new mobile. I also discovered that the toe I thought I broke several weeks ago really is broken. I don't recommend walking tours on broken toes, especially when they last 12 hours, unless you want to see your toe as a swollen ball of redness, which I will admit is kind of funny. It's like walking around on something that looks like cherry tomatoes. I also got to stand on Charles Dickens' grave and laugh at him. That was a great feeling. 

The group went on a tour about Jack the Ripper. Afterward, the guide went off, probably to kill someone, and left us with directions to the nearest tube. That tube was under construction. A ten minute walk produced a tube station where we caught a train and I lost my umbrella. (Losing umbrellas is becoming a trend for me.) 

Day three I saw the fake Globe theatre and the Tate Modern Museum of art. Most of the day was spent in traffic trying to get to Leicester. I carried my luggage more. I almost have arm muscles.