Day 3:
So, by this point in our trip, I was beginning to notice something rather odd about our flat, and that had to do with the loos. Two out of the three bathrooms in our flat had sliding frosted glass doors, and I quickly discovered that they made for a little bit of awkwardness, since you could very clearly see the other person's silhouette on the other side.
Just...you know, be aware of that, if you're planning a trip to London and want to stay in our flat.
Anyway, Day 3 was meant to be the quintessential London experience. I mean, if you HAD to do the highlights of London in just one day -- impossible -- then you'd probably do this. It was all the stuff in Westminster that's conveniently walkable, with a very minor amount of Tube-usage, too.
In case you didn't know this, everything in London is really freaking expensive. So, the night before, we'd stopped at the Tesco Express a few doors down from our flat to pick up some essentials so we could at least eat breakfast in the flat. We had a full kitchen, although it was small, even by European standards. Some bread and butter, some instant coffee, some milk, some cereal. You know, the essentials. After breakfast, we left the flat and walked the less-than-five-minute walk to the Temple Tube station.
During our time in London, Sarah came to love the Tube, and even I have to appreciate it for how fast, convenient, and easy to use it is. I'd probably grow to hate it if I had to take it everyday to get to and from work, but that doesn't change the fact that it's ridiculously efficient. There are tons of offices in the area where we were staying, so entering the Temple Tube station during morning rush hour was a bit like trying to swim upstream, but other than that, it was fine.
I've never been on the New York subway or any other subway in the States, but I have to assume they're a great deal louder than the Tube. Londoners -- according to my experience, anyway -- just don't really chit-chat with strangers like Americans do. I knew that ahead of time, but I still found most Londoners to be extremely standoffish. Not that I need to have a long, warm conversation with a stranger every morning, but at least in America, we generally don't have a problem with making quick eye contact and smiling or saying, "Morning." Just my observations, though. The Tube feels a lot like sitting in time-out with dozens of strangers, all of whom are desperately trying to be "cooler" than the others.
But there are lots of things about British culture that I like, and I'll mention one of them later.
Anyway, we took the Tube to Westminster -- super easy since it's on the same line and only a few stops away. When you walk up the steps at Westminster Tube station to get back to street level, the first thing you see is Big Ben, looming directly in front of you. And of course, this was at like 9:00 in the morning, so the sun was shining right on us and it was pretty freaking magical. So, we took a few pictures just outside the Tube stop, and then walked over to Westminster Abbey which is like right on the opposite side of the intersection.
I was really excited for Westminster Abbey, partially for the history and partially because I'm a freak for Kate Middleton and I can't handle the fact that I stood in the same place she stood on her wedding day.
Since I'd purchased all our tickets online before our trip, there wasn't really any waiting in line to get in. We went right at 9:30 when the Abbey opened. Teresa and Ann met up with us a few minutes later and we checked out a few audio guide for our visit.
Maybe it's just because I'm an old fart who doesn't travel much, but I got such a kick out of those audio guides. I had no idea what they were at first, and thought people were just walking around Westminster Abbey while holding long conversations on their cell phone -- how rude. But it was just people holding up their audio guides to their ear. The commentary was really interesting and easy to follow, since you just type in a number on your guide that corresponds with pretty much every important sight you come across. I would have missed out on so much if we hadn't used the guides. Plus, at most of the places we went to, they're free to rent for your visit, so score.
No pictures were allowed in Westminster Abbey, but I snuck just a few. I wish I could have taken pictures -- and I probably could have, since lots of other people were blatantly ignoring the rule. The place is beautiful, of course, and full of tombs of old generals and admirals, recumbent effigies of Plantagenet kings and their wives, Elizabeth I and her half-sister Bloody Mary, the grave of Geoffrey freaking Chaucer, and even Anne of Cleves (Henry VIII's 4th wife who he divorced because she was ugly.) We also saw King Edward's chair, where all the kings and queens sit to be coronated.
In another part of the Abbey, they had recreations of some of the outrageous gowns Elizabeth I wore and (I totally geeked out at this) her 400-year-old corset. I'm not even joking, the actual corset Elizabeth wore on her actual body. And I was just inches away from it. Mind blowing. Mind blowing. Of course, I don't have any pictures of it that I took but I Googled it so you can be in on the coolness.
Teresa and I saw a plaque for the oldest door in Britain. It was either 1,000 years old or pretty damn close. I can't remember. Anyway, the first thing out of my mouth was, "I want to touch it." So we did.
Of course, as an English major, I freaked out a little bit at the Poets' Corner. (Are you seeing a trend, here?) Austen and Dickens and Browning and Kipling... Most of them aren't buried there, but they have memorials, which is awesome. Shakespeare had a memorial in there as well.
So, when Westminster Abbey was done, we headed off in the direction of Whitehall, which runs straight up to Trafalgar Square, and it's barely like a 15 minute walk. On our way up the street, we stopped at 10 Downing Street, aka the official residence of the Prime Minister, and saw the Horse Guards building, where they keep the royal cavalry, I think.
(Us at the gate to 10 Downing Street.)
