A Long Weekend in London The Sequel

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After a restful night by hostel standards, I was ready and rarin' to go. The first stop of the day was Buckingham Palace. The Palace was gorgeous from the outside, but I don't know about the inside. I overlooked the fact that they only do tours in August and September, when the Royal Family isn't there. Whoops. So I just got to see some guards with semi-automatic guns- I don't know where the ones with fuzzy hats were.

Buckingham Palace is surrounded by parks. To the east (if my sense of direction is working) was Green Park. It was big and well, green. There were lots of trees changing colors and a place where you could rent sweet chairs. To the west was St. James Park. This park was quite a bit more impressive. There was a rose garden, a huge pond, and pelicans! Yes pelicans! The Russian Government has been giving England pelicans for a real long time and they live in this park.

I walked towards Trafalgar Square, going past Whitehall (where the British Government is centered). Trafalgar Square has Nelson's Column- a memorial to Nelson winning the Battle of Trafalgar (a big Naval battle against Napoleon). Set on the square is the National Gallery. Again, I wasn't to interested in most of the old paintings, but really enjoyed the impressionist section- some really good Monet's and Van Gogh's.

I headed for South Kensington to visit a couple more museums. En route, I saw Harrod's, the world's largest department store. It was monstrous! I was scared to go inside, I though I would get lost and never get back out alive! So I hurried to the Victoria and Albert Museum. I really enjoyed the V&A. It had big sections on Asian and Middle Eastern art- a nice change from the Renaissance. They also had a nice sized modern section.

After the V&A, I went next door to the Natural History Museum. I liked this one too, it took me back to my childhood when I walked into the dinosaur exhibit. Bob (the roommate) would have really liked all the rock/mineral samples they had on display. The exhibit on sustainability and pollution was really interesting (and non-crowded because little kids don't care!).

I hung out in Kensington Gardens until it got dark, had dinner, and went back to the hostel. I tried to watch the rugby match, but the hostel only got one channel- and it wasn't the one the rugby match was on. I was too tired/lazy to find a pub so I went to the room and talked to a couple of Australian guys, then I read and went to bed.

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Photos

Pond in St. James Park
See the Eye in the background?