I was sad to say goodbye to London, but I know I’ll be back again someday. In the meantime, let me tell you about my six days there.
Day One
Well it wasn’t really a whole day. We arrived in London in the afternoon after a two hour drive from Oxford. Side note: one big difference I noticed between British and American highways: no billboards. Anyway, we stayed at a bed and breakfast right by the South Kensington station. Another side note about the Underground system: London has the absolute best names for stations. Among my favorites: Waterloo, Picadilly Circus (doesn’t that just sound so fun?), and my personal favorite… Cockfosters (I was the only one who giggled at that). While we were waiting for my Dad to get in, my mom, my brother, and I decided to venture into Harrod’s. Sorry USA, London wins the most ridiculous department store ever award. We came in for one sole purpose, and that was to get Laduree macaroons. Luckily our mission was successful and we left (mostly) unscathed.
Day Two
Today I decided to experience my first authentic British breakfast, which is eggs and beans on toast. I’m glad you have your delicacies England, but never again. I’ll stick to my PopTarts and coffee, thank you very much.
After breakfast, we took the Tube for the first time to the Tower of London. I have a soft spot for crazy medieval history, and oh boy did the Tower provide that. First of all, the Tower itself gives Christ Church a run for its money.
After breakfast, we took the Tube for the first time to the Tower of London. I have a soft spot for crazy medieval history, and oh boy did the Tower provide that. First of all, the Tower itself gives Christ Church a run for its money.
Tower of London |
Beefeater tour guide |
However, I couldn’t stop thinking about how all of it felt a little bit like a Disneyland ride, but that’s just because I’m an annoying American (but it totally did oh my god). The crown jewels were pretty and the armor was cool and all, but the best part of that entire experience was the Beefeater who gave us tour. Why are British people just so much funnier than everyone else?
After we left the Tower we took one of those giant tourist boats that took us under the Tower Bridge and to Big Ben and the London Eye. I mean, I’ve seen pictures of Big Ben thousands of times before, but that doesn’t even compare to what it looks like in person. The same goes for the London Eye, even though ferris wheels scare me to death.
Big Ben... duh. |
Day Three
This was the day of the YouTube gathering and because it was a YouTube gathering, I made a video about it so watch that
Day Four
We hopped back on the Tube, caught another one of the City Cruise boats, and this time we headed to Greenwich to go to the Market and see the Meridian.
We were greeted by more enormous royal gardens and building and such (because we were still in London, after all).
The meridian line |
When it comes to tacky outdoor markets, the Greenwich Market ain’t got nothing on the French Market in New Orleans. That being said, it was a really nice market with booths selling, you know, decent things. Yeah okay, it was really really cool and I’ll admit that I absolutely love markets like that. I even got some decorations from my dorm next year :) Unfortunately it was pouring rain outside, even though the market was inside, we still managed to get soaked by the leaks in the roof.
After the market we trekked up the giant hill that lead to the Maritime museum and the line dividing the East and the West. It was worth the burning calves, because that hike gave us this beautiful view of the entire city.
View of London from the Observatory in Greenwich |
Day Five
Waking up a bit later, my mom and I decided to go shopping on Oxford St while my dad and my brother took a tour of Chelsea Stadium. I won’t go into detail about the shopping because I know those of the male gender could care less, but Oxford St is great for shopping – especially because almost every store was having a sale :D
That night we went to go to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows at the Odeon theater in Leciest Sqaure where the premiere was (how cool is that!). You see I thought America was bad about ads before movies, but oh my god England, the movie was supposed to start at 5:15… not 6:00. Anyway, the Odeon is a really nice theater and we had great seats on the balcony (they had a balcony!). If you want my opinion on the movie, read the post I made on Monday (7/18)
Day Six
Our last day in London came way too soon. We learned that there was a ticket lottery for “Much Ado About Nothing”, staring David Tennant and Catherine Tate who I know from Doctor Who, and we decided to enter on a whim. Well, my brother and I both won tickets!
On that note we headed over to the Doctor Who Experience, which I’ll admit is what I was looking forward to the most on this trip. Please allow me to nerd out for the next paragraph: OH MY GOD IT WAS THE COOLEST THING EVER. The Doctor Who Experience had ACTUAL sets and costume pieces from the show including several Daleks, Tom Baker’s scarf, and the sets to the 10th and 11th Doctor’s TARDIS.
On that note we headed over to the Doctor Who Experience, which I’ll admit is what I was looking forward to the most on this trip. Please allow me to nerd out for the next paragraph: OH MY GOD IT WAS THE COOLEST THING EVER. The Doctor Who Experience had ACTUAL sets and costume pieces from the show including several Daleks, Tom Baker’s scarf, and the sets to the 10th and 11th Doctor’s TARDIS.
Three generations of Daleks |
The Experience started out with a walkthrough tour guided by none other than Matt Smith’s Doctor. It was obvious the tour was intended for children, so I was right at home. The tour combined a good story with a lot of great interaction, including helping to “fly” the 11th Doctor’s TARDIS. You even got to walk through gardens where the Weeping Angels were hidden. Don’t worry, I didn’t blink. After the walking tour you were able to wander around and look at other props and costume pieces. The best part by far though was being able to walk inside David Tennant’s (and Christopher Eccleston’s) TARDIS. They did play David’s regeneration scene in the background for dramatic effect, but also to make dedicated fans weep uncontrollably (which I was close to doing). Okay, nerding over.
Tea at The Orangery |
After the Doctor Who Experience we went to Kensington Palace to have an early tea at the Orangery. I had a Rosehip and Hibiscus tea because I felt like being daring, but it was actually very good. After tea we decided to stop by Buckingham Palace because we hadn’t made it over there yet. Fortunately/Unfortunately we weren’t able to go inside because the Queen was having a Garden Party. Fortunately we did get to look at all the fancy people with ridiculous hats enter the palace.
We then headed back to the hotel to get ready for “Much Ado About Nothing”. After much squeeing and a bit of hyper ventilating we arrived at the theater. The guy at the box office said the lottery seats were in the best in house, and oh boy was he right. We were THREE rows away from the stage. THREE. That is spitting distance for David, which I learned the hard way. Oh well, at least I can say David Tennant’s spit touched my face, that will put loads of fangirls to silence. Regardless of the fact that two of my favorite actors were in it, the show was fantastic. “Much Ado” isn’t one of my favorite Shakespeare shows, but this was nonstop entertaining. The actors had uncanny amounts of energy and there wasn’t a dull moment in the entire two and a half hour show. Also, David kept his accent, which made this Scots-fancying girl very very happy.
Well, we’ve just entered France. I haven’t looked up too much, but all I’ve seen so far is industrial sites. As excited as I am for going to yet another new country, I’m a little nervous about the language barrier. Nonetheless, I can’t wait to have my first nutella crepe and baguette. Maybe I’ll even get a beret! Oh my god, I am such a tourist.
Well, we’ve just entered France. I haven’t looked up too much, but all I’ve seen so far is industrial sites. As excited as I am for going to yet another new country, I’m a little nervous about the language barrier. Nonetheless, I can’t wait to have my first nutella crepe and baguette. Maybe I’ll even get a beret! Oh my god, I am such a tourist.