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!