On one of the free days on my faculty-led program, my roommate and I decided to go to the tower of London, and afterwards do some adventuring throughout the city. We began our day by heading to Kings Cross station to see platform 9 and ¾, as I am a big Harry Potter fan. After that, we went to Trafalgar square, where we saw the fountains, Nelson’s Column, and the Lions. We visited a few shops and then took a bus to the Tower of London. The line was long, but it moved quickly, and at last it was time to explore the historic site.

The Tower of London has a fascinating history that you can learn about at the various exhibits as you walk through the site. It also has amazing views of the beautiful Tower Bridge, which is now my favorite bridge. Aside from the lovely views of London, my favorite things to see at the tower were the Crown Jewels and the Ravens. The Crown Jewels are absolutely stunning and the Ravens are adorable and fun to watch hop around.

After we were done exploring the Tower of London, my roommate and I decided to walk over to Leadenhall market, it had some very cool architecture, and after that we walked across the London Bridge to the other side of the river. We stumbled upon the stunning Southwark Cathedral, where we listened to a beautiful chorus, and got to meet the Cathedral cat, Hodge. After that, we went and explored the Burrow Market. It was an exciting bustling place, with vendors selling all kinds of goods. I bought some fantastic tea there, and I highly recommend going to visit.

This day was really fun because we didn’t have a super strict agenda. We had some locations planned, and others we just happened upon by exploring the areas nearby. I think this is one of the best ways to travel, because it makes exploring the city more exciting since you can “discover” places.