Mind the Gap: London, March 22-25

By the time March 2012 rolled around, I had been hearing so much about this place called London that it was definitely time to go and see for myself. I decided to embark on the weekend journey solo, which I felt confident about since I've been vigorously studying the language of "British English" all year with my students here in Spain and because I had my weekend itinerary put together by Brad and proofed by my Tía Española before heading off to the UK.

So I hopped on yet another RyanScare flight and found myself in the Motherland just a few hours later. I knew immediately that I was going to like this place... the uncontrollable grin on my face as I gazed out the airport shuttle window and my brief unexpected fits of laughter at each "beetle cab" sighting were dead giveaways. 

A Kiwi friend met me at the bus drop-off and took me for my first left-side-of-the-road car ride experience... that took some getting used to but the nighttime views of the city were breathtaking. I couldn't wait to start my epic London tour in the morning.

First stop, the Tube! 

Then it was off to the British Museum where one can admire stolen artifacts from several significant ancient civilization including  original chunks of the Parthenon, countless Egyptian sculptures, the sarcophagus of Cleopatra, and my personal favorite, The Rosetta Stone.

After an exhausting couple of hours at the museum, I picked-up an authentic Cadbury Creme Egg... so sweet it makes my teeth hurt just thinking about it. They really have the chocolate situation under control in this country. Yeah, I could live here.

                  

Here I am at my next stop on the map- St. Paul's Cathedral! This really is a beautiful monument in London (from the outside, at least. I decided against spending the 12£ to enter since I've seen my fill of cathedrals whilst living in Catholic Land all year.)

The city is just lovely- it's so nice to wander around for hours and the people seemed to be quite friendly!
Here are a few shots I took on walk from the Cathedral to the Thames.

See what I mean? The city was ridden with these and I just can't help but laugh a little.

View of St. Paul's Cathedral from the Millenium Bridge

Although not a shard of this building belonged to the original, there was something awe-inspriring about seeing the [twice reconstructed] Globe Theater. This was a particularly lovely part of town along the Thames River.

Tower Bridge, Thames

This is the Tower Bridge of London- the one monument I thought was much more striking at night, as you can see here-

 

London was filled with daffodils in bloom. 

One of the most delicious candies in the world now in "bubble" form!

I grabbed a lunch of Fish n' Chips from a pub in Covent Garden with the traditional side of "mushy peas," which are just peas, mushed. It was all pretty tasty... and I ended up dining with a fellow lone American traveler whilst listening to a group of choir singers performing "What I Did for Love" on the street just outside the pub for what seemed to be no reason at all aside from making pretty music. However, we were in the theater district surrounded by my people so it wasn't all that out of the ordinary.

The National Gallery quickly became one of my favorite museums in the world- with Monet, Gaughan, and Renoir on every wall, I could have stayed for hours. But with no time to spare, I had to make the most of an hour or so and rush off to see the rest of the city!

Trafalgar Square, just outside of the Gallery- I loved this plaza! It was so full of excitement with everyone from protestors and preachers to tourists and locals just enjoying a sandwich in the midst of all the hubbub.
              

Choreographed Silliness

Monument honoring the women of WWII

     

Big Ben and Parliament

Standard street view: double-decker bus, pretty buildings, beetle cab, overly extravagant horse and carriage. The usual.












Thanks to my keen eves-dropping abilities, I learned that Big Ben is actually the name of the bell inside the tower, not the tower itself. Food for thought?

The London Eye was built in 1999 as a way to ring in the new millenium. I was told it moves very slowly but never stops; you get into one of the giant cabins while it's moving and arrive back to the ground an hour later. Something I'll have to aprovechar next time I'm  in town!

Westminister Abbey

View from the top deck of a double-decker bus!

Piccadilly Circus

Oxford Circus

I know. Neither of these are circuses. I was disappointed, too.


Camden Town is a particularly interesting part of town filled with giant markets of all varieties. The hustle bustle here was about as hustle-bustley as it gets... I spent a couple of hours perusing the shops and stands and came away with a scratch-off map of the world! I have quite a lot to see before this map is impressive at all.  




I sampled one of Brad's recommendations- a melted Nutella-covered waffle, also known as "Asgoodasitgets."

Camden Town

After Camden Town, I headed back to the hostel and collapsed from a case of exhausted tourist. It was an incredible couple of days in the Big Smoke, not to mention a nice break from second-language struggles,  and I know I'll return one day. [London- highly recommended unless traveling on a budget.]



--> A particularly large German Shepard spreading environmental awareness in Camden Town