Just Me and 8.3 Million Others, Part II

The almost perfect place to write

Before I get to some more of London I should say that as I’m writing this (or at least part of it), I’m sitting on a rock outcrop on the island of Langøyene, overlooking Oslo Fjord.  It turns out that where we [my friends and I] were sitting was part of a nude beach.  From the way we came there weren't any signs until the first naked person walked right in front of us but when we left going the other direction and, sure enough, there was a sign reading, "Fristrand, Nakenbading tillat (Free Beach, Skinny dipping allowed)."  Woops.  That wasn't the only adventure from today (Sunday).  I took a dip -- don't worry, not a skinny one -- in Oslo Fjord.  It was cold.  Very cold.  Maybe even colder than the lake at Sagnsvann but it's hard to tell once your entire body goes numb.  Also, getting to the ferry on time was a thrilling tale of bravery, friendship, and determination.  It involved a lot of brisk walking, some J-walking, a little sprinting, and more physical exertion in a short amount of time since gym class senior year of high school — okay maybe not that long ago, maybe just since my first full day in London.

My first full day in London was quite possibly the best day of my time there and for sure the busiest.  On the first day, alone, I walked about 13.8 miles (22.2km) and took 28,358 steps, courtesy of “Moves” app.  Each step was a new adventure.

After chatting with a couple people from California over a quick breakfast, my first step out the door was one of confidence and excitement — I had laid out a plan the night before and now I was going to follow it as closely as my curiosity allowed.

The short eight-minute train ride into London was spent getting a feel for the Londoners and silently trying to imitate them — “When in Rome,” right?  There was often a bit of jostling around that went on when getting on and off the trains so I learned very quickly how to say "sorry" in the best London accent I could muster, which probably wasn't all that good.  Even so, I said "sorry" a lot.  If there’s another thing I learned very quickly, it was to say, “Cheers” rather than “Thank you.”  I'm sure my attempts to be like them merely annoyed the Londoners but I didn't get any funny looks (that I saw) so it at least felt like I'd succeeded.  My goal this trip was not to experience London as a tourist — though I went to some very touristy places — but as a world traveler.  Is there a difference?  I'd like to think so.

Once I got my bearings from London Bridge Station, I made my way towards the Thames and to Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre.  Even though it’s only a reconstruction, it surprised me that it’s completely surrounded by other buildings except for the side that faces the river.  Unfortunately I didn’t get to go inside but from where I stood outside I could still feel the poetic brilliance being exuded from it.  After getting my fill of Shakespearean awesome, I walked across Millennium Bridge (the bridge that collapses in the beginning of "Happy Potter and the Half Blood Prince”) towards St. Paul’s Cathedral.  It was an impressive sight.  I stuck around St. Paul’s for about an hour, reading in the Starbucks just next door.  I would have preferred to find something more locally unique but because I knew Starbucks has outlets where I could charge my phone I went with the safe option over something new.  At this point my phone was already running low on battery to where I didn’t feel comfortable wandering off to some little cafe that might not have outlets and that I might not know how to get back from without GPS.  I'm not very adventurous in that regard, I guess.  And let me just say, Londoners do love their Starbucks.  So going to Starbucks seemed the natural thing to do when trying to fit in.

As soon as my phone was all charged up and I was all caffeinated up I took a stroll down Fleet street.  I almost got a haircut but then decided against it for some reason.  I walked past the Royal Courts of Justice and then stopped by Drury Lane to say "hello" to the Muffin Man before heading over to Covent Garden to say "ello" to Eliza Doolittle.  Just a short distance away from Covent Garden was my favourite street in London: Neal Street.  What made it even better -- there was a "Lee" store on it.  (If you didn't know, my middle name is Lee.)

Notice the street sign on the right and the store name on the left

All the walking I'd done thus far me hungry so I stopped at a neat little pizza place called "Homeslice Pizza" in Neal's Yard.  Neal's Yard is a hidden courtyard just off Neal Street that you would have no idea is there unless you knew where to look for it or stumbled across it.  The only indication to the outside world that it even exists is a box suspended by a pulley above the entrance to a small alleyway.  Besides the pizza place there is a small food stall, an organic skin care remedies shop, and a massage therapist.  The buildings are brightly coloured and there are plants everywhere.  It's probably my favourite place in London and because of that it deserves three pictures!

 

After a significant amount of time in Neal's Yard I went to the British Museum.  It was massive and there were so many things to see but I've never been a huge fan of wandering aimlessly through a museum, looking at old stuff I won't remember anything about in a few hours so I just went straight to the one thing I wanted to see -- the Rosetta Stone.  It was way cooler and much cheaper to see than a language learning software of the same name.  Many museums in London are free so if it's a rainy day like it was when I was there, be sure to take advantage of them.

The Rosetta Stone

After the British Museum I took a quick jaunt up to King's Cross to see Platform 9 3/4.  The line was ridiculously long so I didn't want to wait hours just for a picture of myself pushing a trolley into a wall.  Yes, call me a disappointment to the Harry Potter Fan-dom but I was there and I saw it and enjoyed it and that's what matters; plus, that's probably more than what all but the most die-hard non-British Harry Potter fans can say.

Trafalgar Square

From King's Cross it was an easy Tube ride to Piccadilly Circus and Trafalgar Square.  The National Gallery was closed that day so I didn't get to go in and see Van Gogh's "Sunflowers" but I managed to squeeze that in the next day.  After snapping a few pictures in Trafalgar Square it was time for another quick stop at Starbucks.

When I was in London five years ago I went to Westminster Abbey but didn't get to go inside.  So I headed down that direction in the mid-afternoon.  Unfortunately, it had just closed to tourists at 15:30 so I would have to wait one more day to be able to stand close to a bunch of famous dead people.

I sat in Parliament Square for a few minutes before deciding to walk over to St. James's Park and Buckingham Palace.  After a few quick pictures I went back into St. James's Park to do a bit of reading on a bench -- an English bench, in an English park!  Sitting on a bench reading a book made me feel rather like one of those old men from the movies; you know the ones.  All I needed was a flat cap, a pipe, and some little kid to sit next to me and ask me about the meaning of life.  The answer I gave would change his or her life significantly and go on to either begin or end the plot of the movie.  Anyway... Sitting on the bench was probably my favourite thing from the entire day.  After a day of walking around the whole of London, it was nice to sit down, relax, enjoy nature, watch the swans, ducks, and geese on the pond in front of me, watch the people as they passed by, stopping to take pictures of the friendly squirrel that seemed to take a liking to me -- it sat next to me on the bench for a good 20 minutes -- and, of course, to read; the reading was the best part.  It wasn't Jane Austen or Charles Dickens but it was a great book, nonetheless.

 

I read for about an hour and a half before it started to cloud back up and I decided it was time to head back to Greenwich.  I missed my train at Charring Cross so I walked across the Thames to London Bridge Station.  That's a really long walk when you're hungry, I can tell you.  Instead of trying to find some neat restaurant that would likely be expensive to eat at, I waited until I got back to Greenwich and ordered something at the bar under the hostel -- hooray discounts on bar food!  It was actually pretty good food, too.  I was exhausted from my long day of walking so after food and some cider I just went to bed.  I had another big day ahead of me.

This has become rather long so I'll save the rest for Part III.  I'm not sure how much time I'll have to work on what I hope will be the last part, what with a fresh week of classes starting tomorrow, but I'll do my best to get it done so I can move on to other things.  Stay tuned.  - NLD