British Adventure Part 2

London.

What a grand city. It feels so much larger than the other big European cities I have been in, partly because it is and partly because the interesting bits of it are all spread out instead of clumped together in one section.

Tim and I headed into the city early Saturday morning with his roommate Emilio and Emilio's girlfriend, Hannah. We got a deal on train tickets with bus and tube passes and I sure am glad. We made great use of the tube that day.

Emilio and Hannah had plans of their own, so we split up and started out the day at Buckingham Palace, which was sort of cool. We decided not to stick around for the changing of the guards, though, since really they are just walking back and forth. We then walked through the park up to the London Eye, Parliament, and Big Ben. That clock is amazing. You don't even see it as you approach because the other buildings are also tall, but when you turn the corner, BAM! You just look up and up and up.

After taking a bunch of photos, we headed down the Thames to drop off our stuff at our hotel. On the way, we stopped for a picnic lunch of PB&J sandwiches, a delicacy I had been missing in Spain.

We dropped off our things and then took a bus and a tube northward to Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens. There, I met my daily tree quota and was happy to find the Peter Pan statue (Peter Pan was raised by fairies in Kensington Gardens). We spent most of the afternoon strolling around the parks until it was time to head over to Westminster Abbey to hear their choral Evensong.

The Abbey was amazing both inside and out. The outer brickwork was really unusual, and the inside, especially the rose window, was phenomenal. Tim and I got to the Abbey just in time for the Evensong, which is the service that ends each day. The service was performed by the Abbey Choir, which is made up of men and little boys (in adorably frilly red robes). The choir began singing from behind us, which gave an ethereal quality to the music I had never heard before. I had chills through much of their performance. I think I understand now why churches have choirs; listening to them was a truly spiritual experience.

After the Evensong, Tim and I wandered over to Trafalgar Square, where the National Gallery is located. Along with the Louvre and the Prado, the Gallery is one of the best art museums in the world, so I was quite excited. Inside was a wonderland of art from the Renaissance masters to the Impressionists. We saw paintings by Michaelangelo (unusual, since he only ever painted four canvases) and a sketch by DaVinci (gorgeous). I was particularly thrilled to find Velasquez's Venus en el Espejo (Venus in the Mirror), since I had studied it in depth in my art class.

After we couldn't take in any more art, Tim and I went out to dinner at a pub he recommended, Waxy O'Connor's. That place is so Irish it's ridiculous. I got a pint of cider (didn't realize that pints are ENORMOUS) and tried sausages and mash (quite delicious). It was a pleasant way to spend a drizzly evening, and I think the highlight of my night was singing the Pogues' Christmas song with everyone else in the pub.

We rounded out the evening by looking at Christmas lights, being caught in a crowd of hundreds of drunken Santas, and visiting Picadilly Circus (not a circus) and Covent Garden (not a garden). We also took another look at Parliament and the Eye at night.

In the morning, we went to the East side of London to check out St. Paul's Cathedral (very grand), the Milennium Bridge (another Harry Potter location) and the Globe Theatre. The theatre was closed when we got there, though, so we wandered and wandered and happened upon Sir Francis Drake's pirate ship, Southwark Cathedral, the Tower Bridge, and the Tower of London (not a tower). What is with the British and their misleading naming conventions?

When the Globe opened, we took a tour, which was pretty neat. I guess the old one burned down long ago when a stage cannon lit the thatched roof on fire, but the new one was built exactly the same way, right down to the materials and construction methods used. It was definitely a good way to learn about Shakespeare. We also saw a demonstration that showed us how clever costuming was used to transform young boys into onstage women. It worked really well!

After we finished exploring the museum, Tim and I had just enough time to grab some lunch (more pasties - yum) and see the outside of Sherlock Holmes' house before it was time for me to get on the bus for the airport. I'll never forget my British adventure.