London Bridge is... Upright and Standing

Day Five: Europe or Bust

Tragedy struck!

Last night we arrived late at our flat only to find that someone had pulled the curb too sharp and bashed in the front of our beautiful, black Mercedes. We were all devastated and very worried since the car was a rental. But of course God had His hand in the whole mess because we found the contact information of the culprit pressed to the front window, something our host said is unheard of.

Even after this, it would seem our quota of catastrophes had not yet been met, because this morning I woke to a funny smell. The smell of wires being deep fried in melted electrolytic fluid. Turns out, my computer charger had overheated and busted and I was pretty fortunate that it didn’t fry my computer or blow a breaker. However, my charger was ruined, which means that I will be going without a computer for the remainder of my trip.

There’s always a bright side though! This morning we all accidentally slept in (which was greatly needed by all), and because my computer was dead and the car rental company is negligent, we got to spend pretty much the entire day in our flat, reading Pride and Prejudice and playing Dutch Blitz. At around 3:00 in the afternoon we ventured out to visit some of London as we would soon be leaving the beautiful city.

Our first stop was the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge. Surrounded by bridges and fortress walls, the Tower was ancient and grand. I could truly imagine soldiers and kings standing atop the opulent walls, looking down on the common people far below.

As we walked through London, we visited St. Paul's Cathedral and the nearby Newgate Prison (not the current name), the place where John Rogers (the ancestor of our close friends) was held and tried for heresy by the Roman Catholic Church. It was such a sobering reminder of all the Christians who were martyred in the name of God under the rule of the Popes.

After St. Paul's, we visited Blackfriars Bridge. This was a sight that Arwen and I had been anticipating since we first heard that we were going to go to London. Mom and Dad were generally unimpressed, but Arwen and I were interested for fangirl purposes (read the Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare for more information). It really was a lovely bridge, though, and I loved looking down at the Thames, watching the river rush on beneath my feet.

Our final destination was Charing Cross Street and, more specifically, the many bookstores that street contains. We went in Any Amount of Books, Quinto Bookshop, and Foyles.

After many hours spent perusing books, Mom and Dad finally found me curled up in a corner, buried in a book and totally unwilling to leave. But I had to say goodbye. We shared a sample of our first Fish and Chips at a small cafe on Charing Cross Street and then caught the train back to our apartment for pasta.

Well, I'd better sign off now. We've got to get up early tomorrow morning if we want to get to Oxford at a decent hour.

I love you all!

- Lorien