The Heat Is On

This morning, we got to the Tower of London right after it opened at 10 a.m. We quickly made our way back to the Crown Jewels, which we were able to see without standing in line. It's crazy to think that those are the crowns that William and Kate will be crowned with one day. 

No picture are allowed inside the Crown Jewels,
unfortunately. 

Then, we joined a huge mob for a guided tour by a Yeoman Guard, or "Beefeater." One neat thing we learned is that all the Yeomen guards and their families live in the Tower. The Tower has a long history dating back to its construction by William the Conqueror.

A lot of the Tower's popular history centers around the seven executions that took place on Tower Green, including Anne Boleyn, Catherine Howard, Jane Boleyn, and Lady Jane Grey (all of which Nicole studied in her class).

A monument to the seven people executed on the Green

Some of the houses of the Yeoman guards 

Stefanie by Tower Green 

Nicole by Tower Green 

A plaque commemorating where the bodies of the
"Princes of the Tower" were found 

A suit of Henry VIII's armour 

We found a dragon made of armor?

A polar bear!!!

Traitors' Gate, where all Tudor prisoners
were brought through  

So basically this is where Anne Boleyn came through
before she was executed. #freakedout

Nicole's chips, coronation chicken salad, and tea

Stefanie's veggie burger and salad 

After a nice lunch at the Tower cafe, we went to Starbucks to grab fraps before getting on a Thames River Boat cruise. It went up to Westminster and back, so we got to see a lot of iconic London buildings and so many bridges.

We went to dinner at an Indian restaurant near the Prince Edward Theatre. We didn't realize that we were on the same street as the stage door until we were seated. We actually saw Alistair Brammer go into the theatre, which was pretty awesome.

The theatre itself was beautiful and we had fabulous seats. Miss Saigon is an incredible show and probably the best one on the West End right now. The music, the sets, the dancing, and the acting are all phenomenal. Plus, the cast is super nice! 

With Rachelle Ann Go, who plays Gigi 

With Alistair Brammer, who is a INCREDIBLE Chris

With Eva Noblezada who is the best and fiercest Kim
ever and is from North Carolina. She told us she wanted
to go to Elon! (She came to Miss Saigon straight from high school.)

With Jon Jon Briones, who was in the original cast of Miss Saigon
and insisted on taking our selfie himself.

We weren't quite ready to get into a cab and cabs are hard to get around the Prince Edward, so we walked down to Queen's Theatre, home of Les Miserables. On another note, our cab driver asked us if we were sisters because we look so much alike, according to him. So that was interesting? 

#enjolraspose

Niall Sheehy wasn't on at Miss Saigon tonight but we did
take a selfie with his poster at Les Mis, which they still haven't
taken down!  

I found Anton Zetterholm, who I saw as Enjolras last year,
and was very happy.