Off Day... caught the Plague I have

All right its not the plague... but the cold has gotten to that extremely annoying "I'm going to make you hack like you have lung cancer" part of it. And as I want to be able to fly back home, I have opted for taking it easy today and getting enough rest. You know not running around creating Debauchery and Mayhem like the ruddy heathen I am. Oh poo. So today is another pictures without context day! YAY!

View through a stained glass window of the Rive Thames from one of the towers at the Tower of London. I think it was the Salt Tower, but I am not so sure.

More shots of the courtyard from the Tower of London, and a peek-a-boo of the Tower Bridge through the trees.

A picture of the trees through the arch I was hiding under when it started raining cats and dogs around 2:30 pm. I had just finished the wall walk when the sky opened up and let loose her wet bounty, like she had been threatening too all day. Everyone who lived in London whipped out an umbrella, and many tourists where left with no way to keep dry. Many had come wearing only light jackets. I always carried an umbrella in my purse (hence why I rarely carried my sketchbook. Between batteries, travel guide, maps, book for restaurants and sunglasses there was very little room for anything else.) I learned from the time I got caught in a down pour in New York, that a small umbrella is essential to travel with. Especially when in a coastal city or on an island. Cause as a friend of mine put it "Rain in London!? That never happens!"

I was able to umbrella two Australian girls over to shelter. They were grateful to have something over their heads, as they were only wearing light coats and were soaked. They were hilarious people, kept saying how they missed the sun. Considering most of my pictures of London have been on overcast days, I can understand the sentiment. To me the rain was a blessing. It allowed me to sit down for a bit and have a little zen moment of my own. I spent most of the time waiting for the rain to lessen under the arch I mentioned earlier. Listening to an Italian family talk (Italian is a lively and beautiful language by the by), and reading from the novel I carried with me everywhere. It was exactly what I needed.

Making my way home in the rain was quite fun. Since I knew there was no point in trying to avoid puddles, entire sections of the cobble stone pavement were nothing but puddle, I could discreetly splash to my girly heart's content. Which I did, with relish. Kept getting looks for some odd reason...

London is sober, cold, wet city, and I love it. Some of the best experiences of my life have been here, and I am thankful I was able to live them.

I would like to conclude this entry with one of my favorite stories that the tour guide on Sunday told us about the Tower of London. He said "This is one of the most haunted places in all of England, they say many ghosts walk these halls." Bag pipes start playing in the distance, and he makes a point of looking at his watch "In fact there is an experience you can have here right now. They say at three o'clock every day they a set ghostly bag pipes start playing..." The bagpipes get louder "But I have never heard them. If anyone in the group hears this ghostly bag piping please let me know."

Until next time.