FUN FACT ABOUT THIS MONUMENT*: the lions at the base are made of melted down cannons from the General's regiment. *This fun fact may or may not be true but Ryan remembers hearing this on a tour he took back in middle school when he first visited.
The pub we found served traditional English eats and I opted for the "Pie of the Day" (Steak and Ale) which came with chips (fries) and steamed veggies and was smothered in gravy and was delicious. I also ordered a Strongbow. Jon had a hamburger (lame), Unique had a salad, and Ryan had a "sausage and mustard sandwich" which he said was very tasty. They all ordered beer and we all felt very adult. Had we not settled on the English pub, we probably would have gone back to the Tex-Mex restaurant we came across called "The Texas Embassy." Ryan and Jon were kind of appalled by the place, but Unique and I thought it sounded delicious and hilarious.
In the middle of dinner, we heard the sound of a woman tripping on the step up to the bar (even though a sign near the step advised people to "mind" it). We looked over and she was flat on her face, her friends sort of scattered around her looking mortified. For the first 15 seconds it was a little unnerving because it looked like she was seriously injured but as soon as she picked herself up, we noticed she was laughing hysterically. So then we laughed hysterically for about five minutes—a very American thing to do, I'm sure.
After dinner, we walked a block back to the Trafalgar Square Arts Festival for the "Free Performance" at 9. Ryan interpreted performance as "concert" but the show was actually called "Aqua" and was a combination of juggling, trapeze, interpretive dance, and water play. It was pretty bizarre but also very edgy. I liked it.
We decided to leave early to beat the rush at the tube (on our way to Trafalgar Square the large escalator was broken so we had to walk up about six stories of broken escalator and Ryan and I almost died). But instead of going home—the night was young—we walked four blocks from the Square up to Piccadilly Circus to see the lights and the international co-eds (many of whom were riding double-decker "Party Buses"). It's supposed to be London's equivalent to Times Square but it was a little less stimulating. I was mostly terrified I was going to get pick-pocketed the entire time we were there. Then we went home, Unique to her hostel, and Ryan, Jon, and I to ours.
This afternoon, we're going to a neighborhood we've never seen to scope it out.
On our way to the GIL site this morning, Ryan and I were on the tube when all of a sudden two men in plain clothes wearing backpacks and large boots literally hopped into our car and shouted "EXCUSE ME LADIES AND GENTLEMAN..." (at this point, Ryan and I were convinced we were both about to be robbed and/or bombed)..."PLEASE GET OUT YOUR TICKETS AND OYSTER CARDS FOR INSPECTION." Oh! They were just making sure we weren't free-loading off the public transportation system. We were still beside ourselves even after our oyster cards checked out. The first thing Ryan said when they passed was "don't you think they should be wearing suits or something?" Yes.
Also, thank you Mom for transferring 10 billion dollars into my checking account so I have a place to live and thanks to Janice and Shelly for not taking all of my money even though (in a moment of great weakness) I emailed you both explicit instructions on how to do so.
Oh! And I saw Big Ben!
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