So London. That
happened. And I must say, I would not be
upset if it could happen again. Like
soon.
Getting there was a bit stressful for me, but I won’t bore
you with the details of my worrying and paranoia. Let me just say this, my flight was delayed,
twice. The real fun began on Monday
morning. I woke up earlier than I
normally do, because I was determined not to sleep away what could possibly be
my only vacation for the foreseeable future.
My plan was to go to South Bank, ride the London Eye, see Big Ben and
whatnot. That got shut down, as the
London Eye was closed for repairs.
Literally, they only shut it down for two weeks of the year and I just
happen to be in London during those two weeks?
I CALL A DO-OVER.
Anyway, with time and money that I “saved” from not going on
the London Eye, I went over to Westminster Abbey and did that tour. Their tour was a little pricy, but I figured
it would be worth it. When I realized
that Jeremy Irons was the voice on the free audio guide, I knew I was
correct. His voice is so soothing, it
was worth every penny. Oh, and the Abbey
was amazing too. There was so much
detail in the smallest pieces and so much history all around. Technically you couldn’t take pictures
inside, as they expected people to just buy postcards, but when I got to the
Poet’s Corner I couldn’t help myself. I
mean, come on, Jane Austen’s name is there.
That area was my favorite. They
basically had every author of my favorite books in there, as well as my
favorite poet, W. H. Auden. Upon
reaching the end of the tour, I found something I thought was just perfect: FDR
had a plaque for being a good friend of Great Britain, and just an all around
amazing person. He’s not my favorite
president for nothing.
After the tour, my mission was Hyde Park and Kensington
Gardens. I really wanted a picture of
the Peter Pan statue and I got it! On my way there, I stopped at Buckingham Palace, where there was a parade of sorts happening. So many people were crowded around watching and taking pictures. I also passed by the dormitory of the guards where they were playing music. As in, I heard the GUARDS playing "Firework" by Katy Perry.
The Rose Garden in Hyde Park is beautiful, even if it is winter and nothing is
blooming. Walking around there took up
quite a bit of my time, then I made my way to Piccaddilly Circus. First of all, “Piccadilly” is just fun to
say. Second, Fortnum & Mason, a
department store, became my dream. If I
ever become rich, that will be my first stop – I literally wanted to buy
everything in there. I was in the store
for awhile, and then I just walked around to see everything in and around
Piccadilly. It reminded me of Times
Square. I also stumbled upon Chinatown
for lunch, and yet still ate in an Irish-pub inspired restaurant, mainly so I
could get the obligatory fish & chips.
All in all, my first day was a success and I got a lot of my
“tourist” pictures out of the way. I won’t
say much about Tuesday here, I want to save that for another post, but I did
find 221b Baker Street Tuesday afternoon!
Oh, and I think I pinched a nerve or something, because my feet
literally decided that they no longer wanted to walk. And they STILL don’t, but I refused to let
them stop me from making the most of my trip.
I’m sure this shocks many people that actually know me.
Wednesday was my last full day in London. I had one goal – go to the Tower Bridge and
watch it open. Okay, so I knew it wouldn’t
open up, I’m not THAT lucky. But I did
get some good photographs of it and (painfully) walked across it. The walk from my hostel to the bridge was
very nice (not so much for my feet); there was one area right next to the
bridge that is a modern architect’s dream.
Every building was a work of art and there were many modern fountains
and landscape designs. After a short
rest, I went back to Piccadilly and Oxford Circus, because I wanted to window
shop. There were huge sales going on, so
I couldn’t help myself when I found a handbag exactly like the kind I needed,
on sale for 7 pounds. I dare anyone to
try and pass up that deal.
Honestly,
overall I really did not buy as many “things” as I normally do on
vacation. I made sure to buy the items
for my travel collections (street map, postcard, shot glass), but otherwise it
was just the handbag. Oh and something
else which I will share in my next post.
It will probably be up later today or tomorrow.
If you thought THIS was picture overload, just wait.
