London, Day 4 -- Take a Deep Breath

Wednesday we slowed down. Two days of full-on touristing coupled with two nights of sleeping with the Buzz Saw took a toll on our momentum. We didn't get out of the hostel until 10:30 or so, significantly later than the last two days.



S and I wanted something a little quieter to do in the morning, so we went to the Tate Modern. I get pretty excited in the presence of Art, and S at least did a quality job of pretending to be interested long enough to appease me. They have some really incredible pieces, so if you're into modern art, this is a worthwhile addition to your London experience. If you're not into art, well... skip this and do whatever you're into. Geez, I'm not in charge of you.



We met up with Anna, our hostel roomie, for lunch. The plan for the afternoon was for us girls to relax and go shopping while we waited for David to get out of work. (Do you like how heavy with gender stereotypes that sentence is? Yeah, me too.) Then the four of us were going to go take a beef-eater tour through the Tower of London, have dinner, and find someplace interesting to go out in the evening.

Well, kids, here's a little lesson in how to be a good tourist: Spontaneity will get you pretty far, but you really should consult the guidebook now and again. By the time we rallied ourselves over to the ticket office at the Tower, we'd already missed the last tour of the day. We really could have made it with plenty of time to spare if we had known what time the tours stopped, so we kicked ourselves over that one a bit. So don't cling to the guidebook -- it was written by LonelyPlanet, not Jesus -- but remember, it's there to help you.



David ended up getting out of work late anyway, so S, Anna, and I spent the afternoon sitting in a park. We had a great view of the tower and the tourists, and more importantly, we had access to ridiculously beautiful sunshine. Tanning was not on my list of authentic London experiences, but hey, no complaints!



In retrospect, I'm sure we needed a day to relax anyway.