IC London...I See France

27 February 2007

A Tourist Extravaganza! (A Lengthy Couple of Days)

Friday was pretty much an amazing day, every single part of it. Before that, on Thursday night, I had to go to a pub in Camden Town (Dublin Castle) for Brit Pop class to see some bands with Jessie and Paddy and the girls from downstairs and, well, everyone in both sections of the class. It was all kinds of fun. But, back to Friday:

Katie came in to Gloucester at one-ish, to be exact. I was waiting on the platform at the exact spot where she was on the tube when it stopped. It was fate. I was beyond excited: Katie was in London!! We got her all settled with a weekly tube pass and came back to the flat for the grand tour (approximate length: 2.7 minutes) before heading down the street for some delicious Thai food at Tuk Tuk. A lot of killing time until our 5pm Eye appointment took place, particularly at our lengthy lunch.

We took the tube to Westminster where we alighted for the Abbey and Ben (er, Houses of Parliament). I must say I wasn't too impressed with the Abbey; rather, I found it pretty maze-like and resembling an overstuffed statue shop, but it's a big deal and, despite getting lost, we did enjoy a good chunk of it. I'm not so keen on the lack of picture-taking allowed in a lot of these places, but we took pictures when we could, mostly of Ben outside and of the "green and rainy" in the cloisters. We walked along the bridge to the London Eye, at which we arrived early but no one minded. It was a really nifty experience, but what we got to see was more limited than I expected. Katie said it was a good way to meet London, though, and I tend to agree with her.

Saturday and Sunday were planned in complete detail using our London Pass guidebooks and maps for the remainder of Friday night, and exhausted, we went to sleep early.

The Tower of London was our first stop on Saturday morning (because apparently it gets quite busy on Sundays), and along the way, Katie had her first negative encounter with the Circle line which caused us to be just late enough to miss the guided tour. So we showed ourselves around. It's really amazing inside, nothing at all like what you would think looking in from the outside. We even saw some clothes hanging to dry - from the people who live there! It was exciting. Afterwards, we went to the Tower Bridge to walk on the top, and while it was nice, the views from the bridge left something to be desired. They did have a neat exhibition on Victorian music up there with little wind-up music boxes which were amusing.

We left for The Orangery where we were meeting everyone for afternoon tea at 12:30. Apparently, however, that is lunch time and afternoon tea is around three. So, we bought some desserts instead and got individual teapots and took pictures and enjoyed the general splendor. (Afternoon tea is now rescheduled for Thursday afternoon during proper tea time. We're all about the finger sandwiches.) Katie and I went on to visit Kensington Palace which had exhibitions on fashion and Princess Diana. Luckily, the Palace is much grander on the inside than it looks on the outside.

We rushed over to St. Paul's after the Palace, having readjusted our schedule to accomodate the Circle and the too-much time we spent at the Tower. The lady that let us in wasn't so nice, but the rest of the experience was fantastic. The cathedral is absolutely gorgeous. We walked up the 300-ish stairs to look out over London, then up the 100 or so more to the Whispering Gallery (which we couldn't quite work) and then up about 100 more sprialing ones to the Stone Gallery, or rather the tip-top of St. Paul's and where some of the very best views of the city are. It was breath-taking.

We ventured down the trillions of steps into the crypt for a quick look around and then continued our London Pass Day 1 by going across the Thames to Shakespeare's Globe. I had a lot of fun at the Globe, much more than I expected to since Shakespeare and I don't get along so well, and I think I owe most of that to our fabulous tour guide. Loved her. We poked around in the gift shop (yet another one) and came away with nothing (again), leaving us souvenir-less still.

We ventured past the Golden Hinde for maybe the third time thus far (The Golden Hinde!) to Southwark Cathedral, which was relatively deserted and starting to close, but still pretty. It was around dinner time then, so we walked past the Golden Hinde once more to The Anchor, a pub that's Katie's guidebook pointed out had been visited by Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, and Tom Cruise and that was, as a result, quite irresistible. We popped in for some good ol' British fare - Steak and Ale Pie for me and Bangers & Mash for Katie. I think my pie may have been mostly ale but was still quite tasty.