At the end of the street, of course, is Trafalgar Square, which for some reason I don't think I took any pictures of. I wanted to go to the National Gallery to see some Van Goghs and Rembrandts, but it looked like they were doing a lot of work on the museum so I waited outside to sit around Trafalgar Square while Sarah and Teresa and Ann went to check it out. They came out disappointed and said that like half the exhibits were closed. Lame.
So, we cut across Trafalgar Square and began our walk down the Mall to Buckingham Palace. If you're planning on going to London anytime in the future, let me warn you, the Mall is longer than you think. Much longer. Like, even when you turn onto the street and you can look down and see all the way to the Victoria memorial and the palace, it's still longer than you think. Like, in my original itinerary, we were going to walk down the Mall, take pictures, and then walk back up the Mall to continue to our next destination but by the time we reached Buckingham Palace, we were like, "Lol, no."
I honestly wasn't impressed by Buckingham Palace. Maybe because I'd already seen so much cool stuff that day, I was becoming kind of desensitized. Next time I go to London, I want to take some more time to look around there.
After Buckingham Palace, we headed to our next destination: Harrod's. We hailed a couple of black cabs and rode over there. Then, since we were all hungry, walked around the corner and found a little Italian place to have lunch before we went inside.
Oh my god, Harrod's. It's insane. It's huge. It's so cool. I only wish I had tons more money so I could appreciate it better.
We all wanted to get a good look around, so we agreed to meet back at the entrance at a certain time and then off we went. I was absolutely floored by the cafeterias and the confectionary hall. In the cafeterias they have all manner of delicacies that you can buy and take home, as well as counters where you can sit and eat really expensive food and caviar for lunch. There was pricey seafood to look at, big cuts of meat, marble countertops at which to sit, and more.
In the next room over was the confectionary hall, which might be my single favorite room in Britain. It's huge and completely stocked with chocolates, cakes, candies, and a huge selection of coffee and tea. So many pretty looking truffles and macaroons and special packages of Godiva chocolates in boxes that look like a double decker bus. I probably would have spent way more money in that room if I wasn't afraid of my stomach acting up again. I ended up buying one macaroon for 3 pounds 50, which equals more than $5. One cookie for five bucks. That should tell you just how expensive Harrod's (and London, in general) is.
That macaroon was exquisite. I should have bought like 50 more.
Teresa wanted to go to the floor where Harrod's Christmas display was, and since I love Christmas, I went with her. We saw some of the most gorgeous ornaments and decorations and the whole room was just like something out of a magazine. I don't know why I didn't take more pictures because it was so delicate and beautiful. Teresa got herself an ornament, because how can you go to Harrod's and not get yourself at least something? Eventually, we wandered on and found ourself in the book and stationary room. I bought a postcard for a friend, which might just be the least expensive thing you'll ever be able to find in Harrod's.
Every room in Harrod's is totally exquisite. It's clean and posh. Everything is so carefully arranged and all the salespeople look like their morning coffee cost more than your house. We walked through the room where all the handbags are but refrained from looking at the price tags because we knew better. Like, the fact that there are people who actually go there to shop the way I go to Target to shop just baffles me. I wish I could be one of them.
And then, just because we could, we walked through the section of Harrod's where all the fine jewelry and diamonds are. That was like a museum itself. Everything was shiny and glittery and cost more than my college education. It's the most glamorous place I've ever been, although William and Mary's apartments at Hampton Court Palace were a close second.
After Harrod's, we got lost for a little while in Kensington while trying to find the Tube station. (Ugh! I hate that!) We saw more trendy shops and super expensive houses, and streets where Bentleys and Rolls Royces line the curb like they're going out of style. (And maybe they are, because they're everywhere.) Eventually we found the Tube station and took it back to Westminster so we could walk across Westminster Bridge and get better pictures of Big Ben.
And by that time, we were pretty freaking exhausted. We went back to our respective flats to rest for a little bit before dinner.
Since the area around our flat has lots of white collar workers, there are also tons of pubs. And these days, most pubs seem to have food, so we went to pubs for dinner pretty much every night. That particular night we chose a pub right around the corner from our flat called the Edgar Wallace. Since it was happy hour, the bar was pretty crammed, but they had tables upstairs where we could sit and order some beer and dinner.
Which brings me to something I really really love about Britain: pub culture. As is my nature, I did a ton of research before our trip and learned a little bit about it. Brits go to the pub practically every night after work, and it really is an exercise in camaraderie, as evidenced by their tradition of taking turns buying rounds of drinks for their crew. The pubs are always hopping anytime after 5:00, and almost every pub I saw had so many patrons, they were spilling out onto the sidewalk and street, whether or not the place actually had a patio. The street adjacent to our flat had a couple of pubs on it, and it was a dead-end street which means there wasn't any traffic to keep people from taking their drinks outside and just standing on the sidewalk or street. And since everybody in London smokes, sometimes there were more people outside than inside.
Anyway, I love pubs in London. It's the one place where people act like Americans, and by that I mean they're loud and laughing and being friendly with everyone. I love it. They have great beer, too.
After dinner, we returned to the flat to turn in. It was a long day with a lot of walking and the next day was gong to be a lot more.
Thanks for reading, guys! I'll be back soon with Day 4.
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