London: Day Three.

Had a rather quiet day today. And by quiet I mean I only did a few things. Haha.

I found out last night that one of my friends from varsity was coming into London today. She said they were going to go to the Natural History Museum and the Science Museum and so I thought I would tag along. After some time problems, confusion and realising that my new UK sim wouldn’t let me text non-UK numbers, I ended up going into the museum alone. After about an hour, I got a text from my friend that they were there. Rushed to try find them before I lost them, but was unsuccessful. Continued on alone. Until I randomly bumped into them inside at one of the exhibitions. Let me put the randomness in context here a bit. The History Museum is MASSIVE. It’s so massive that I spent about four hours in there and still didn’t see everything. And not only is it massive but it’s made up of a whole lot of smaller sections which are like little mazes. But somehow I bumped into them. It was so nice for a change to have someone to comment on things to. It was really good fun. My favourite parts were the giant moving and roaring T-Rex model and the Human Biology section which had a whole lot of fun games for memory and perception and things like that. Quick note: entrance is free, and so are the basic maps (although a donation is encouraged).

Next we went to the Science Museum which is just next door. Again, free entrance. But we all happily gave a donation as it goes to the research at both museums. This was such fun. I felt like a little kid.

Me & Joss at the Science Museum

We have this building on campus called the Sci-Enza building. And the Science Museum is basically that on steroids. There’s your standard walk through exhibitions and the history of this and that, and then you get the Launchpad on Level 3. The most magical place for anyone who loves to play with things. There are hydrogen rockets, and heat wave cameras. Machines where you can see sound waves and there’s bubbles and sand and lenses and it is magic. Science is magic. Super cool. Laughed a lot while playing with everything.

Next up we headed to Convent Gardens, which is not pronounced how you read it. Haha. This is where I said goodbye to my friend. We saw a street performer, he rode a very tall unicycle in his pink underpants (which were stuffed with socks I am 100% sure) and juggled a knife, a chainsaw and a ball whilst on top of a ladder. Pretty impressive. There are also all these “live statues” around. They’re people who are painted gold or silver from top to bottom who stand or sit around like statues. And they’re not freaky like our wannabe ones at home, they’re actually really cool. I even thought the lady in her olden day dress was a real statue at first! Some of them are in positions that make it look like they are actually levitating. Must be a weird thing to do day in and day out. I wonder what they really look like?

Made my way home with no problems even though I had to make a few line changes again. The public transport system really is amazing here. You can literally get everywhere with it, and once you’ve gotten the basic hang of it it is super easy.

We went to a place called Byron for dinner. It’s a burger place, and their burgers are really tasty. I also had the best Oreo milkshake I have ever had. We drove around quite a lot before we ebded up here – the weather was kind of lousy and so it was impossible to find a parking anywhere. I also saw Strawberry Hill House on the way – an old gothic style building. It was really pretty.

Did some washing when I got home. Tomorrow I’m off to stay at the Royal National Hotel for the night, and then Contiki starts on Saturday! A bunch of us are planning to do a pub crawl through Leicester Square tomorrow night, which should be good fun and a nice way to meet new people. Not sure what I’ll do in the day – if the weather is still a bit miserable I might go shopping along Oxford Street. We’ll see.

Will probably be a while before my next post, or maybe not. Depends on the wi-fi situation at the Contiki accommodation or wherever I am. So that’s all for now.

Love,
The Next-Stop-Europe Traveler
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Wear The Fox Hat!

London: Day Two. I have decided that my previous view on how incredible London is was not merely a result of lack of sleep and initial excitement. No. It is 100% accurate. It is most definitely incredible.

