London, Day 3

My last day in London. First of all, because I'm cheap, I hauled my stuff around London all day. Granted, I just had the one bag and a thing of souvenirs, but still, it was kind of annoying. I got a lot of pity stares. 

My first stop was mass. I started out attempting to get to the 9:00 at the Westminster Cathedral. I got on the tube, and once again, a closed station deterred me. The next mass was at 10:30, so I got off at Westminster and walked around Big Ben, Parliament, and Westminster Abbey. They're all incredible buildings, but closed on Sunday. Turns out I was at the wrong station for the church, so I took a long walk. The cathedral is only about 100 years old, but built in a Gothic style. It's filled with beautiful mosaics, new, but not... modern, if you know what I mean. And it turns out that by waiting for the 10:30, I got to go to a mass said by Cardinal Turk! Not only that, but it was a solemn mass, meaning most of it was in Latin, and the Westminster Choir sang from the front of the altar. It was gorgeous, and I was so pleased that the train had been shut down. Hooray for scheduled maintenance!

After mass I got some lunch (what I've been leaving out are all the places I ate... I spent a lot of my time eating), got some coffee (I was running on sugar and caffeine all weekend. Yes, it killed me on Tuesday.), and was asked out by the gentleman next to me. I thought I looked awful, so I took it as a compliment. I did turn him down. Nicely, I think.

From there, I was off to the British Museum. Again, it's free. And it's fantastic. Just the Rosetta Stone alone is worth it. There are also mummies and art from every continent. Their Egyptian collection is the most impressive I've seen so far, and it was definitely a different sort of museum from the religious ones I've visited lately. There's one building, I believe it was called the King's Library, that seems like it was the inspiration for the library in Beauty and the Beast. I recommend spending a couple hours there, at least. Especially if it's cold or wet outside (and it's London, so the chance that it's raining is pretty high). 

From there, I had a choice. I almost went to the Eye, which I still want to do someday, but instead of standing in line for a while there, I decided to use my time more wisely and went to Camden Market. If you like weird things, that's the market to go to. The buildings are covered with three dimensional shoes and mermaids and motorcycles. There are about a million exotic food stalls on the river, and you can sit and eat on a half scooter turned into a chair. It's got a  bunch of really kitschy stuff and several smaller markets inside warehouses that are basically mazes. Don't forget to haggle! And check out a store called Cyberdog. It's basically a rave from the future, android mannequins everywhere. Cool, but the clothing is ridiculous. Imagine the Fifth Element, and that's basically what they sell.

Finally, after buying a hat, a gift, and some delicious tiny pancakes, I made my way to my final destination-  A Jack the Ripper tour. It also gave me the chance to check out the Tower of London and London Bridge (making the only major landmark I didn't see the Palace. Next time). The tour was guided on Sunday by a world renown Jack the Ripper expert. It was creepy, but fascinating. You can still walk to the locations where the bodies were found. He also taught us a bit about the city at the time, especially about the lives of the people who lived in this eastern section of the city. London itself, the actual city, is only a one mile area. The rest of the surrounding was a very poor neighborhood, slums essentially,  and the prostitutes and factory workers lived there. They paid rent by the day, and hundreds of people would line up to purchase a room each night. The prostitutes would wear all the clothes they owned, men's boots, and got two pence for each man. That's less than a half a pound of cheese. The women would often find men outside a church, because the main roads in and out of the city passed in front and behind it. The rule was that if a prostitute stopped walking, they could be arrested for soliciting. So they would circle the church like a roundabout, going quickly around the sides and slowly around the front and back. We also learned about the warring police forces, that inside London proper, and that without, and how their competitive and territorial nature kept the Ripper at large for so long. It was fascinating, and done by the same company as the Sherlock walk. Of course, no one knows who exactly Jack the Ripper was, but they guy gave a pretty good reason for believing that the man committed suicide shortly after the fifth murder (even his family thought he was the killer).

I finished the tour about 22:30, and from there went back to the airport. The security desk was closed, but Gatwick is pretty well prepared for sleepers. It's got 24 hour desks and a cafeteria and really comfortable chairs, which I did not get to in time. They also have free phone chargers, and if you get close enough to the little hotel they have, you can use their internet for free! Unfortunately, there was this guy snoring like a bear or a elephant or something that would be equally annoying when it's asleep on a bench in the airport. I wasn't asleep, but he woke up everyone around him. I cannot over stress the importance of bringing earphones. I think I slept for about 1 hour on the floor and 1 in a chair. Needless to say, I've been recovering all week.

London is fantastic. If you can, go. And when you plan it right, it doesn't have to burn through your wallet and you'll still have a great time! 

London, Day 2

Day 2:

My plan was to get up and go to Cardiff for a day. Mostly to visit the Doctor Who Museum, because well, because I'm a nerd. But when I got up that morning to take the tube to Victoria station, it stopped half way. The whole line was closed. And it didn't even stop at a station where I could transfer. I was stuck. They announced that a bus would be taking people the rest of the way, but by the time I got up it was totally full. I tried walking to the next station with a transferring line, but by the time I made it my bus had already left.

Not a bad thing, though. I rode back to my hostel (on a double decker bus!), got another night at my hostel (for twice the price) and headed out again. I first made my way to Portobello Road. If you like antiques, this is the market for you. It's only open on Saturdays, but the shops on PR are also antique stores, so you'll still be able to find things. I got a cute dress (on sale! I love Jan/Feb in Europe) and some exotic food (Sudanese lamb sausages).

