Almost Stranded in London

Well, I suppose it’s about time to update you guys on what’s been going on the last couple days.

After miraculously overcoming jetlag in one night (almost, I felt ill yesterday, I think due to jetlag- but still!), we began our first (and really only) day of London sightseeing! After walking/taking the tube to Trafalgar square to snap the photo below of TJ with one of the lions, as per request, we stepped into the national gallery for a browse. If you’re ever in London, I highly recommend it. It’s got loads of art, though fans of the MET in New York may be slightly underwhelmed. Nevertheless, it’s FREE, so if you’re travelling like us, you’ll like it. Also, it has one of Leonardo de Vinci's rough sketches, which we weren’t allowed to photograph so I have nothing to show, but it was very cool.

The most touristy photo. P.s. Climbing up on this thing proved to be not an option. Far too slippery!

After the gallery and a quick stop for lunch, or sort of lunch on my part, we started walking down the street towards Buckingham palace and what did we see? Oh yeah. The changing of the guard! We were passing by the barracks literally just as the guard and the marching band was coming out. So we followed them down the road and joined the crowd to (sort of) watch the changing. Then, the band set up in formation and played a few songs, the highlight of which came just as we had decided to head away- the Star Wars Theme. Yeah. That’s right. No big deal.

MEI marching band- take note. Hats.

The following few photos are from our lovely walk through James Park on which we encountered many different species of exotic local wildlife. Also, a lady gave me some nuts and I got to feed a squirrel from my hand! Kind of adorable.

This guy's hair though.

Next we walked towards Westminster Abbey which was, to our great dismay, closed. Just 20 minutes before we arrived. Absolutely freaking heartbreaking. But we walked around the perimeter and gawked at the flying buttresses and stained glass windows anyways. And then took some photos  of parliament and Big Ben with some DANG nice lighting.

Parliament. And mmmm lighting.

Westminster Abbey.

After consulting a map and discovering that Westminster Cathedreal was just a few minutes’ walk from the road, we headed in that direction. There was a kids’ Christmas nativity story performance thing going on, so we were very quiet and walked around. Then we went to ask about tickets for an exhibition we had seen advertised outside, only to be told that the lift was broken so we wouldn’t be able to. Dejected, we walked out. But we hadn’t gone 10 steps out the door when TJ suggested that we go back and beg and grovel. Even if we had to walk the steps 7 stories up the tower, we wanted to do it. So we went back to ask if we could just walk, and were told that the lift was working again and that they’d take us up right away! And thus, one of the coolest things ever happened. Up 7 stories in one of the bell towers, with views over London from all four sides. Geez, am I ever glad TJ suggested going back. Knew he came along for a reason! Haha!

View from the top. Looking down at the rest of the Cathedral.

That big tower on the left is the one we were up in! The bigger window near the top was the height.

And then, we let our geek show a bit by heading up to 221B Baker street to, yes, the Sherlock Holmes Museum. Which was pretty cool! Cool old house that’s all set up like Sherlock and Watson’s house and it is very neat. Just a good nerdy thing to do!

Mmmmhmmmmmm.

Next up was the Imperial War Museum, thanks to the suggestion of one of TJ’s friends. VERY cool museum, and free as well. Which was fantastic. Very cool spy/espionage section which was really the only one we got to go through, unfortunately, because we went right near closing time, so that’s all we had time for. But I’d still say it was awesome and I’d recommend it for sure. They have an Enigma machine, and an interactive replica on the computer so that you could see how it worked! So cool! Incredible to think that someone ACTAULLY figured out how to use it, and to see something that had so much impact on the outcome of the war, too.  Very cool. Yep, History is cool.

An actual  Enigma machine!

By this time in the evening I was hungry as heck, because I really hadn’t eaten much all day, but I was still feeling quite ill, so we went to a lovely little restaurant for a soup and salad. Which, admittedly, it took me a little to get through, but I did, and felt better for it afterwards. Woohoo!

Then, after a loooooooong day of walking around London, whilst I not felt not so well, we returned to the hostel and chilled out in the chillout room, mooching off the wifi and trying to figure out our trains to Paris for today.

But, SURPRISE, you need reservations but everything closes at an abnormally early time, and you can’t make reservations online SO we began researching and researching and freaking out about how we were going to be stuck in London (although, admittedly, there are worse places to be stuck) for another week until we could get a train out.

However, as I am writing this from the train to Paris, actually I suppose under the English Channel- wow, that’s a weird thought, isn’t it?- It all worked out alright. For a bit more money than we had intitially expected, but we had to get to the mainland somehow, so it was sort of necessary. We got to the train travel center in the morning today and booked tickets on a train two hours later, which we are now on. Yippee!!

So, really, we learned that there’s no good reason to freak out about things like that. It would not have been the end of the world, had we been stuck for a couple more days, and it actually worked out in the end anyways, so it’s fine. Which leads me to the introduction of an extra page on the blog- lessons learned (the hard way). Among them, this lesson. But with a few more added tidbits such as “don’t leave food on the floor of the hostel” – so learned by leaving a bag with a half a sandwich on the floor, only to be awoken in the middle of the night by a suspicious rustling in the bag. Mmmmmmmmm.

And I think that about wraps it up so far! Sorry for such a long post, but you can skim read I am sure, or you’ll read the whole thing. Or you won’t. Doesn’t matter to me. It’s fun writing this anyways. It gives me something to do on the train other than admire the immense cuteness of the small child sitting in the seat opposite me, who just so happens to have a name that sounds the same as mine, with a British accent.  Adorable.

Till next time!