England #3

London! A great city with thousands of years of history and I only have 2 days to see it all! Well I must first say that I did not see it all. I didn't even get to see everything I wanted to see, but I saw a lot so that's a good start.
The first day in London, my dad, brother and me walked around London and saw the Houses of Parliament, St. Paul's Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, etc. What amazes me is that this has all been around for hundreds to thousands of years. Westminster Abbey was first built in like 800 AD and it is still standing today! It's crazy to say the least! Both St. Paul's and Westminster were eyeopening. The architecture really shows that the people who built it really put their hearts and souls into what they did. Religion really meant a lot to the British back in medieval times and even up into the modern era.
The most interesting thing about London is that it is a blend of ancient and modern culture all mixed into one city. You'll see modern office buildings sitting next to sites that have been around for hundred of years. The culture of London is very mixed too. I saw a lot of Arabs, Chinese, Caucasians, Blacks, and many more. There were so many different languages spoken all around you, even in the Tube (aka the subway) or on the bus.
Technology is an interesting part of London too. Everyone around you seems to have a Blackberry or at least a phone and many have Kindle or Nooks. I didn't see too many people on laptops in my travels, but I'm sure they use their Blackberries for that. But something that was interesting in my travels was Internet is available in most places, but it is spotty at the same time. In smaller towns like Exeter and Mildenhall or Lakenheath they have Internet access in the hotels or in your own room for free. But in London, we would have had to pay for Internet and it wasn't available in our room. Makes you miss the USA where you can get on pretty much anywhere and everywhere.
Time to try and find a way home to good old Utah! I hope to be seeing my cohorts and teachers very soon!