I’ve never been kicked out of so many places in one day! One would think a city like London would be open a little later.
My adventure to London began with a trip on the Oxford Tube (the bus system that we used for our Globe excursion). Our bus was moving through a roundabout when a small van darted in front of us to exit and almost hit us. The driver swerved and narrowly missed the moronic motorist. I had a front row seat for the excitement because I was sitting in the top floor, front seat. From that vantage point, I could see the centimetres between the vehicles, but I couldn’t hear the driver’s reaction (I’m sure it was colourful!).
I arrived in London and made my way through the underground system to Covent Gardens where my friend Heather was staying. She is a friend I made at the Oxford Programme and she’s actually from Atlanta! Since she was staying in London following the close of the programme and didn’t have anyone to tour the city with, she asked if I’d come out for a day or two. I had planned on visiting London anyway, so it worked out perfectly! Heather was a wonderful person to tour London with because we’re both literary nerds and have similar interests, so we wanted to see most of the same sights. Another plus was that we each had our own umbrella – and it rained the whole day!!
We started off by meeting Erin and her husband Travis and her son Dominic, who had both flown in to tour England with her. They were also in London, so we had a lovely reunion over lunch at a pub in Covent Gardens. After we said our final goodbyes, Heather and I made a plan of action and set out for St. Paul’s Cathedral. It was about to close, so we didn’t want to pay the high ticket price for such a short time. We examined our other options and decided on the Tower of London since it stayed open later than other attractions.
My adventure to London began with a trip on the Oxford Tube (the bus system that we used for our Globe excursion). Our bus was moving through a roundabout when a small van darted in front of us to exit and almost hit us. The driver swerved and narrowly missed the moronic motorist. I had a front row seat for the excitement because I was sitting in the top floor, front seat. From that vantage point, I could see the centimetres between the vehicles, but I couldn’t hear the driver’s reaction (I’m sure it was colourful!).
I arrived in London and made my way through the underground system to Covent Gardens where my friend Heather was staying. She is a friend I made at the Oxford Programme and she’s actually from Atlanta! Since she was staying in London following the close of the programme and didn’t have anyone to tour the city with, she asked if I’d come out for a day or two. I had planned on visiting London anyway, so it worked out perfectly! Heather was a wonderful person to tour London with because we’re both literary nerds and have similar interests, so we wanted to see most of the same sights. Another plus was that we each had our own umbrella – and it rained the whole day!!
We started off by meeting Erin and her husband Travis and her son Dominic, who had both flown in to tour England with her. They were also in London, so we had a lovely reunion over lunch at a pub in Covent Gardens. After we said our final goodbyes, Heather and I made a plan of action and set out for St. Paul’s Cathedral. It was about to close, so we didn’t want to pay the high ticket price for such a short time. We examined our other options and decided on the Tower of London since it stayed open later than other attractions. 
On the way to the Tower of London, I ran into the Ferrar family from FPC Marietta – small world! You never know who you'll see in another country. The closing time posted for the Tower of London was 6 p.m. As it was 4:30, we decided we should have enough time to see what we wanted to see, so we paid the ridiculously expensive admission price and went inside. After we had seen the crown jewels, we went into the armoury to see King Henry VIII’s suits of armour. He was 6’9” so even I looked dwarfish next to this display! As we were walking around the exhibit, a guide came through and started moving people out, claiming they were getting ready to close. It was not even 5:15 at this point.
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Heather and I tried to go to another exhibit, but just as we walked up, a guard shooed us away saying he had just admitted the last visitors. We walked towards the area where the scaffolds were for hangings and got a picture with a beefeater (the guard). At first I asked if he would mind posing in a picture with me and he said he didn’t pose for pictures. But he said it with a twinkle in his eye, so I asked if he would stand – not posing - and I could stand still next to him, again not posing, and my friend could just happen to take a picture. He said that was fine. =) But after the picture he said the area was closed and we couldn’t go back there!
It wasn’t even 5:30 and everything had shut down inside the Tower. After leaving the Tower of London, we tried to go into the Tower Bridge exhibit, but it had just closed. We were quite disappointed, and the rain made the situation even drearier. To escape the rain and brighten our moods, we sat in a café and got tea and a pastry. I enjoyed talking with Heather as we sat and sipped our hot drinks. It took the chill off of the day, and allowed us to dry off a bit.We decided that the disaster of a day needed some retail therapy, so we went to the shopping district! We visited H&M, but couldn’t stay long because… you guessed it – they were closing! Then we went towards Harrods and were amazed by the place. Though we couldn’t really afford anything, just walking around the extravagantly-decorated levels was fun!
In the food halls, we bought little pieces of Turkish Delight in different flavours. It was an indulgent moment; it felt nicely luxurious to eat a little delicacy surrounded by the gilded and glamorous ambiance. We walked through the high-end departments (shoes, millinery, furs, dress boutique) and one of the guards allowed me to take a picture of the shoes. I figured taking a picture was a better option than actually touching the $1000+ footwear.Harrods, like everything else that day, eventually closed down as well and we had to leave yet another London locale before we were ready to. For dinner, we found a sandwich shop that was still open (finally). We ended up kicking ourselves out of the shop when the man behind the counter looked like he was ready to close up. Finally, we had control over something for that day! =)
Date: 23 July 2007
Location: London
Highlights:
- The Tower of London (for a short time)
- Seeing the giant ravens at the Tower (those are some enormous birds!) Here’s the legend of the ravens: “The first Royal Observatory was housed in the north eastern turret of the White Tower. Legend has it that John Flamsteed (1646 - 1719), the 'astronomical observator' complained to King Charles II that the birds were interfering with his observations. The King therefore ordered their destruction only to be told that if the ravens left the Tower, the White Tower would fall and a great disaster befall the Kingdom. Sensibly the King changed his mind and decreed that at least six ravens should be kept at the Tower at all times to prevent disaster.” Taken from http://www.historic-uk.com/DestinationsUK/TowerRavens.htm- A great room at The Fielding Hotel!
Thought of the Day: Don't feed the ravens (the signs claim they bite!)
