Itchy Feet: 09/29/13

Okay, folks. I will start with the bad news first, then talk about the good news.

The bad – I didn’t get to see the LSO like I had hoped. It turns out that the girl who booked our tickets booked them for the wrong day (Sunday, not Saturday). This actually made me cry. If you think I’m joking about the crying bit, you don’t know me very well. I literally shed a few tears. Mark my words, I WILL SEE THE LSO BEFORE I LEAVE THIS COUNTRY.

The good – I was “stuck” in London at 9:30am (that’s “half nine" in British slang) with a bunch of my fellow travelers. Considering we were ten minutes away from all of the touristy attractions in London, our situation wasn’t really that awful. After brushing off the disappointment from our failed attempt to see the LSO, we went to see Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, Covent Garden, Westminster Abbey, and the British Museum. The whole thing felt surreal. I mean, I’ve seen pictures of these iconic places all of my life, but experiencing it in person is incredible. London is beautiful. With its soaring buildings, historic landmarks, lush public parks, and – of course – the regal River Thames, London is definitely worth the ninety minute commute from Canterbury. Standing in front of the massive entrance to Westminster Abbey, I felt chills running up and down my back. I can’t wait to go back and explore. There is just so much to do! We tried to do as much as we could in one day, but London needs to be digested and not just visited. Next Friday, we get to go inside the Houses of Parliament and tour the Royal Courts of Justice. This makes my heart really happy. I’ll be sure to post about it next weekend.

In front of the Buckingham Palace

Max pretending like he doesn't know us...

Hyde Park

Entrance to the palace

Buckingham Palace... the Queen is in!

Everyone gathers on the fountain

Buckingham Palace Fountain

Buckingham Palace grounds

Buckingham Palace Garden

A scenic park by the river

Statue of a famous dude

London is full of these fancy buildings

Walking the streets of London

Parliament

Beautiful Big Ben

Parliament

Is this real life?

I've always wanted a picture like this!

The Houses of Parliament

Westminster Abbey

more of the Abbey...

Whilst gallivanting around London yesterday, I tried desperately to learn how to work the Tube. Thankfully, one of the girls in our group knows how to navigate the craziness that is the Underground Railway. She seemed to know the best way to get to the attractions, so I tried to follow right behind her and watch how she used the map to get around. We paid for a one day travel pass, which was £6.50. With that card, we received unlimited access to zones one and two of the Underground and free bus transportation.

Color-by-number, or a map of the Tube? I can't tell the difference.

For those of you who’ve never experienced the Tube, there are three things you need to know:

It’s loud.

It’s hot.

It’s fast.

I hate to simplify it like that because the Tube is actually very complex. But, if we’re talking about the basics, that’s really all you need to know. As for the stations, everyone there is in a hurry. The escalators are packed full of people. Unless you want to get run over, you had better stay in the left lane on the escalators. The right lane is for sprinting (yes, people sprint up and down the moving escalators). Where are all of these people going so quickly? I don’t know, but they are booking it so you have to stay out of their way.

There’s something about the Tube that makes people extremely unfriendly. Maybe it’s just me, but no one ever seemed to be talking on the Tube. It’s really hard to find someone to ask if you’re lost and need help. If you even look at someone the wrong way, they glare at you. People just stare straight ahead and avoid eye contact of any kind. Some even close their eyes. Because I was with my American friends and we were riding for the first time, we were all smiles, trying not to stand out too much, but still wanting to take pictures and talk. Then there’s the whole “mind the gap” announcement/logo, which is pretty cute but I guess the locals are used to it because they don’t squeal and take pictures of the sign like we did. Oops.

After walking around London for almost six hours, we were absolutely exhausted and looking for a place to have tea and scones and just chill before the journey home. We found a cool place called Yumchaa, a small and cozy little tea and pastry shop… but it was packed! Not even a single empty chair in the place. Some friends and I got scones to go, then went to a Starbucks, grabbed tea/coffee there, and sat for almost an hour just to relax. By then it was getting late, so we headed back to the train station and caught the 7:20pm train back to Canterbury.