The Time I Sailed Down the Thames and Followed in the Footsteps of Jack the Ripper

Our last week in London turned out to be a week of excellent weather. It was finally warm and sunny, and we were thrilled when we got out of our Monday lecture early to take a river cruise down the Thames. We got on near Big Ben and the Parliament building, and enjoyed the sunshine on the top deck of the ship as it sailed to the Tower of London. On our way down river, we saw the London Eye, London Bridge, the original location of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, the glass monstrosity that is the new Shard building, and, according to the tour guide, "Christopher Wren's last erection": a comically tall and shiny monument commemorating the Great Fire.
For dinner, some of us had the brilliant idea of going back to the Westfield Mall at Olympic Park for sushi. Little did we know, not only was it the rehearsal for Olympic Opening Ceremonies, one of the two Tube lines going to Olympic Park was shut down. The Tube, the Mall and the Park were beyond crowded, and we were seriously concerned about getting crushed in the throngs of people. The only plus was that it was impossible to get lost on the way. At every Tube station near Olympic Park, as well as at every corner above ground, there were police men and volunteers with megaphones and neon jackets pointing everyone toward the Park. That was in addition to the hundreds of bright pink signs that with arrows pointing "OLYMPIC PARK THIS WAY." Our efforts were rewarded with a Monday sushi special - every plate only 2.40! Score.
After dinner, we made our way to the East End of London for a Jack the Ripper Tour. Although it wasn't quite dark yet, it was still a little creepy as we followed our tour guide through back alleys and narrow streets to the locations where the bodies of four of the five Victorian-era prostitutes viciously murdered by the infamous serial killer, Jack the Ripper, were found. Our tour guide projected the gory police photos of each of the women's bodies onto the sides of buildings, and we became aware that there are people in this world creepier than budding forensic anthropologists: some of the lovely people who were also on our tour snapped a worrisome amount of pictures of the disturbing crime scene photos.
After that tour, it was dark in the East End, and we were happy to travel home by Tube in a large group with our classmates.