First two days in London - update

---

LESSON 1: Sometimes it is not about the journey but about the destination. Luckily our destination was worth the 24 odd hours of absolute torture. Cramped into a tiny little seat with really long spider legs is a great form of medieval torture. It is amazing how much you can begrudge the people sitting in front of you and next to you for "stealing" 10 cm of your space. We arrived in London at 5 am and wearily headed to our hostel in Victoria. We weren't allowed to check in until 12, so we decided to have breakfast at Maccas and then head out for a day of London sightseeing - to prevent us from collapsing in a tired heap. It was probably the best thing we did, as it was one of the best days I have ever had. In fact, these last two days have been brilliant. London is such a vibrant city, where the scenery changes every block or so - I love that there is history around every corner and that you can walk just about anywhere. After two days of walking, my feet are pretty tired, but my mind is more willing than ever. We have only made a dent in what's to see.

The first sight we visited was Buckingham Palace - quite impressive, particularly the Queen Victoria Statue. I curtsied outside the front gate, but unfortunately the Queen wasn't home. We then proceeded the walking tour past Green Park, onto Picadilly Circus and Leiscter Square, where we purchased "Les Misrables" tickets for tomorrow night. I can't wait - have wanted to see the show in London ever since I was a little girl. We wandered around beautiful Mayfair - stunning buildings that reminded me of Jane Austen novels. Many terrace houses had blue plaques on them, stating that someone famous had once lived (or died) in the house - Ben Johnson etc. I wonder if the priviledge know that they are priviledged....saw lots of Aston Martins parked in front of their fancy houses. Absolutely lovely! We then walk down toward the National Gallery - saw Van Gogh's "Sunflowers" painting and Degas "Ballerinas" - Nelson's column was surrounded by lions, but also lots of police presence, as there was a G20 protest on that day. We walked down past Downing street (which was blocked off due to the protests) and watched the protest proceedings from the sidewalk. Onto Westminster Abbey (we didn't enter as it was quite expensive), Big Ben and paid a solid amount for a ride on the London Eye - great view from the top, but by this stage I was fading fast and needed sleep. We made it to 6 p.m. where we finallly crashed after buying our first dinner from Sainsbury. I was a very happy and sleep person who slept right through the night.

Lesson 2: Day two (after a good rest) is even better that Day One. We decided to get on a guided bus tour of London this morning with "The Big Bus Company", where we could get on or off wherever we wanted. The first stop was St. Paul's Cathedral and it was quite spectacular. I have to say though I'm freezing my little tush off here in England. Locals are walking around in little next to nothing, but I'm layered up with thermals and a big duck down jacket - still FREEEEEZING! I went into a store today to buy another layer and told the guy i was freezing - he looked at me astonishingly (only wearing a short sleeved t-shirt) and said "Sorry madam, but we don't have anymore winter stock left, but have a great range of summer wear) - BRRRRR Freeezing - don't think I have ever been so cold in my life!

The best part of today was the visit to the Tower of London. We were there for hours and hours and saw the Crown Jewells, torture equipment, Charles II bedroom (recreated), armour and ravens - ravens you say? Apparently astronomer Charles II believed the ravens were blocking his view and was therefore going to shoot them. A prophecy, however, claimed that if the ravens disappeared so would his reign. As a result, he claimed them as a sacred emblem and treated them like kings. The ravens are still treated like kings by the guards in the establishment today, as they are fed fresh meat daily. I thought you would really like this story Megan! Another thing I found very interesting was that I didn't know Lady Jane Gray was only 17 when she was executed - we saw where she and the other two queens were buried in the chapel floor today. Fascinating! Also, I didn't know that there was public and private execution places during Henry VIII time. He surely was one ugly fellow. I heard that he was quite handsome and athletic when he was young, but I saw paintings of him today at 28 and 55 and he was BUTT ugly. I guess no one would dare say that while he was alive though. We drove past Hyde Park today, which was apparently used by Henry VIII as his hunting ground for deer. As I said, this place is full of history.

As we spent so much time at the Tower of London, we ran out of time for Shakespeare's Globe theatre. We walked past though and it looks pretty impressive. Tomorrow is our last day in London and we are planning on heading to the British Museum (YAY!) and then watch Les Mis in the evening. I hope this update was not too long and boring, but writing all of this down is helping me to keep track of what we did. There are so many times of the day that I think....Ah, my mum would love that! I wish she was here...or I wish my dad was here...he would love this! Or think, wow...Megan...you would think that is really funny...Kirstin...I haven't yet seen a punk...but I'm keeping my eyes out!

---

Comments

[anonymous]

keep the updates coming dear! loving them xx