London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It is the most populated city in the EU with 7.8 million people. They have over 40 universities, one of the busiest airports in the world (London Heathrow) and a huge concentration of pleasant sounding British accents.
All in attendance: Tom, Gordon and Kristen
For Christmas, my parents got me flight home to Calgary using airmile points. A downside to using points is that the flight connections aren't always ideal. But regardless, after a week of wondrous downtime in Calgary, I managed to stop in London for a few days enroute back to Switzerland. As luck would have it, two of my roommates were in London at the exact same time.
We had scheduled to meet at Big Ben at 14:00 on the Friday (Dec 30). Gordon and Tom had gone on a long trip for the Chirstmas holidays to Berlin, Brussels and Bruges. Big Ben is the giant clock around the Palace of Westminster/Houses of Parliament, located right along the River Thames (the second longest river in the UK). It is near Westminster Abbey, the London Eye and many museums and shops. So needless to say, it was swarming with hoards of people. Thankfully I was easy to spot with my ostentatious bulky backpack.
Tom's grandfather owns a small place in London so we had free accommodations there. It was located pretty close a National Rail stop and semi-closely located to a tube stop.
We wanted to see a musical. A few really cheap tickets (under 20 £) are available for each show. We hoped to see either Wicked or Billy Elliot but I guess with the high influx of tourists for the holiday season, all cheap tickets were sold out for the weekend. Oh well, no matter! There are lots of things to see and do in London.
Most museums in London have free entry. The night I arrived, we went to the British Museum. There were a lot of statues, old artifacts and many many types of displays and exhibitions. The most notable piece I saw was likely the Rosetta Stone. We spend about 2 hours here before leaving in search of a pub for some dinner.
We passed and considered the Princess Louise. We decided against it because it looked super fancy (aka, super expensive) when we peaked through the window. However, we later read in a travel book that it's one of the most "beautiful" pubs in London so perhaps it was worth a look and maybe not as expensive as we thought. We ended up in a place on Drury Lane called the White Hart which claimed to be the oldest pub in London. Cue: Mulled Cider, bangers and mash, fish and chips.
The next morning we took a walk through Hyde Park and saw the changing of the guard/people watched in a giant crowd at Buckingham Palace. We also waved vigorously to the Queen who was unfortunately not there to wave back. We then walked to Trafalgar Square. There, we went to the National Gallery which is easily now my favorite museum. The works inside are predominantly paintings but they are from countless periods and locations and encompass an impossible amount of styles. Everything from Rembrandt to Monet to Van Gogh to Seurat. You could spend an incredible amount of time here and not be able to appreciate everything to the length you would want to. I often think it's meaninglessly recurrent when people say "there's something for everyone" in regards to describing a museum but I believe that everyone who has even the slightest interest in art could love this museum.
The next stop was Harrods where we contemplated outrageous luxuries including many authentic and signed Harry Potter paraphernalia. We ate at a place across the street called Eat where we had subpar soggy soup which tasted a bit better than it should due to the coldish weather.
Still fighting off my jetlag, we opted to take some "downtime" at Tom's grandfather's house before our New Year celebrations. Tom and Gordon were going to go watch the fireworks and I got tickets to see Chase and Status at the O2 Arena.
The show was incredible (but I had no doubt) and on a while other level to any drum and bass show I've ever been to in Calgary (but I had no doubt). A band called Kasabian also played and I rang in the new year with a group of newly adopted friends with ear pleasing accents. Then it was a flooded and crowded rail ride home.
The next morning, we split ways. Tom and Gordon were going back to Switzerland and I went off on my own for some extra days in London. I went to my hostel, Dover Castle Hostel and Bar (13 £ per night) which was super nice for the price and played endless Fresh Prince of Bel Air in the common room. For the rest of the day, I took a long walk (mostly along the river) seeing the Tower Bridge, the London Tower and many lovely English style "snug together" buildings. I also curled up in a cozy coffee shop to get warm and read a book I got for Christmas.
I went back to Harrods and bought Christmas gifts for my supervisor's children and even a bear for myself. I also went to Top Shop and bought a purse that I really didn't need.
The next day, I ate the poorest included breakfast in a hostel yet: water downed juice and untoasted bread with frozen butter. Then I put my backpack into luggage storage, checked out and set off for a days of exploring before my flight. I went to the St. Paul's Cathedral which was curiously allowing the Occupy protestors to set up camp on their property. I also went to the Tate Modern. I do not know how I feel about "modern" art. I guess the purpose of art is to evoke of all types emotions but some avant-garde pieces are entirely questionable. It was a nice change from all the classic museums I've been visiting though.
I flew out of London Heathrow (fancy shmancy!) and arrived in Zurich and slept in my almost-broken-and-horribly-uncomfortable bed in Baden. Home sweet home.
Things I loved:
- National Gallery Museum
- Buying a teddy bear in the likeness of a old childhood toy
- Free museum admissions
- "Please mind the gap between the train and the platform edge"
- Large scale drum and bass show
- The 2 second exchange I had with someone in the elevator while carrying my backpack:
"Where are you from?"
It's nice to see you too!!
From Canada
"Canada? It's always nice to see our Canadian friends!"
- Instead of "exit", signs are labeled "way out"
- It cost 8-10 £ to take your car into central London
- The London bridge isn't falling down but nor is it anything to write home about
- Go to Fabric and/or Ministry of Sound
- Go to Stonehenge
- Get fancy tea
- Go to Kew Gardens
- See a musical
