A Viewaskew of London

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While I don't usually sleep well when traveling, the staying awake for 48 hours coupled with the beer flavoured nightcap(s) had worked together and I slept in until 8AM, which is exactly what I'd hoped for. I took a quick shower and then headed down to try the hostel's breakfast. They offered a traditional English breakfast for 2 pounds.

It was pretty terrible. The sausage was half raw, half burnt and the eggs were pretty much the same, the beans were uncooked and cold. Only the tea and the toast were any good, which still makes the price a steal for this part of London. So, I guess economically I give it a 5, but foodie-wise it's a -1.

Now I learned fairly early on that over planning can really hinder a trip, as you forfeit the opportunity to be surprised. I try to have a less than half of my time in a city planned, giving me plenty of time to encounter the unexpected. Today though, was a day with a plan.

The first part of the day was to be spent on a walking tour, specifically the free Royal London Tour given by the company Sandeman. Generally given by students, artists or actors, the tour itself is free with a tip gladly accepted. Entertaining and educational the free tours offered by this company are a 'sample' aimed at getting you to try their paid tours. I didn't do any of the pay tours in London, but did in other cities later in the trip. Overall I enjoyed them.

I arrived early (as usual) at Hyde Park station where the tour began, in Hyde Park Corner. This part of the park in sparse in foliage, but has many memorials and statues, including (but not limited to) The Royal Artillery Memorial, The Australian War Memorial and the imposing Wellington Arch.

I was not alone in wanting to take this tour. By 10h45, there were over 100 people milling about waiting for the tour. Luckily, 5 different guides showed up and after a few minutes we were divided up into groups which dispersed to different corners of the arch for an intro speech and to allow the guides to keep the groups separated for a more intimate experience.

The focus of the tour was on 'Royal London' and included palaces, government buildings and other locations frequented by the movers and shakers that ruled (and rule) over London and the United Kingdom from the past few hundred years. The first real stop on the tour was to see the famous 'Changing of the Guard', which I was totally not interested in. I took the opportunity to sneak off a few dozens yards away and spend some time at the Canadian Memorial, which was much more meaningful to me.

I rejoined the group as the changing ended and we moved off for a leisurely snaking walk through the local streets, listening to stories about the history of London and its upper class. We walked along Pall Mall, then turned south through the Horse Guard Parade before ending the the tour with the history of Guy Fawkes told while we stood between Westminster Abbey and Palace of Westminster.

After the tour was over, there was the option to go to a Sandeman endorsed pub for a meal at a mild discount. I decided to go along, and the 15 or so minute walk amounted to a extension of the tour, as our group of 9 or so people walked along Whitehall, through Trafalgar Square to a small nondescript modern style pub.

While passing through the square, we saw a part of a performance art piece called 'One & Other' where for 100 days, 2400 people were given 1 hour to stand on an empty plinith and effectively due whatever they chose that didn't break the law. We saw a woman in period clothing knitting, which was not the most interesting, but it was nice to see a once in a lifetime presentation of that nature.

I had dinner plans, so I decided to just have a Guinness and enjoy talking with the other travelers and the guide. I didn't have all that much time, as I needed to get back to my room to get ready for the evening.

Fun Fact: I later found out that my guide was actor/producer Ed Coleman after seeing him playing a role on the US TV show Bones.

My plans for the evening were to meet with fellow Kevin Smith fans for pre-show dinner and drinks. We were going to meet at The Cutty Sark in Greenwich. We all pretty much skipped dinner but engaged heavily in drinking, reminiscing in that way that only people who know each other through the Internet can. Most of the people were relatively local (in so far as that word can be used in a city as huge as London) with myself and guy from Finland being the only people from further away. While can't say much about the pub itself (only going into order drinks and use the loo) the location itself was wonderful. Walking there from the train station I'd passed through a few blocks of suburbs which were really different from the hustle and bustle of the London I'd seen before. It was the first time I'd been in London where the white noise of the city wasn't pleasant. It was a warm clear night, and we sat at picnic tables which we set up in a long row across the street from the pub along the southern bank of the Thames. Laughing and talking as the sun cast a pink glow over the water created some really warm memories.

When it was time to go, we gathered into a group and began the 2.5km walk. Although it took at least 40 minutes, it seemed to pass in about 5. Unfortunately, when we got there it was very close to show time and we had to split up. Most of the people were on the main floor, whereas myself and the Finnish dude were in the balcony. Seems that the balcony was considered posher or something, so there was a different much shorter line that deposited us in a lounge with a bar where we stopped for a final drink before we had to go to our seats which were on separate sides of the venue.

The show was enjoyable. Afterwards, we met up with an even larger group of people who hadn't been able to able to make it to the pub. Sadly, the show ran very long and the affordable transportation options were rapidly dwindling. A large group of us had to leave within minutes, and then that group broke up even more as we boarded the buses that would take on our various ways. We reached the train station with a few minutes to spare. We reached the tube station and I was alone. I had a sad, as the kids say.

Having skipped lunch and dinner in favour of beer and giggles, I was in a bit of a bad state. Luckily, Piccadilly Circus is a madhouse at 1am on a Saturday, and several vendors were open. I had a shish taouk on pita that probably only tasted half as good as it did at that exact moment, and then wandered off to my room.

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Photos

Canadian Memorial
in Green Park

Australian War Memorial
A single stone from the memorial located in Hyde Park Corner

Royal Artillery Memorial
Hyde Park Corner

Neptune
Embellished lintel on Admiralty Arch.