Second Star to the Right: Second Times and Birthdays

Oh hey, random fact about today, it was my birthday! I was so excited to spend my day in London of all places. It's funny, because this day was really just like any other. People said Happy Birthday and all that jazz, but it really just was like the other days on this trip. Now before you weep for Jace, keep in mind that these days have been amazing. It was also an interesting day because everything that we did today were things that I have already visited once before. It really almost felt like a "Greatest Hits" of sorts because I really enjoyed all the things the first time around, and it was fun to go back to some of these great places.
There were no classes today and our professors did not have any outings planned, so for the first time we had a day that was entirely to ourselves, and I personally found it pretty intimidating. A group of us woke up in the morning and went over to Leicester Square to buy tickets to a show. I was torn because I really wanted to see Matilda: The Musical, but I had also been telling everyone about how much I had also enjoyed seeing The Woman in Black. We ended up purchasing tickets to that because they were significantly cheaper! We went to a ticket stand called TKTS that has some great discounts. We managed to purchase fourth row seats for a great price.
After we secured the tickets, Dallin, Sarah, Jessa, and I went to Baker Street to visit the Sherlock Holmes museum. Well, I suppose I should say that we visited the gift shop because most of us agreed we did not want to pay to go through the museum, so we enjoyed ourselves at the shop. We didn't even have to buy anything, there was so much to be seen in the store alone. Right next to the museum there is also a very impressive Beatles shop. We explored that for a while before hopping back on the tube. We went over to Speedy's Cafe, a nice little café that is featured in the BBC Sherlock TV show. We ate some burgers inside and took some photos where they film the show. It was a fun time going about our day the way Sherlock might!
In the afternoon our little group met up with some other students from the group and we went over to Westminster Pier to take a boat ride down the Thames! Today was an incredibly sunny day, so we were excited to be spending some of it outside on the deck of a boat. The tour started in Westminster and traveled about an hour down the river to Greenwich. It felt so good to sit on the boat and feel the nice breeze and the warm sun! I'm a little pink from the experience, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Our tour guide was also quite funny and shared some valuable wisdom about the sites around the Thames.
Once we arrived in Greenwich we went to Nandos, one of my favorite restaurants in Britain. It's a chain restaurant that is known for its wonderful chicken dishes, especially for the Peri-Peri sauces that they serve on the chicken. It's also exciting because it's one of the few restaurants that actually has a soda fountain and free refills! I think I refilled my cup about five times! I was glad that I finally stopped by, because surprisingly I had not snuck in a visit earlier.
Greenwich has an amazing Martine Museum, so we spent some time there, though it was a bit frustrating because many of the exhibits were closed in preparation for a private event that evening (boo). We still got to see some great things. Afterwards we walked a few blocks over to the Prime Meridian, where the Eastern and Western hemispheres meet. It's really funny because there is a tourist spot up on a hill where they charge you money so you can take a picture on the line. However, I had learned from my previous trip that there is a plaque and a similar line randomly placed in a residential neighborhood where you can take pictures for free. So of course we went for that option. It felt funny to have a large group of us gathered in a small neighborhood just to stand on a line on the pavement, but it's one of those things that you just feel the need to do I suppose.
Our return trip to London proper took a little while as we attempted to navigate the bus system, eventually having to hop off and return to the subway. We made it back briefly enough to sneak in a snack or a bathroom break, and then head out again. About six of us made our way over to see The Woman in Black. The tube that we were on to get to the theatre actually got delayed because of some police action in the stations in front of us, so we had to change lines and make a mad dash to the theatre a la Home Alone. We made it just before the performance started. The show was very well done, but it couldn't compare with the first time I had seen it. The suspense and "not knowing" really added to the atmosphere of the play, a ghost story. I also think that Jennifer and I overhyped it to everyone else. They still enjoyed it, but I don't think they found it as scary as we described it to be! Oh the power of nostalgia and hype! Not to say I was disappointed, it is still a great show and I got chills several times throughout. Very creepy stuff!
And thus concludes my Birthday review! Many familiar but wonderful sites to see! Another show and delicious food, just the way I like it!

Found a music box at Sherlock's place to play me a song