Bus Tours EXTREME

September 10

Today marked a triumphant return to tourism at its finest as we were scheduled to get on a tour bus today.

Once we got to the bus stop, we realized that Buckingham Palace was a few blocks away and the changing of the guard was in 30 minutes. Anyway, we went to Buckingham Palace.

Cropped because a friend's head looked really deformed in the actual picture.

 I must say, for an event that occurs every other day for half a year (and every day for the other half), this place was kind of crowded.

Just kind of...

I'm not sure how I feel about the changing of the guard. On the one hand, it is coordinated, extravagant, and traditional, and on the other hand it is completely pointless. They completely halt a major street for 15 minutes so this procession can happen that could have been done just as well if it were subtle and did not halt traffic flow. That one tidbit excluded, I rather enjoyed the changing of the guard; it reminded me of marching band (grand days they were). Anyway, here are some pictures.

When the changing of the guards was completed, we hopped on our tour bus, got an upper level seat and started off- JESUS CHRIST! HOLY CRAP! That was close; our bus nearly hit the car on the side. Damn, our bus driver sucks...

Our bus guide was very unique. I've never seen a man pull off bad puns with such grace. As I was saying, we started off, most passing sights I had already seen, so I will skip those parts. However, there is one picture that I must share with you.

YES! I got it! I f*ing got it!!!

That is Downing Street again. If you recall, last time there was an uncommonly large crowd and the sign was the best picture I could get. From my super sexy vantage point of a bus top, I got an actually decent picture of Downing Street. The moment was short lived, though the street was gone in a flash, as the bus proceeded to- OH MY GOD! WHAT THE HELL! We almost hit the car in front of us. Damn, our bus driver sucks...

We headed around Trafalgar Square- *CRASH* *RUMBLE* Well we definitely hit someone this time... what? We didn't? No, wait. We did. Our bus crashed into a recycling truck. Damn, our bus driver sucks... no really, he is terrible at this... he just... sucks... at driving buses... he is completely ill equipped for diving this bus. Anyway, we enjoyed ourselves immensely during the accident.

F*ed

We went over to the next station and boarded another bus, once again claiming upper level seats. The better bus driver here was complimented with a markedly worse tour guide. He also made bad jokes, just not as gracefully. We went all around London including some places I have not seen before: Tower Bridge, Tower of London, which was COVERED in scaffolding (consequently I do not have a picture of it), the Mayor's office, the Globe Theatre (no picture), and just some other neighborhoods I have not seen before. Here are some pictures.

This is Shard. When completed it will be the tallest building in Europe.

The rest of the day was painfully uneventful. My illness (the same one mentioned in The Long Weekend and the Legend of the Rare Photographs) was stirring up so I got some rest.