Just in case, dear reader, you thought my life was nothing more interesting than attending classes at the moment (well, you’d be partially to mostly correct), I am here to tell you that I spent the weekend in London, England, just so spice things up a bit. While I have been to London before, it is a great city, and I was happy to go again with three friends from my study abroad program who hadn’t been there before. So, on Friday afternoon after class, we boarded a bus from Galway to Dublin, and boarded a flight from Dublin to Stanstead Airport. On Friday night we boarded a bus from Stanstead Airport into London, and then boarded a subway train to our Hostel where we promptly passed out for the night. The only truly exciting occurrence on Friday night was that our bus from the airport dropped us off on Baker Street, more specifically across the street from 221B Baker Street, which I was extremely excited about because that, as I’m sure you all know, is the address of Sherlock Holmes, Detective and John Watson, tag-along Doctor. I promptly took a picture in which you can’t even read the address because it is a black door, and it was around 11 o’clock at night, but it is a picture for my Father, who turned me on to mystery novels in the first place (probably before I could even read).
Our hostel was nice; it was clean and the staff were helpful, and our beds were a place to sleep. The bathroom, however, was in our room, but it looked literally as if someone had transplanted an airplane bathroom into a hostel, somehow managing to fit the tiniest shower you’ve ever seen on the side. I could stand straight in it, but if I tried to maneuver at all, I hit curtain or wall. The stall shower I’ve got here in Ireland seemed small before, but it seems spacious now that I’m back from that hostel. And when I get home in December and shower in our bathtub/shower, I’m going to feel as if I’m showering in a downright palace!
The next morning, we awoke bright and early and grabbed a map of London and a few pamphlets before setting out to find a café for breakfast. We were quickly rewarded with a small place which promised a full English breakfast of toast, beans, bacon, eggs, sausages, orange juice AND tea. Well, when in Rome…
So we ate and we talked we came up with a game plan for the day. Following breakfast we took a walk through Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens, which was absolutely beautiful given that Saturday in London was an absolutely amazing weather day: I didn’t see a cloud in the deep blue sky once and the sun was shining and there was just a little nip in the air that ensured that we didn’t get hot while walking all day. While in Kensington Gardens we all made sure to take pictures with the statue of Peter Pan and “oooo” and “ahhh” at the swans and the roses. But all too soon it was time to catch up with the walking tour that we would be taking at 11, so we walked to Hyde Park Corner, and then crossed the street to the Wellington Arch were we started our tour. We took the NewEurope tour of London, which I had taken previously in Munich, and I must say that both times I really enjoyed myself and I suggest them (especially because the tours are free minus any tip you feel you want to give to the guide). We spent 2 ½ hours walked around London with commentary, and we saw so many things – Buckingham Palace, the residence of Charles & Camilla, the residence of Prince Harry, St. James Palace, 10 Downing Street (which is very heavily guarded & you can’t get close), Churchill’s war-time bunker, Westminster Abbey, Trafalgar Square, Big Ben etc. My friend Chelsea even got to help demonstrate how someone is drawn and quartered for treason (don’t worry; we mostly just used our imaginations).
After our tour, we made our way back to Hyde Park Corner using the Tube and we ate a late lunch/early dinner at the Hard Rock Café. It was nice to sit and talk and admire the memorabilia and order copious amounts of food. But around 5 o’clock, we decided to start making our way to Tower Hill Tube Stop because that was where the night-time walking ghost tour started. Well, much to our chagrin, half of the tube lines were closed down for maintenance work and after an hour and a half of changing subway lines over and over and then trying to find the spot on foot, we missed the tour entirely. I was not happy, because I’d really wanted to take the tour and see where Jack the Ripper did his dirty work and hear about all the strange and gruesome things that were done in the Tower of London and such. However, we found our way to the tower ourselves and proceeded to cross the Tower Bridge, which was, admittedly, very pretty at night. And then we took the tube again over to Piccadilly Circus, which looks a bit like Times Square at night, and then we walked along the street where a lot of the theatres are, and we came across China Town, which was pretty cool and it smelled like food – yum! And then we stumbled across M&Ms world London, which was huge and colorful and fun to walk through, and I just couldn’t resist buying a mug. Finally, we made our way back through Trafalgar Square, across St. James Park (where our tour guide swore to us that there is a pack of pigeon-eating Pelicans though we never saw any) and back over to see Big Ben and the London Eye lit up at night. Finally, Chelsea was literally falling asleep while standing and we headed back to the hostel and all agreed that it was a very successful day.
Sunday morning we checked out of our hostel and had several hours to do a bit more sightseeing before we left, so we ate breakfast at a different café, and got on the tube to visit the Dr. Who experience and store on the outskirts of London. For those of you who don’t know, Dr. Who is a show about a time-traveling police call box and the people who save the world repeatedly by using this time-traveling Tardis. I don’t personally make a habit of watching the show, but several of my best friends are obsessed (and my friend Scott’s Dad). Next, we headed over to St. Paul’s Cathedral. However, it was Sunday morning, and they wouldn’t let in tourists because of the services being held, which didn’t bother me, because I’ve seen it, but I felt bad for the others who hadn’t. We also talked about how St. Paul’s appears in Mary Poppins, when she sings of the woman who feeds the birds on the steps of St. Paul’s. Near to St. Paul’s is the millennium bridge which brings you across the Thames and over to the reproduction of Shakespeare’s old Globe Theatre (!). We didn’t have much time left before we had to catch our bus, so we only took a picture from the outside and grabbed something from the gift shop. (Note to self – new trip to London where I take a tour of the Globe, take that ghost tour, visit the British Museum, and see a show on the West End)
So, on Sunday afternoon, we boarded a bus from Baker Street to Stanstead Airport, boarded a plane from Stanstead to Dublin, and then Sunday night, we boarded a bus from Dublin to Galway. A tiring, but fun and successful weekend.
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