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Published: October 29th 2007
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Outside British Museum, near hostel Our second day in London began triumphantly. There was an international sports program on the TV in the breakfast room of the hostel, and I happened to see that the Chiefs were leading the AFC West! Not that that says a whole lot, but still! I gave a yell, and everybody else in the room gave me a look. 😊
The first stop of the day was the British Museum, which was literally across the street from the hostel. And when I say across the street, I mean the view from the window next to my bed was a view of the side of the museum. It was a beautiful day, crisp but not at all cold, sunny, no wind. There was a man selling roasted chestnuts from a cart out in front of the museum, which mean I had The Christmas Song stuck in my head the rest of the day, but it was still kind of cool to see. The Museum itself was, of course, fantastic...it was truly awe-inspiring to see so many pieces of ancient art, many of which I have studied in Art History of other Antiquities classes. Let me tell you that they're MUCH more
impressive than they are when seen as part of a professor's slide show. I particularly enjoyed the Parthenon pediment sculptures, the Rosetta stone, and the large collection of antique jewelry (which distracted me for a loooong time!). I took about a zillion pictures, many of which are kind of blurry (it's hard to get rid of glare when you're shooting through a glass case and around about eight other people), but still fun to go through and remember, but I'll only upload a couple of the "highlights" here.
After the British Museum (and their gift shop!) we wandered around Bloomsbury looking for an ATM. I loved this neighborhood!! There was the world's largest number of electronics stores per capita (seriously, for about three blocks that's ALL we saw-- electronics stores), but there were small parks, a lot of row apartments, shops, and restaurants. We ended up eating at a place called Hamburger Union...and I have to say, it was the best cheeseburger I've ever had.
Then we strolled down to the nearest Tube station. Day passes for Zones 1 and 2 (the touristy areas) were 5.10...and a one-way trip is 4 pounds. So it was VERY cost effective
Interior
of the British Museum to get a pass for the day! We took the subway to the Tower Hill station and walked out to the Tower of London. This was especially exciting and interesting for me, after studying Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots last semester, but we didn't go in because of the prohibitively exhorbitent entry price (16 pounds!!! Per person!!! Ridiculous.). We did get to walk all the way around the place, though, and took some good pictures. After that, we walked across the Tower Bridge. The experience was just too picturesque...bright sunny day, famous bridge, famous city, eating ice cream cone...very nice.
On the other side of the bridge we meandered west towards the Globe theater. We didn't go in there, either, but not because of the price-- because we would have had to wait around for an hour for the next tour group to go in. So, alas, but my Shakespeare itch will have to be scratched another time! We walked along the Thames for a bit, then crossed the Millennium Bridge to go to St. Paul's Cathedral.
Ahh, St. Paul's. I have to say that this was one of the most impressive things I've ever seen.
Unfortunately they didn't allow photography, but just imagine the inside of the biggest cathedral you've been in, and double it (unless you're picturing one that's bigger. Then don't.). The crypt was really interesting, too...lots of famous people are buried there. One of the most interesting parts came as a complete surprising to me, though...right at the main altar of St. Paul's is a memorial to American soldiers who died in Britain during WWII! I didn't even know such a thing existed, but there right behind the altar was a book of names, and there was a memorial inscription tiled into the floor. The whole thing gave me chills.
After St. Paul's we walked across the street to Starbucks so that I could get my caffeine fix for the evening. Then we hopped back on the Tube and got off at...*drumroll*...Hyde Park!
Yes, that's right, Hyde Park! Scene of innumerable rendezvous, illicit trysts, and fortuitous phaeton accidents in regency romance novels. Not to mention a very pretty place. We were there at dusk, just as the lights were coming on in the surrounding (very haute couteur) shopping district. We walked through there looking for a place to eat, but
the oyster bars sandwiched between the likes of Louis Vuitton, YvesSaintLaurent, Dolce and Gabbana and Versace were a bit out of our price range. We did find a small Italian restaurant, La Dolce Vitta, that we could afford, and it was wonderful.
But after that we were pretty beat, and we had an early flight the next day, so we took the Underground back to the hostel and turned in for the night.
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