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Published: September 4th 2010
Graham
Smoking shishaIt's about 6:54pm over here as I start my lastest installment. The title of this chapter refers to the intense and strenuous amounts of walking we have done in the last 48 hours. It's been rough.
Yesterday, we tried to plan the whole day out with ambitious stops one after another. Westminster, Tower of London, Parks, Palaces, Circus', etc. What we actually ended up doing is as follows.
It was another crack of dawn start as I myself am still adjusting to the time shift. Jet lag and me have never really gotten along over the years. He wants to stay up late all the time, and I just want to sleep. But, with the wind at our backs and the sun rising, we set out for Waterloo station. I was going to meet an old friend from my days at Winchester, a one Graham Munn-Sharpe, and we found him there without too much trouble. After that, we set out for Westminster. We saw Big Ben, the houses of Parliment, and even toured Westminster Abbey. I had forgotten how many famous literary figures were buried there, but I guess that was all the rage back then. You know you've
British Museum
I was just minding my own business and then BAM! Punched by an ancient statue made it when they bury you under a famous building and people are walking all over your grave marker.
I might as well mention here that nothing I've seen in the last couple days has been new to me. This is my third time to London, and while the hustle and bustle of the city is captivating, there are only so many times one can tour Westminster Abbey in a 10 year period. From Westminster, we went to an arcade to ride in a simulator (one of those things on hydraulics that throws you around in a car like thing while you watch where you are 'going' on the inside of the ride). I took a trip back in time to Egypt to see some pyramids and tombs, but apparently back then Egypt looked a lot like playing a Sega Genisis game. That was fun, and we went and got grub at an asian food place. With Graham in tow, we took an hour, smoked some hookah (or shisha if you like) and caught up. It was great to see him doing so well.
Afterwards, we ended up going to the Tower of London for 3 hours. It
Lion
Has three arrows in him and still wants to fight you. What a badass was quite a bit like the last time, with people in uniforms (if you call it an 'outfit', you will be fought by the beefeaters), murder chambers, and screaming children. I won't ruin it for you though, as it's a place everyone should go at least once. Though there was so much left to do, we called it a day for sight seeing and went to Graham's house in Whitton, where we made merry and played Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, which I suck at (for now). We took the last train home and crashed.
Today was busier. We saw the big three museums (or should I say, the big 'free' museums, as they all were free): The Natural History Museum, The British Museum, and The National Gallery. All very cool, even for a second time, but way too much to go on about. We went to Trafalger Square to attempt to catch a pigeon (long story), but instead found ourselves in the middle of Liberty Day 2010. It was the most packed I'd ever seen Trafalger, so we decided that we'd take a look. With street performers, food stands, and plenty of music going on, it was
London Bridge
This is what keep falling down in all those songs you hear quite the enjoyable experience. I eventually found out that it was in honor of a man who recently died, but was a front runner in London for helping the disabled citizens of London make great strides as a community. He worked for the people, but ultimately passed before his time. A hell of a way to send a guy off, I say.
We saw the parks as well, and tonight is about riding the Eye and hitting up the coolest toy store ever, Hamlins. Tomorrow, we're up early to check out (before we're evicted at 10am), and we'll probably chill in Hyde Park until our flight from Luton tomorrow (pronounced loo-ten, not loo-tawn...). We'll touch down in Madrid tomorrow to see Tori and Broderick. Very exciting. And of course, I have so much more to say, but I'll save it for the next post, as this one is running on. I made some interesting discoveries about the people of London, and in keeping with my 'look for life's subtleties' mantra, I'll share them soon. Until then.
Signing off from London, England,
Ben
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