Wanderlust: Greetings from St. Ives

It's been a couple days since I've written. I actually started this last night, but fell asleep!

My days in London went by way to quickly. There was still so much I wanted to see and do, and I just didn't have the time. But on my last day, I visited the Tower of London as well as Harrods.

Here we have the outer walls of the Tower. Once inside, I took an Yeoman guided tour. They are at no extra cost and last about an hour. I would highly recommend taking this opportunity. They are very insightful and knowledgeable, and as mine was, very funny.

And here we have the longest line I waited in. The line to view the Crown Jewels. Pictures are not allowed once inside the building. I saw a lot of gold. A lot of jewels. And a lot of purple velvet. The most expensive collection I have ever seen, I am sure. After, I walked up into the white tower which is in the center of the tower.

You climbed up many steps to get the the top and even more, it seemed, to get down. Inside the walls where the suits of armor worn by previous Kings in battle.

There was also this thing:

Still not quite sure what it is, and was most definitely not expecting to see it. It is, however, made of old armor, shields, cannons, and swords.

After the Tower, I had a quick lunch of fish and chips (of course), and made my way onto Harrods.

Harrods. The store that is almost to expensive to enter. I first headed straight to the one place I (thought) I could afford: The food halls. So I bought some coffee, tea, and some chocolates and it cost me close to the equivalent of $100! But hey! When is the next time I will be shopping at Harrods?! Probably never.

A bit blurry, but you get the picture

I left London on yesterday morning. Hopped on a train, and ended up here in St. Ives! The whole trip lasted about 6 hours, which was longer than my flight over here. So, traveling through the English countryside, pretty much the same as home. Saw some farms. Saw some cows. Even saw a few golf courses. The only difference being the style of houses they have over here. So, lots of trees and hills.

But then you get to Cornwall. This section of the trip is called the Cornish Rivera, and it is easy to see why! Blue, sparkling water and beautiful seaside houses. St. Ives is pretty far down in Cornwall. It is about 300 miles from London. The train was crowded and the luggage space was full. (side note: using a backpack: Worst. Idea. Ever.) I picked the friendliest person I could see to sit next to. She was very nice and from London on her way to Cornwall for the first time as well. It was nice to actually chat with someone around my age. So, once I got to St. Ives, stupid heavy luggage and all, I have to climb up what felt like 15 stories worth of stairs. But to my surprise, at the top was my guest house! No searching around, no getting lost! It was wonderful.

Once I was all settled in my room (which has its own bathroom!!), I headed on into town in search of food. I walked along the beach and got some fish and chips.