I had a wonderful day today. Got to start quite late (I only catch the train after 9:30 to avoid peak travel costs) which was good because it meant I could have a proper night’s sleep. And boy did I. I was so tired I don’t even think I moved at all during the night. So anyway when I was up, ready and it was time to go, I went all by myself and caught the train to Waterloo. Yay me. First stop was to be Buckingham Palace to see the Changing of the Guard. To do this I needed to hop on the tube at Waterloo. Which I promptly did with no problem. Yay me again. Once there, it was a lovely walk through the park to the Palace. I got there quite early which was cool. But I didn’t really know much about what would happen so I didn’t know where would be the best place to watch from, and so I found a spot close to the one entrance. The one advantage of being by myself is that it is actually surprisingly easy to squish through crowds and get a good space. Next thing you know, I hear trumpets and drums and all sorts of things. But I couldn’t see anything. Moment of confusion about whether or not I was in the total wrong spot to see anything. Luckily I was patient, and waited it out in my space, because eventually the whole procession came by right in front of me and I could see everything. It was quite cool, it’s just really long – especially because I couldn’t see any of the first part. But it was nice to watch and I got some cool video.

And then came the disadvantage of being by myself – the selfie. I’m actually pretty good at this, but it turns out it is a lot more challenging with a building of that magnitude. It just ended up looking like I was standing in front of a green screen. Haha. But luckily I found another solo person and made a deal that I would take her photo for her if she would take one for me too! So at least I got that.

Buckingham Palace

After Buckingham Palace I went for a walk around. Didn’t really have a plan – just decided to wander around and see where I ended up (all in busy areas though, so don’t worry mom and dad, haha). Also sorted out my UK sim card. Found a few nice little churches along the way, and all the buildings are so beautiful. Eventually I found a really high wonderful looking tower in the distant skyline and decided to head towards that. And that is how I found myself at the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey. Snapped a couple photos of both and then made my way into the Abbey. It is MAGNIFICENT. I think that’s the best word. But even that doesn’t do it justice. It was so amazingly beautiful and detailed. There was an opportunity to light a candle and say a prayer which I did. The cool thing is that the entry fee (student discount with an ISIC card) includes an audio guide, so when you go in you can get a little phone type thing and then at certain parts in the Abbey you can listen to more information about them, and also hear organ music while sitting inside looking at the organ. It was a really wonderful experience.

Just a little piece of Westminster. Photos don’t do it justice!

Sticking with my no-plan just-go-with-it idea, I figured that the next best thing to do would be to go on a hop-on hop-off tour and so I ventured onto the tube and towards Piccadilly Circus. Went and bought my ticket for the tour and headed off to the starting point for the “Yellow Route” which has a live guide. Will definitely be going back to Piccadilly Circus – there are so many souvenir shops to choose from, and I want to go to M&M World too! Jumped on the bus (got a seat on the top level on the side) and went around London, learning interesting facts along the way. I got off at St. Paul’s Cathedral. Unfortunately it was just before 5pm and so evensong was about to start and I didn’t get much chance to really look around. But again, saved money because there was no entrance fee at that time. Winning. Its beautiful as well though. While waiting to hop back on to the next bus, I had my first Starbucks experience – just grabbed a hot chocolate and some shortbread biscuits, but it was yummy. Hopped back on the bus and carried on around London.

Starbucks Selfie!

It was getting a bit chilly and so I decided to head home. Managed the tube to Waterloo with no problem. Got there, looked for the train to catch and saw two options. One didn’t have a platform number, so I went with the second one. Checked it had my stop on it. Went through the gates. Realised I forgot to look at the platform number. Went back out. Checked the platform number. Ran to the other side of the station for the platform, thinking it was weird that it was so out of the way. Got on the train. Sat. Rode the train. Kept riding the train. Wondered why I wasn’t recognising any of the station names we were going to. Looked at the map. Saw they were all on a different line to where I needed to be. Texted Wendy to say I would be late. Rode the train all the way to Shepperton. A place that you would wear a fox hat to. Got off at Shepperton to wait for the next train back as it is the end of the line. And finally made it to where I needed to be. Quite the adventure. And I was so proud of myself because I didn’t freak out or anything.

“Lost” in Shepperton

We went to the pub down the road for dinner, and I had a Pimm’s and lemonade, and fish and chips with mushy peas. Most yummy fish I think I have ever eaten. It was really good. And that was day two pretty much. Was a good day in my opinion!

Love,
Me
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