Tea and Crumpets: Tower Bridge

I couldn't believe how warm it was here today in London - 47' (7'C) and sunny! Everyone from my UWSP group did something outside today. A few of my friends and I did some exploring on the south bank of the Thames River. I learned that the London Bridge is not the Tower Bridge, as the Tower Bridge is the big fancy one. The London Bridge is also a bridge connecting the north and south banks of the River, but it's nothing spectacular. My professor last Thursday explained to us that the nursery rhyme "London Bridge is Falling Down" is actually based on when the Vikings literally pulled down the London Bridge in 1014. After crossing the bridge, we found this gorgeous glass covered marketplace (Hay's Galleria). Then we walked down by the River to Tower Bridge, which we later walked across to get back to our hall. Past the bridge was this cool little alley way that had a bunch of cafes, flower shops, and nice restaurants. We saw a guy making pasta in a window which was really interesting. I also found my new favorite tea shop, Teapod, where I got a cup of the best Rose tea I've ever had! After walking over the Tower Bridge (which lit up as we crossed it, talk about perfect timing!), we walked around the exterior of the Tower of London to get to our tube station. I really want to go back and go inside the Tower!

Tower Bridge

The Shard: The second tallest building in Europe - 72 stories tall! The 72nd story is an open-air observatory that will open in a couple weeks. Too bad tickets are almost $60! The building was completed in March 2012. My cousin Nate would love this!

Hay's Galleria - another place that looks like I've walked into the Harry Potter set :)

This fountain reminded me of Disney's Treasure Planet. It looks amazing when it's on and the water is coming out of the boat everywhere, but today it wasn't.

I love how London just builds within the city. The Gherkin, a London icon, is in the middle (it looks like a giant glass egg) and an old Revenue/Tax collecting building in on the riverbank in the front of the Gherkin.