Aug 9th - London Pass, Day One

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Today started really well and then kind of fizzled out for a multitude of reasons lol.

On the walk to the Tube (honestly, 5min walk and it's not a touristy area) got stopped twice for directions. This is my first trip I can remember where this hasn't been a daily occurrence... I'm losing my touch 😉

I started at the Churchill War Rooms which were fantastic - so much so I'd say it warrants the regular price. It's a two-part museum really: the war-time bunker used by Churchill to run the war decisions and a museum about Churchill as well. They were both equally informative and interesting. It's quite remarkable that he spent most of the war years down in these rooms and yet they weren't actually bomb proof... it was basically a fortified basement, but had the building overhead received a direct hit things would have gone quite poorly for Churchill and his staff. The museum was cool because it talked about his whole life rather than just his time as PM, so definitely a lot to poke around and look through.

And final random comment? I love his quote re: the human condition: "We are all worms. But I do believe that I am a glow-worm." Love it.

From there I headed off to the Guards Museum which meant a nice walk along St. James Park in the process. The museum was ok. I'm not overly interested in the uniforms and how they've changed over the years... so... if you're into that thing this is the place for you. I then planned to go the Royal Mews but the lineup was atrocious. So I made my way towards Victoria which was a battle and a half because omgALLthetourists... and of course all the tourists who decide to clump and take up the entire sidewalk. Brilliant.

Oh. I also exploded my sparkling flavoured water today while on the Tube. Yeeheeeee all over my pants. Brilliant. I then almost melted into my train seat on the way from Vauxhall to Hampton Court. I don't even want to think how horrible the trains were during the heatwave because when it's 25c it's already disgusting.

Hampton Court was quite lovely - you really could spend the whole day if you wanted to. I didn't end up getting the audio guide because quite frankly I was audio'd out after spending a little over two hours in Churchill world. Without the guide it was still very informative and it was just fun to have a look around. It's wonderfully maintained both inside and out. I think my favourite part was the artwork and wall/ceiling paintings. You know they're impressive when I care about them since I"m usually very meh about paintings. But you can't deny the wow-factor of wall-to-entire-ceiling pieces of artwork. The King's apartments were quite impressive as well. And of course I liked walking through the old kitchen if only for the fact they had a fire going and I will forever love that smell.

Last up were the gardens... oh boy there are a lot of gardens and a big maze and just generally a lot of outdoors stuff that is all beautifully maintained. I got through about half of it when I just had to cut my visit short because my hand allergy was acting up which makes me miserable lol. Of all the times though... I haven't had a reaction in ages. Oh well. The gardens are cheap to visit though, so I think I might find myself back there on another trip.

Once again I almost melted into my train seat. They have warnings everywhere telling you to travel with water and get off if you feel sick. Yes well... crazy thought... ventilation? Idk? God we got to Clapham Junction and a bunch of us did a deadman's stumble off the train only to be hit by *gasp* air which brought us all back to life.

I had got off at Clapham because I wanted to go to ASDA. Outside there's a giant "24 HOURS" so silly me, I thought that meant every day. Nope. Closes at 5pm on Sundays and isn't even open two other days. What even...?? I then couldn't find a train back to central London for another like... 45 min because the line I'd normally take was closed for works. Good. Good. I begrudgingly took the bus instead to Trafalgar for the Korean festival which was somewhat of a bust. The lineups for food were beyond ridiculous... like it would have been an hour. I listened/watched one of the drumming presentations and dances and then sulked off haha. But, silver lining, I went to get some noodles from Wasabi which is my guilty pleasure while in London, so I wasn't overly bummed out by this turn of events 😊

On the way back to the hostel I made some friends in the Tube station at Charing Cross... two itty bitty cute mice. That was a little surprise lol.

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London Pass Tally Day One Total: £43

Churchill War Rooms = £18
Guards Museum = £6
Hampton Court = £19

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