About London
We explored London last week. Stepping off the plane at Heathrow airport, we picked up our bags and departed with no trouble from customs. The half hour Tube ride from Heathrow to the Burns Hotel was relatively uneventful- we stood up the whole time, stretching our legs, listening to a conversation between two ghetto men on the tube. At one point they were talking about pick pocketing tourists. We were happy to arrive at Earl’s Court with all our bags. I thought I heard them laughing as we stepped off the train. Frightening tourists is probably a fun past time for them.
After checking in to our room, we left the hotel in search of a cheap dine-in restaurant. I don’t think such a place exists in London. Instead we picked up what was to be our standard lunch and dinner for the next week- cheap but tasty sandwiches in cardboard boxes from one of the many corner markets. We walked through the Earl’s Court area and up to Kensington Gardens where we saw Kensington Palace, a large brick mansion surrounded by gardens, lawns and pathways.
The beautiful brick Kensington Palace on the west border of Kensington Gardens park.
Afterward, we walked back through the Kensington Gardens park and met Nick Boucher for dinner. We ate at a contemporary, light Italian/Greek restaurant and caught up. The food and company were both excellent.
Jet lag caught up to us so we walked back to the hotel. It was at this point that I took my first Larium malaria tablet in preparation for our Kruger Park trip the following week (starting tomorrow). We got ready for bed and just before closing my eyes, the drugs kicked in. For the next two to three days I felt like I was on a caffeine high. It was not very pleasant; although, I think it helped me adjust to the new time zone since I had trouble falling asleep even when I was exhausted.
Drug reactions aside, the next day was very fun. We met with one of Hayley’s friends who works in the CNN building. After Hayley got a tour of the news room, we walked to Mexi-Cali, a Mexican restaurant nearby Carnaby Street that claims to have authentic Californian fresh-mex. They use the same Burrito assembly line technique of many Californian mexican restaurants: steam the tortilla, add the ingredients, and wrap it up. While you don’t get to choose your ingredients, I think it worked well and the burrito was big and delicious. And at five English pounds (price) it should be.
We said our goodbyes then Hayley and I made our way to the National Portrait Gallery for the afternoon. Both of us were very excited to see paintings in person that were featured in many of our school textbooks. The gallery features the portraits of many well known kings, queens and other popular historical figures from the early 1500s to the present, including Henry VIII and his wives, Queen Elizabeth I and Shakespear. After the eighteenth century we retired to the Earl’s Court area and fell asleep.
An electric guitar player musically panhandling in a Tube station.
We spent day three with Nick Boucher and his girlfriend, Mary. We met at the Photographer’s Gallery and saw the works of Simon Foxton, the blatant homosexual fashion genius, and André Kertész, a famous black and white (film) urban photographer. Afterward, we grabbed a quick sandwich at Pret-a-Manger and walked the shopping district again, although this time we were introduced to delicious French macaroons. We ordered them to go and then relaxed for a while in the courtyard of the Royal Academy of Art, people watching and enjoying the infrequent sunshine.
The crowded and unique courtyard at the Royal Academy of Art.
Once baked and satiated, we walked through Covent Gardens and Piccadilly Circus. We skipped over most of Covent Gardens, only stopping for seconds to see the street performances. We spent about fifteen minutes or so trying to get good pictures of us doing stupid things under the interactive poster at Piccadilly Circus. I think I scored the best picture of Hayley blowing out candles.
Hayley wishing for better weather.
The weather turned dark and rain started pouring, so we took cover in the Walkabout Pub to watch South Africa take on New Zealand in the Tri-Nations Rugby tournament. The pub was packed but we arrived early so we scored a nice table with a good view of the big screen. After drinking a pint and watching South Africa dominate New Zealand, we ended the evening with a delicious meal at a funky urban pizza place. Again we said our goodbyes and went back to our room for an early night.
The Tower Bridge next to the Tower of London.
Day four was the most scenic day of our trip, walking six and a half miles from the Tower of London west along the South Bank of the Thames to the London Eye and south to the Imperial War Museum. We passed the new London Bridge, which is actually the second London Bridge I’ve seen after seeing the original in. Along the way, we saw Tower Bridge, Southwark Cathedral, the new London Bridge, Millenium Bridge, St. Paul’s Cathedral during a service, a replica of Sir Francis Drake’s ship, the parliament with Big Ben, and many ridiculous street performers, including a fake midget rocking out to techno music with a keyboard. I must admit that I was very unimpressed by the London Bridge, especially since one year earlier I had visited the original bridge in Lake Havasu, Arizona.
The London Eye is incredibly large and is one of the city’s many well known icons.
The Imperial War Museum was interesting, but very depressing. We visited the Holocaust exhibit, which shows in graphic detail the war crimes from WWII. It was very difficult to see what happened to most of my ancestors through photographs, video and graphic descriptions. I was actually very happy to leave the museum.
On our final and fifth day we visited the Natural History Museum and relaxed in Kensington Gardens. I finished up the Lord of the Rings under a collasal and vibrant tree next to the Prince Albert and Victoria (?) Memorial. We went back to the hotel, picked up our bags, and nearly missed our flight as the tube is madness during rush hour. We missed two trains in a row because we couldn’t physically fit ourselves and our bags through the subway doors. Luckily we made it on time and flew the red eye to Johannesburg, South Africa, which is where we are now.
Coming up next, the Webers tour Kruger Park in search of wild lion and cheetah.