After the market I traveled to Foyle's Bookstore, a must for book-lovers. It's massive, and since the books were in English, I spent about 2 hours browsing. I got a couple of books for my private lesson students, all of which seemed to hit the mark! It was a completely worthwhile trip.

Part of the fun of London is just walking down the streets. It's a city unlike others I've been to. The ancient stone of Spain and Portugal and Italy are amazing, but London, because of the great fire, is mostly not that old (although you can find Roman walls) so it's a really neat city for architecture. And it's full of charming little pubs, with names like The Porcupine. 

After Foyle's it was getting late, and I managed to sort of... stumble to the National Gallery. Go there, it's free! I spent several hours here, looking at Renoir and Monet, Manet and DaVinci. Currently they have Van Gogh's Sunflowers, which was worth the queue. 

I decided to end the evening with a film in Leicester Square. But while waiting, I wandered around a bit. It's a really neat place, so there's lots to see. Chinatown is right there, and as I'm on my way down the street towards the hanging lanterns, I run into a church. It's a Catholic Church, and that evening they were doing Taize prayer. I decided to stop by, because, why not? It's was a lovely little church, but the coolest thing was that it was a French Catholic Church. The chant was in French, they have mass in French, the priests are French speaking. Most of the parishioners seemed to be French speaking African immigrants. It was really cool, even though I had no idea what they were saying.

Finally, I went back to the movie theater. Funny thing about movie theaters here- you have assigned seats. It was the same somewhere else I went, though I can't recall where. Other than that, it's just as expensive in London as it is in the States. But, they had less movies in general, and fewer movies late at night.

Thus ended my second day. It was a good one, and I wasn't upset about my plans being ruined. I think this is a good moment for a warning, however. If you are American and going to London, use cash. It's amazing to me sometimes how little cards are used. Cash is king in the UK and the EU. Finally, if you have an American card, you will probably not be able to use the automatic ticket machines. A number of them are chip based, so if you go just with a card, it's a gamble. Europe uses these cards with a tiny chip at the bottom which you can scan or partially insert into a slot. While the sliding motion can be used at tills and registers, machines are not as likely to have a slide option, and the machine won't take the card (though you can always got to the desk, where they can run it like credit). This is especially true in metro machines. 

London, Day 1

I'll probably go ahead and divide my adventure in London into a couple of different posts, by day I think. So, without further ado:

Day 1-

Actually, Day 1 started the night before when I made my way by bus to the Madrid airport. When you make 700 Euro a month and know that the city you're going to is super expensive, sleeping in airports is often the best option. Not only that, but trying to make a 7:30 plane is tricky when the metro doesn't open until  5:00 or so. The Madrid airport is not one for creature comforts, but if you get past security (I got in at 23:00, and they were still open) there are  a number of benches, some with four chairs between the arm rests! I got about 4 hours sleep. I think I'm becoming quite good at this. You need a sweater, a fluffy jacket, a glasses case (I do anyway), and something to lay your head on (I recommend your bag if possible). Also, ear phones. Ear phones are great. Especially when someone is snoring like a bear (but I'll get to that later).

I arrived in London at about 10:30, Gatwick Airport, and took a train from there to Victoria Train Station. It was such a relief to hear English again! And especially British English. This was the first time I noticed the stark contrasts between Spain and England. The train was rather crowded, and an older gentleman had to make his way up and down it several times. "Pardon me, excuse me, so sorry." It was almost a caricature. I realized though that it was pretty similar to the US, and the opposite from Spain. In Spain, you don't have to apologize for slightly bumping into people, you just do it. I also realized I've gotten used to the Spanish system. I was 'rude' a couple times on my trip, and I imagine that's kind of how it will be when I get back to the States. But more on that later, I'm sure.

I started out by making my way to my hostel. It was fine place, although I've decided that a must have for me from now on is a locker in every room. Anyway, by the time I managed to get through customs it was already 13:00, so I went straight away to a Sherlock Holmes tour with a company called London Walks. I highly recommend this company. It's only 7 pound if you're a student (with a card) and the guides are really knowledgeable. It was also a great way to see various parts of London. We went down all these little back alleys, and the guide pointed out all these things that you'd normally just walk right by. For example, the lamps behind St. Paul's are original, working, gas lamps! It was a very interesting walk, and I posted a bunch of pictures and a mini tour on my Facebook page.

One quick note on getting around in London- don't buy individual tube tickets. You can get one day ticket, regions 1-6, for about 9 pounds. And you'll be able to get your money's worth, easy. You can also get an Oyster Card, but I did the day pass and it worked out just fine.

After the tour, the guide mentioned that we were just around the corner from the only surviving Benjamin Franklin house in the world. He lived in London for 15 years trying to negotiate peace with England, and he loved London. There's no furniture in the house, but all the rooms and sconces and what not are all original. It was really neat to walk where he once walked. Another interesting aspect of the house is that when they were cleaning it up, they found a massive grave in the basement. Was Franklin involved in something shady? 

Actually, the owner of the house was a Doctor, and ran a sort of surgery school. But in order for his students to practice, they needed cadavers. This was illegal then.  They could only obtain the bodies of convicted criminals, which were not enough for all the medical schools, so instead they contracted these guys called 'resurrection men' who would dig up graves and steal bodies. Funny enough, it wasn't illegal. The only thing that would be illegal would be to steal their possessions.  

After the house I went to King's Cross  to check out the shops, most importantly the Harry Potter 9 3/4 doorway. One of the coolest things about London are the main train stations. Some are completely new, but some are a mix of new and old buildings, shops that have been in use since Victorian times. Finally, after eating some dinner, I went back to the hostel and passed out.