Back to London..

Because I am suffering from the most serious bout of writer's block I have ever had... I am going to continue sharing stories from our time in London. This is day 3.

Friday, May 22, 2009

We woke up around our usual 10:00 a.m. (hey! we're on vacation, too - and walking about 10 miles a day will wear on you!) and trekked through St. James Park to Buckingham Palace. The parks in the city will blow your mind. If you get in the middle of them, you almost can't hear the cars and feel like you are in the middle of nowhere. It's a wonderful escape from the hustle and bustle of city life.

The Palace was huge (as ever) and crowded, with it's high black iron gates and gold leaf detail. The queen was in, noted by the British flag flying high atop the center of the Palace. Of course, tourist of all tongues were taunting the red-coated, big black hat-ed British guards that are ever-present in front on the Queen's London "getaway." Sorry, guys - they really don't move. In fact, I think it's a requirement to learn not to breathe these guys are so still. I've always wanted to go up to one and whisper sweet nothings...hahahah okay I crack myself up. Kidding, obviously, but I would like to go tell them a joke.



You are no longer allowed to tour the inside, which I was pretty bummed about because I enjoyed that part of my visit here before. We opted out of the only place you could tour, "a two-room walk with furniture and some jewelry" - ehh, no thank you.

p.s. If you saw on the news how Buckingham Palace had been "broken in to" by a news reporter who was paid £500 to prove how unsafe it was - we were there that day. Yeah - and I can totally see how it could happen too on the western gate. Anywho.

After a quick bite at a hole-in-the-wall diner (still miss ice by the way) we headed to St. Paul's Cathedral. For all you Mary Poppins fans, this is the cathedral the bird lady sits on the front steps calling for you to "feed the birds" as Jane and Michael pass by to the bank with their father. Yeahhh.

Holy, really big insanely beautiful church, batman! If I thought Westminster was grand, this was grand - times 10. I think I liked it better because it was well-lit, and I'm not one for dark dreary places such as the Abbey. We climbed over 150 stairs to the Whispering Gallery and I almost died.


In the Whispering Gallery, it is said that you can whisper (really?) into the wall (who does that?) and that the person directly opposite you, nearly 30 m away, can hear you. Naturally, we tried it - but there were so many people whisperyelling "CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW" in 15 languages that our attempts were unsuccessful. Oh well - I can totally see how it would have worked if it were just me and a bishop or something.

More stairs later, and we're at the highest point you can go at this point and time. The views were awesome. London, though a city with it's own heartbeat, isn't that pretty from above. Lots of cranes and more or less dirty looking. It's ground level that's breathtaking. Although this shot isn't so bad:

Let's go down some stairs! My legs were shaking so hard and so involuntarily that we had to sit for a WHILE before home girl was ready to keep going. St. Paul's is the jam.


We strolled across the Millennium Bridge, and caught a glimpse of Shakespeare's Globe, made to look exactly as it would have in his day. Awesome.

Earlier that morning Nate had worked it out with our concierge desk for us to get tickets to the sold-out play Wicked. Apparently, they have some bookie that stands on the corner and can get the last available (but some how premium) tickets. Wicked is sold out on the Internet through like May 3002, but they save tickets for hotels and people just like us (too lazy to plan in advance.) Wicked is freaking fantastic. The set, music, actors/actresses were top of the line. I couldn't have asked for a better night.

A few vodka and cranberry's at the Hard Rock Cafe London (which was conveniently located about a block from our hotel's front door) and it was off to dreamland again. Only one more day in the city, and I miss my Mama and my dog!

Continuation of our time in London...

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Sixteen hours later....literally. Nate and I woke up from our serious jet lag. In hindsight I'm really glad that we decided to sleep in like that because we were able to actually enjoy our time without being in a zombie-like state for the rest of the trip.

We hopped the tube to Tower of London where they are currently hosting a "Henry the VIII - Dressed to Kill" exhibition. This showcases the armor for both men and horses from good ol' Henry's day in the White Tower (which is to the left in this picture where the construction is happening.)

Tower of London

It is here that they also showcase the crown jewels home to an over 500 carat diamond placed in the purple hat-thing the queen wears during the coronation ceremony. Yeah - it's freaking huge. We tagged along on a tour and I must say - British people are just funnier than we are. They just are. (At least in most cases.) Our guide was hilarious and very knowledgeable about the history of the Tower and all that was in it.

