London, day 12

     We started off the day at 'The Old Building,' how original.  There we met with a former member of the British Parliament.  He explained a brief history of their evolutionary government.  Basically, an evolutionary government means that they don't start from scratch and they just keep adding to/ revising their constitution.
     After heading back out, we were able to peer in through the doors of the Australia House, which is where Gringotts was filmed in the Harry Potter movies! By seeing bits of the tiled floor and a chandelier, it was a Harry Potter fan's paradise!
     We hopped back onto the coach and headed over to the Medieval Banquet.  It was underground, chilly, and illy-lit, so it was like stepping back into the time of King Henry the VIII, who in a matter of fact, was dining with up.  We dined on traditional medieval food (fresh bread, roasted veggies, and a whole chicken leg) which meant that it was all finger food.  I think it was silly that we were eating with the king, but drinking Coca Cola...
     As we were walking to the tower of London, we saw the Queen's boat docked in the channel.  When we finally got to the tower, we stepped back in time a second time.  You could almost see it being guarded against siege, except the fact that the moat was now full of clover.  Our first attraction was the Royal Ravens.  Not only were there the ones in cages (if the ravens leave, the kingdom is rumored to fall) but there were at least ten others hopping about and snacking on tidbits left out for them by the Beefeaters. With 6 oz. of raw meat a day, an occasional egg or whole raw rabbit, it looked like the ravens had it better off than many of us.
     We found our way to the crown jewels.  They were very pretty, but we all started snickering when we saw one of the 'Holy Hand Grenades' from Monty Python and the Holy Grail.  They actually have at least two...  We attempted to find the torture chamber, but somehow ended up in the Bloody Tower instead.  Talk about one narrow spiral staircase.
     Then, we took a tour of the Thames. We saw the Shakespearian theater and the bridge that the Death Eaters destroy in part 7A of the Harry Potter movies, this is a fine day indeed for nerds.  There were also tons of other bridges, like the London Bridge and the remains of the old London Bridge.





     We ate dinner at a strange Chinese restaurant.  Then, we strolled through London looking for the theater Thriller Live would be playing.  It was Gay Pride Day and moving through some of the crowds was a little scary, but we found the theater.  Thankfully.   The performance included hits from the Jackson 5 and Michael Jackson himself.  Of course as the finale, it was none other than Thriller that was played.