Today Tony Blair stepped down from his position as Prime Minister and handed the position over to Gordon Brown. I wasn't anywhere near 10 Downing Street (which is blocked off by armed guards anyways), but it is in all of the newspapers. There are about 400 different newspapers in London; some of them are free (Indian guys hand them to you on the corners) and some you have to pay for.
The day started with a continental breakfast in Ramsay Hall and then continued with class in the game room. Class was not overly thrilling by any means, but it's now over until next Monday. We then went on to lunch and I ate chicken and chips. I then made my way to the Lloyd's bank nearby to cash some traveler's checks and I was told they couldn't cash them because I didn't bring my passport. I know this to be a lie because just a few days ago they did cash them and I used my George driver's license just like I did today. I honestly cannot figure these people out over here, not only because of this instance today and the other day when all I wanted to do was get some money changed and a traveler's check cashed, but also something else that happened today.
After the bank, Alex, Brandy, Angelica, and myself all went to the National Portrait Gallery. We spent about two hours, perhaps less actually, there looking at paintings of various British people. There were the usual such as Henry VIII, Charles III, Elizabeth I, but also some more modern British such as Michael Caine and J.K. Rowling. Pictures were not allowed there (although I did manage to snap one off before I was informed of this), so I don't really have any pictures to share today. Overall, the National Portrait Gallery was good and interesting; I'm quite glad it was free. The portraits were interesting and well worth seeing. I'm surprised they didn't have a portrait of Alexander Pope, though I may have simply overlooked it. It was interesting, for me, to see the portraits Henry Wordsworth, John Wesley, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Ian Flemming.
After the National Portrait Gallery we headed back to the dorms and made a quick stop at the grocery store. I stopped in the dorms for a minute before making my way back out again. This time I decided to head to Waterloo to pick up my London Pass for tomorrow. I figured with Waterloo being such a large station I could find one there. I asked the lady at nearby Goodge Street Station if they had one and she told me they didn't do them anymore. I figured she had no idea what was I talking about, so I kept on going to Waterloo.
At Waterloo I asked one lady for help, who sent me to the information booth, which is where I thought you bought them anyways. At the information booth, I was sent upstairs to Waterloo Station to another information booth. From that information booth, I was sent to the Eurostar Information Booth, where I was told they are sold. At the Eurostar booth, I was sent to the London Tourist Information Booth, where I actually managed to buy my London Pass. If you just count the places in Waterloo, I went to four stations just to buy the London Pass. Honestly, most people I asked about them looked completely confused and acted like they had no idea what a London Pass is. I'm glad now that I found it though. It also came with a very handy guidebook that provides the times for all locations, closest train stops, and information on how long the tours usually last.
Tomorrow's agenda calls for going to the Tower of London first thing in the morning. It opens at 9, so I'll be there when the gates open. The London Pass should allow me to skip the queue (line) and go straight in. I expect it will take several hours to get through the Tower of London. So once I'm done there, depending on the time, I'll eat lunch and then go see the Tower Bridge exhibition or vice versa. After that I plan to head to St. Paul's Cathedral in the afternoon to take a look around there. Even if I don't make it to St. Paul's, I should still get to see the Tower of London, which I don't doubt will be impressive.