After spending nearly 3 hours there, we walked out the side entrance to my favorite London snapshot. Tower Bridge. Would you look at those blue skies! The Lord sure was good to us! It did not rain one. single. time. while we were there, which is totally unheard of in rainy London.

Nate and I in front of Tower Bridge.

Next stop - crowded Trafalgar Square with ever so tall and large Nelson's Column front and center. I think this man may have had somewhat of a Napoleon complex. Ya think? We did see a wedding party walking through the Square - on Thursday. Which is odd, because there was a wedding group the day before in front of Big Ben. I guess you don't need a sunny Saturday to get married in London!

We viewed artwork from the likes of Renoir, Rubens, Monet and Manet in The National Gallery and then headed to Piccadilly Circus (the Times Square of London) for dinner and some drinks. Enter tourist photo here:

Silly tourist.

The night life of London (or anywhere for that matter) has never been my thing. It's not that I don't feel safe or whatever, I just don't like to go out to clubs. So, we opted for a trip back to Westminster at dusk to catch some of the best views of the mammoth buildings and that huge farriswheel they call the Eye.

Big Ben at dusk

This is an abbreviated version of the travel journal that I kept while in London. A lot of you had requested "more details! more details!" Well put away your pitchforks and torches! Here is an account of our adventure in London day by day.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009.

Last night Nate and I took the 6:15 p.m. direct flight from Charlotte to London Gatwick Airport. The flight, though nearly 8 hours, didn't seem nearly as bad as I had remembered. I was able to sleep for a few hours, but mostly attribute that to the fact that I wasn't nearly as nervous this time on the way over - I'm with Nate and I've been there before.

Once we landed at 7:15am London time (2:15am in our heads!), it was off to customs. Hello sexy British accent! We took a freaking beating at the currency exchange counter as the dollar is worth half of the pound! A quick ride on the Gatwick Express to Victoria Station and we're off to our hotel. A pleasant upgrade to a king room and I'm over our currency fail. (Our hotel was the jam. We got a heck of a deal on it and it was super nice!)

At this point we're both exhausted but would not dare succumb to the bed that was calling our names. We must go! go! go! Ahh yes, and then comes the one thing that ailed me the entire time I was in London before - finding food. You see, food and me are thick as thieves - and though I'm sure it's totally my fault, I have the hardest time finding my dear friend overseas. We finally find some sandwiches (a la Pret a Manger) and then I remember the next thing I don't like about London cuisine - NO ICE. It is standard for them not to serve ice with drinks and while I get that they don't like it, I do. I already miss it.

I decided it was time for the Mister to see some real London so he could feel the city. Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament are about as London as you get. Nate's first words were, "wow." Mission accomplished.

Nate and Big Ben

Of course, there was the standard protest in the square in front of Parliament (some really pissed Sri Lankans this time that had been there for some 5 weeks.) Note to the Sri Lankans: calling the British government "terrorists" is nooot exactly the best way to get them on your side - I'm just saying.

We wandered inside Westminster Abbey, and "wow" is all I can say. The ornate detail that is on every square inch of the building is beyond words. You are understandably not allowed to take pictures inside of it, but it would be worth a google search. Stunning. And Huge. With LOTS of DEAD people. Famous. Dead. People. I'm be-bopping along listing to my audio headset that looks like a 1985 cellphone and realize that all of the different shaped floor stones I'm walking on are actually peoples tombstones so to speak, and that I was literally walking through a graveyard. Again, something I'm not used to - but it gave the thousand year old Abbey an eerie feeling which made it seem really cool. Weird - but cool.

Me in front of Westminster Abbey

In an almost zombie state (24 hours in to my continuing day) I didn't feel like we should do too much that would require a lot of thought or walking - so we visited where I used to live in St. Johns Wood and then took a quick walk across the Abbey Road crosswalk (ya know, the one from The Beatles album cover) which is just around the corner from my old flat. Some fish and chips at Wetherspoons served up with a cold glass of Strongbow (alcoholic cider) and I'm about to die.

We headed back to our hotel at the Hyde Park Corner station (via the London Underground) and fell into a deep, deep sleep...