Hello from London!

Hello Mrs. Simpson's class!

It's rather strange not to be writing this on the MV Explorer, but rather I am sitting in my friend's apartment in Glasgow, Scotland! I think I'll take a couple minutes and tell you about London.

We disembarked the MV Explorer for the last time in Southampton, which was about an hour drive away from the Heathrow Airport. It was sad saying goodbye to many of my friends, but I am hopeful that I will see them again one day.

From the Airport we took the Underground into the central of London. London is a huge city! It has been a settlement for over 2000 years and currently has a population of over 8 million people. The Underground, or 'The Tube', is the oldest underground rail system! It is incredibly efficient for getting around London.

I saw many famous places in London that you probably recognize! See if you can guess what they are before I tell you!



How about this? It is Tower Bridge! It was built in 1886 and is one of the most iconic sights of London. The River Thames flows through London, so there are many bridges to cross it.

Or this?



This is Big Ben! It is a famous clocktower attached to the Parliament - did you know England has a very similar political system to Canada? That is because ours was modeled after theirs! Also, although many people call the clock tower itself Big Ben, Ben Ben itself is actually a bell inside the tower! You can also see the London Eye in the background. It is a famous ferris wheel.

Or how about this?



This is Buckingham Palace, where the Queen of England herself lives! You know the lady on all of our coins? That's her. When we visited, the flag at the top was raised, meaning she was there.

Finally, how about this building?



It is Shakespeare's Globe! If you remember, I am a theatre student so it was very cool for me to get to see a Shakespeare play performed here. This is not the original Globe, as it was demolished in 1644, however it is a close approximation of what William Shakespeare and his fellow actors would have performed in, very close to the spot where the original playhouse once stood.

As you can tell, I got to visit a lot of awesome places in London. It is a city with so much history and culture so I can't wait to go back one day and see more of it. In a few days I'll tell you about my time in Scotland!