Janessa's Adventures Abroad: "Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise!"

Oh my goodness! So today was incredible! Today was definitely my favorite day so far :) We started out with a trip to the Tower of London. It is like, the coolest place ever. It was built in 1078 and the Yeoman Warder (Beefeater) who gave us our tour kept making jokes about how much older the history of England is than the history of America. It was so funny. I hadn't realized that the Tower of London was a home for the royals. I thought it was just where they held prisoners and tortured people. It was the coolest feeling to know that all of these famous royals I have read about walked and lived in the tower. Princess Elizabeth Tudor was held captive in one of the rooms we walked through and Ann Boleyn, Jane Grey, and Jane Boleyn were all beheaded on the tower green. It's kind of morbid but this was definitely the coolest place I've visited yet. We saw the crown jewels and apparently the diamond on the top of the coronation scepter is 530 carats! How crazy is that?? It's huge! We also went up to the Bloody Tower where Prince Edward V (age 13) and Prince Richard (age 11) are rumored to have been murdered. They were living in the tower awaiting the coronation of Prince Edward V but a law came out declaring them both illegitimate children so the crown went to Richard III instead. After that the children disappeared. When the White Church was being renovated however, they found the skeletons of two young boys that they believe to be the remains of the two princes. Their remains were reburied at Westminster and are still there today. I found everything I learned today so fascinating! British history is almost more interesting to me than American history and I will be looking up some books about it when I get home :) We also saw them do the changing of the guard at the tower which was pretty cool and then we had some hot chocolate at the cafe. It was delicious! And very comforting considering it was freezing today! After walking around for about 4 hours (yes, we spent 4 hours exploring and I wish we could have stayed longer!) we headed home to get ready for the show.

We went down to West End and decided to try and get tickets for Les Miserables and then eat some Chinese food in Chinatown before the show. We were lucky and were able to get tickets in the 3rd row of the balcony! Then I got some yummy sweet and sour chicken for dinner. I was so EXCITED I couldn't keep from smiling!!! Gaaaaahhhhh!!! I finally got to see my favorite musical in the whole entire world that I have been watching the 10th Anniverary concert of since I was 5 and... IT WAS AMAZING!!! I can't even describe how freaking incredible this musical was! I laughed, I cried, I got goosebumps, EVERYTHING! I seriously cannot fathom the fact that anyone could not like Les Mis. That just doesn't make any sense to me. Seriously, it was the most amazing thing I have ever seen in my entire life! I was in totally awe and shock as we walked out of the theater. If I come to London again I will definitely see it again. I would go see Les Mis every week if I could. My life is complete because I was able to see it.

P.S. We've been keeping a list of "Things British People Say" and this is what we have so far...
-"He's a magical man!" (two little girls admiring a street performer)
-"Hi, Darlings." (a man said that to us as we rode by on his bike)
-We were on the tube yesterday and an English guy was talking about how a tourist had just asked him to take a picture of them at the tube station and he said, "I don't know why they wanted a picture. It's not like it's a tourist attraction or anything." Then he said, "The other day I was over at the London Eye and some tourists asked me to take their picture. So I did and when I gave them back their camera they looked at the picture, shook their heads, deleted it, and walked away and asked someone else. I was really offended." Haha, it was so funny :)
-"It's a beer and wine kind of night." (we overheard someone say that at Leicester Square today)
-"I hate that she loves me."
-We frequently hear the F word here
-"Anybody lost or need information?" (sung by a guy outside the Leicester Square tube station)
-"Where abouts is the station, papa?" (cute British child)
-"Go on, love" (at the Tower today)

P.P.S.And I also just decided to make a list of things that me and Brittany say...
-"I'm just kidding, I don't actually advocate marriage before fun." B
-Me: You are officially nuts! B: I'm not the one stalking the cafe's where One Direction eat! Me: Hey, it's not that weird! Every 12 year old girl in the world is doing it... I just happen to not be a 12 year old :)