Headed Home via London

On our way home from Tanzania, Brandon and I made a stopover in London to visit a few friends. It was bit jarring to transition right into cosmopolitan Europe, but the city had so many fun things to offer that we certainly got over our reverse culture shock quickly. Above, a typical London city scene and a shot of Westminster Palace/Big Ben.

We got a chance to visit the Tower of London, built in 1078 as a fortress and prison. Above, you can see the Tower standing in stark contrast to the modern buildings across the river. The Tower had many famous prisoners, including Queen Elizabeth I (who I am slightly obsessed with). It also houses the Crown Jewels, including a sceptre with a 530 carat diamond on it (literally tennis ball-sized!). Below, I snuck a picture of the Imperial Crown of India...of course the picture hardly does it justice, it was so sparkly and beautiful!

Below, the Beefeaters (just like the gin...they said they don't know where they got their name from) are entrusted to guard the Tower and actually live on the premises with their families. They also give tours in their hilarious outfits:
After some sightseeing, we had time to hang out with our friends. Below, Holly (my college friend) and me at Les Miserables, and Brandon with his friend Nikeah from Australia:

As our weekend came to a close, we got pretty excited to finally get to the States. Below, a picture taken as we left London proper (indicated by the dragon facing away from us, which lets you know that you're leaving the city), and one of the two of us, all smiles and ready to go home!