When we arrived back home, we had just a few minutes to take a breath before we had to get ready to go out to a fabulous bar recommended in another of Katie's guidebooks - Atlantis, a maritime-themed bar with children's games and toys to enjoy with your pint. Connect 4 and Jenga! Paddy, Meg, Meg's friend Sarah, and the two of us headed over to Baker Street to see exactly what Atlantis was all about, ready for some fun and games. After wandering past where we thought the bar was supposed to be and still a little further without any luck, Paddy ducked into a shop to ask for directions only to find out the bar closed a few years ago! Disappointed as we were, we sucked it up and went to a bar just outside the tube station, The Metropolitan Bar. Jessie met up with us after her play, and the six of us spent the evening there trying different pitchers of cocktails and Snakebites all around.

London Pass Day 2 started quite early as well, with the first destination being The Sherlock Holmes Museum at 221b Baker Street. We got there just as it opened and luckily were already in before the small crowds that came in just 10 minutes later. What we loved the most about the museum was that it was a far cry from the "Don't touch, don't take pictures" atmosphere of so many of the other places we visited. We sat in the chairs and tried on hats and used magnifying glasses; it was fabulous.

The Bramah Tea and Coffee Museum was next on the list - again over near the South Bank area we're so fond of. We learned all about tea and some about coffee and settled in for our cream tea: cakes, scones with clotted cream and jam, and a pot each of Ceylon and Darjeeling. Katie is now a clotted cream addict.

We then took the boat from right in front of the Globe to Greenwich, an hour long trip with commentary full of amusing British humour. The boat docked just outside of the Royal Naval Academy where we hopped off to go to the end of the world. Up a pretty big hill later, we picked up our ticket to enter the gates behind which they keep the precious Prime Meridian. (The tickets are free, leaving me pretty confused as to all the ticket-needing and gate-requiring, but that's okay.) We exploited all the photo opportunities the line had to offer, wandered around inside the museum for a bit and noted how smart British schoolchildren are, and admired the Prime Meridian line of things the gift shop had for sale. Satisfied with our end of the world experience, and with a few more pictures on the way out, we headed down the hill to the Queen's house and in search of the Greenwich markets.

On the way out of Greenwich, we had the opportunity to ride the DLR line - add another one to the list - which I enjoyed probably more than I should have. We came up at London Bridge for our next stop, a Vinopolis wine tour so that Katie and I could gain some culture. We were undoubtedly the youngest people in the tour and, not particularly enjoying wine, I was a little doubtful in the beginning. I started with a delightful sweet white wine (which I bought later in the shop) and the rest of the tour went just as well. We got to try a total of 5 wines each as well as a Bombay Sapphire Cocktail with the tour package, but we ended up finding some dropped tasting tickets and added another 2 wines and a bit of absinthe to our tastings as well. I had wines from Macedonia, France, Thailand, Australia, and Portugal, a Bombay Berry Cocktail, and shockingly-colored teal absinthe from the Czech Republic. Sufficiently hydrated, it was time for our London Walk - Harry Potter.

We rode the tube to Embankment, met our tour guide Alan, and joined the hoardes of eager tour-takers in a clump near a flower stand. The tour took just over 2 hours and, while enjoyable, wasn't quite as Harry Potter-centered as one might think. We did learn loads of interesting facts about J.K.'s character and name choices, but not much aside from that. It did make us very anxious for Book 7, though, and made me regret not bringing any HP movies or books with me - again.

Our final London Pass activity was ice skating at the Queen's Ice and Bowl, just a couple of doors down from our flat. Apparently, Sunday night is cheaper and more fun than other nights ("Soul Skating - with mood lighting and music - for just £7 including skates!") so it was a bit crowded. I've only ice skated once before, for about ten minutes behind Katie's house, so I didn't quite know what to do. She helped me out a lot and, despite getting distracted and unsteadied by the constantly changing "mood" lights, I only fell once. It was fun, but after all of the walking the last two days brought, we didn't last very long.

We bought some ice cream from the waffle house just outside and our London Pass Days were done.

3 Comments:

  • So glad to hear that you and Katie are having so much fun. The two of you sure know how to pack a lot of stuff into a couple of days!!
    I got exhausted just reading about all the stairs that you climbed.
    Looking forward to the pictures.

    Love ya both
    Mom

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 9:20 PM  

  • "eye appointment" ?? What was that about? London Eye I assume.
    I can't begin to fathom how you can cram that much in a little over 2 days!! Unbelievable!! Your going to look back at these days & experiences with "awe". TAKE IT ALL IN Honey & treasure each and ever moment!! (it makes me think of the time I took-off driving to California & back).

    Love,

    Dad

    By Blogger Dad Krzyske, at 3:07 PM  

  • SO many places so little time!! Before you know it you'll qualify as a Travel Agent/UK Tour Guide!!

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 9:36 AM  

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