London Travel Week 1

London, England
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
We slept in and got breakfast. We took the tube the stop behind London Tower. We ventured across London to the Design Museum. The first exhibit level was nothing but dresses which were obviously not that entertaining to me. The second exhibit level was better. I showed designs and innovations from the past few years. I had a cup of Turkish coffee which as not bad. I found the gift shop to be a little entertaining. After we left we went to the Globe Theatre. Along the way we stopped for lunch at a place I cannot remember. The Theatre is a nice place. I bet watching plays in the summer would be quite nice. We also went inside the exhibit hall to see some other things. One of the events I made it to was a sword fighting display. We then ventures to the EYE. It is the world’s largest observatory. The difference between an observatory and a Farris wheel is the cars are mounted on the outside of an observatory versus the inside of a Farris wheel. Each capsule holds up to 25 people, which ours had less, and spins at .06 miles per hour- yes miles per hour. After once again watching the sun set we ventured toward Big Ben and parliament looking for a place to eat. I picked up caramelized peanuts from a street vendor and we popped into a store along the way. I bought a small container of Cadbury Drinking Chocolate made for warm milk and not water. Lunch was at a little place in the middle of the park. To give context of the size, If it held 10 people I would be amazed and cramped. It felt full with the 4 of us and one or two others. Dinner: We dined at a sort of hidden place that would make a great unknown hangout. Bangers and mash with onion gravy was my plate of choice. After having our fill we made our way back to the hostel and the rickety bunk beds.

Thursday, February 19, 2009
We started the day in Hyde Park. We walked around and I saw a beautiful covered walkway and saw horses and people just out and about in the park. The big lake there is called Serpentine Lake and does not look like a serpentine. There was a place where one could rent boats and paddle out to the center of the lake and once again would really nice to do in the summer. At about 11.15 we headed to Buckingham Palace to watch the changing of the guards; a site that requires early(er) arrival due to its popularity. It is worth the time and a perfect platform to perfect your crowd skills. The guards follow a marching band and it is a big to do because extra police are called in to help with crowd control. The band played several songs including Dancing Queen. According to a police officer, the changing was taking longer then normal which I did not mind. When is the next time I will get to see this spectacle? After the changing was over we headed to the Gregory Museum. It is dedicated to the middle class dating from the 1400’s to the 2000’s. A 19 year old named Sunny gave about a 5 minute talk on a ceiling fixture from the 1950’s. After we left we went to Piccadilly Circus for s little shopping. The girls were not interested so we split up. They went to Ikea somewhere in zone 3 (Tube map) and I stayed and shopped. I bought a pair of shoes and a bow tie among other things- and yes I have learned to tie it correctly. I kept an eye out for tickets to the play Wicked but there was not one left in the city. I headed back to the hostel and called it an early night.


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