I really need to get over my dislike for cities, but I have decided that I never want to live in a really big city. Oxford is about as urban as I am willing to go. However, I did see Mom for the first time in months this weekend, which was nice. After lunch I took a train to London Paddington. The ride was pretty smooth, and a lot faster than the bus. Sadly, my trip to the hotel didn't go so neatly. Being me, I of course got lost. I wasn't even able to find the first street I had used to map out how to reach the hotel. After wandering around for a little bit, I stopped in a convenience store and bought a London map to help me find my way. Eventually I found my way to the hotel, sweaty and with aching soldiers. I got some nice looks from the concierge when I walked in, but after calling up to the room there were nice enough and sent me on up.
It was a relief to see Mom as I walked down the hallway and into the room, though I wasn't exactly huggable right when I walked in. After sitting around and talking for a little bit (they really were jet-lagged. Gee, I wonder who said that would happen?), we decided to explore for a little bit and then get something to eat. We walked for a while and reached the wall around Buckingham Palace. Mom and Linda wanted to see the actual thing, so we walked around the to the opposite side to see the palace. Took a couple pictures of it and the fountain out front, and then tried to head back. After some confusion with the map we finally got on the right path along the other side of the wall, and finally after a little more confusion wound up right back where we started. So, we basically walked around the entire place, though thanks to a lovely barbed high wall, really didn't get to see much. Also go figure that the hotel was on the complete opposite side of the palace. Anyway, on the way back we kept our eyes peeled for restaurants, and except for a McDonald's, we didn't see any. By the hotel we walked around a bit more and found a few, picking a little Italian place. I got a really good soft pizza, and Mom and Linda only caused a few problems for the waiter. From there we were exhausted and went back to the room to relax and sleep. We planned out what we wanted to do the next day, and then crashed. Literally for me. My bed kind of sank when I got in it, not very comfortable.
Saturday we planned on just doing some sightseeing on our own and using the tube to get around. There was a mistake. There was a major rally going on that day in London, and the main point of it was the Speaker's Corner in Hyde Park, right across from Mom's hotel. They estimated that there were and extra 250,000 people coming into London for the rally, so setting out in the morning was fun. There was also the Oxford/Cambridge boat races going on, which added another 100,000 people to the city. Never got the chance to see it either. So the streets were more packed than usual, and to top it off, the tube line in the direction we wanted to go was closed for repairs. So we got to walk quite a long ways. We stopped on the way for breakfast, and also to try waiting for a bus, which were so packed that there wasn't even a chance of getting on one. Eventually we reached the Portobello Market by Notting Hill, our first intended stop for the day. There were some neat things for sale, though again it was a madhouse and super packed. Mom and Linda looked at a lot of jewelry and clothing, while for me there were old books and antique maps, but nothing that really seemed worth the price they were asking. There were some nice pocket watches for a decent price, and in retrospect I really should have gotten one, but too late for regret now.
Took the tube over to the British Library then, which had some awesome ancient manuscripts and book collection. Sadly, you needed a library card to see most of it. There was still a display room downstairs that was a lot of fun. It had a copy of the magna carta, different copies of Alice in Wonderland, one of Jane Austen's notebooks, Handel's sheet music, and one of Shakespeare's folios, too name a few of things people would easily recognize.
After we finished there we looked for a place to eat, but most restaurants in the area were packed, so we decided to just go back. Hyde Park was a mess from the rally, and people were still filtering out. We stopped back at the room for a little bit, then set out to fine food. Also on the TV we saw people rioting after the rally and that Oxford had won the boat race. We went to a really fancy Chinese restaurant, fancier than I enjoy going to, but it was nice with good food. Also got fried ice cream for desert, which was delicious, and probably really bad for me. After that we went back to go to bed. I got a new one, which was a lot more solid and comfortable than my old one.
Sunday we took a hop on-off guided bus tour around the city. I went up top right away, Mom and Linda came up and joined me later cause it was "cold." I got some great photos, though my camera died pretty early and I had to steal Mom's. What I get for not charging it after Hampton Court. We got off by St. Paul's Cathedral, and somehow went in just in time to hear mass. After that we went to a little cafe for breakfast, and then went across the Thames on Millennium Bridge to the Globe Theatre, my favorite thing in London.
I could have spent a lot more time there, and I definitely went camera crazy. We walked around the outside a little bit and spent a little while in the gift shop; so many books I wanted. I did get a Manga of Twelfth Night, my favorite play. From there we took a guided tour of the inside, and Mom really should have taken the camera away from me there. After our tour we spent a while in the museum, probably more that we should have. After we finally finished, we got back on the bus where we got off and rode to the Tower of London and Tower Bridge. Spent a little bit walking around and looking at the gift shop before hopping on the ferry that came with the bus tour. It was fun cruising around the Thames, and the guide was rather amusing and informative. The boat dropped us off by the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey, and it was rather hysterical when I informed Mom and Linda the building they were taking so many pictures of was actually the Houses and not the Abby. I got a burger from a street stand by the statue of Boudica, which was really good actually. Unfortunately when they did find the Abbey they insisted on going inside during a service, and I refused. So they went in while I walked around outside. They came out when the service ended, and we went over to grab the bus. Unfortunately, because of their little excursion the tour buses had stopped running, so we had to grab a regular city bus back to the hotel. Of course right as we were getting to the correct stop, the bus pulled away and we had to wait forever for another one. When we finally got back to the hotel, I spent a little while packing up and making plans, then grabbed a bus back to Oxford.
It was really nice to get back. Being in London made me realize how much I'm going to miss being here. It was also really nice to have an internet connection again, which is probably not a good indicator about myself. I stayed up later than I intended, but finally got to bed. Week is going to be busy.
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