I
have decided that I have left whoever's interested in reading this in
anticipation for long enough! You have passed the test of loyalty to
my blog and shall now reap the rewards of another post! Actually, I
have just been too busy reading, writing for uni, and lying on my bed
in a state of apathy to finish my Winter Saga lately. But I have
woken up (albeit slightly ill) with a surprising amount of
motivation. Better take this opportunity to use my powers for good.
SO! Finally!!! The end of the Winter Saga- Cyrus and I in London!
Well...
I should actually start out with our adventures getting there. We
woke up early that Saturday morning giving ourselves enough time to
eat, pack, and check out before arriving at the train station plenty early. We could not afford to miss this train- our first day-time
train ride of any consequence. First stop, Brussels. We had to travel
there before catching the underwater channel/tunnel (chunnel) train
to London (which sounds much more exciting than it actually was). The
lay-over in Brussels was only about an hour, though, so we knew we
wouldn't be able to do any exploring. While some may be able to take
a peak at areas of interest in under an hour, we tend to become
side-tracked and easily get lost... Once in Brussels we were given
the full treatment of security. Knowing the train was from Amsterdam,
we were greeted at the platform by drug dogs and bored-looking, yet
intimidating, police officers. Cyrus and I shuffled along as the dogs
(who were having WAY too good of a time) wildly sniffed at everything
their noses could reach.
Finally
through (no we were not carrying anything illegal in case you were
wondering), we proceeded to figure out where to catch the Chunnel.
However, I forgot that in Brussels, everything is in French- yet
another language neither of us knew. We bumbbled around for a few
moments before spotting an obvious information desk, complete with a
long line. Once at the front, we asked the man (who spoke broken
English) where we could find the Chunnel to London. “Chunnel,” I
forgot, is extremely colloquial however, causing the man to get
rather peeved as I repeated
myself and finally found the words “Eurostar” and “London.”
At this point, we proceeded
to look like even more idiotic Americans than we had already
established as
the man angrily gestured to the left (in in way that seemed more like
he was shooing us) towards a large sign reading “EUROSTAR TO
LONDON.” Apparently, we missed that somehow the first time...
Once
at the gate we were met with the infamous hassles and security
measures of London. It was almost as bad as getting on a plane. We
filled out “Landing Cards” and went through a TSA-style baggage
check and security scan. It really wasn't that bad, but more than we
had received anywhere else. But who cares? We had made it to our
platform and in no time boarded the train. The ride was uneventful.
The Chunnel is just what it sounds like- a long tunnel. We proudly
congratulated ourselves on completing another leg of our journey, and
fell asleep. A
few hours later, we woke up in London, King's Cross/St. Pancras
station getting off ¾ of the way between platforms 9 and 10 (Harry
Potter reference)! Welcome to London! :D We
rushed downstairs excited to unpack when we ran into the most
London-y phenomenon- a queue (line). What better first impression to
give of London? Once through immigration, we made our way to my flat
and collapsed- exhausted.
The
rest of the week was surprisingly uneventful. Cyrus had his Crossfit
days already planned out and became a pro at the underground while I
bounced between classes as my first week back had started. In
the afternoons we would meet up back at the flat with grand plans to
sight-see and be tourists. However, between the exhaustion from our
month of traveling (Cyrus especially as he was still “traveling”),
and the alluring comforts of doing nothing but watch computer-TV, we
ended up staying in more often than not. In those first few days we
did manage to explore the British Museum, though! Basically a museum
of everything the Brits have stolen from everyone else, including
parts of the Parthenon. It was really cool seeing mummies and bits of
world history (pics from the gift shop). Cyrus
also took me out to a very nice gluten-free place for a delicious,
Celiac-Friendly dinner during that week. We
also made it up to Primrose Hill (where I sat for Guy Fawkes Day).
But that was the extent of our adventures until, one night while
Skyping his parents, Cyrus' mom finally talked some sense into him
and convinced him to go out and see things. The only problem was that
the next day was his last full day in London. So we decided to make
it a good one.
We
woke up early and Cyrus went to his last day of Crossfit
(gotta have our priorities here) before going out for lunch.
We went to my favorite little cafe/bakery that I posted about several
months ago- WAG Free Bakery in Brixton Village Market. Now, they have
converted it into a full on restaurant, but still in that same
claustrophobic space under the covered market. It
was delicious as always and even Cyrus was impressed with how good
the food was. After that we took the tube to Green Park, exactly as I
had all of those months ago, and walked up to Buckingham. It was a
beautiful day for sight-seeing, which was fortunate, because we had a
lot to see ahead of us. From Buckingham we walked through the most
beautiful park in the center of London (I don't remember the name,
but it's the big one by the palace) and up to Westminster, the Houses
of Parliament, and Big Ben. From there we proceeded to get lost down
along the Thames, walking in the opposite direction than we were
intending. It was very nice though, as we came upon another nice
green area and walked all the way down to the Tate Modern and
Vauxhall (where Crossfit had been) before asking directions at a
gorgeous church-turned-flower museum.
Once we were righted, we walked
back up the Thames, stopping across from the Houses of Parliament to
sit and enjoy the sunny day (a rarity anymore) and watch the life
around the water. After too long we were back walking along South
Bank where the Christmas Market was a few weeks earlier. We walked
under the eye and were entertained by the moving statues and very
talented street performers that rent out areas of the pavement. After
being a bit disillusioned by the doggy eccentricities of Camden, I
was glad I was able to show Cyrus the “true” London with it's
beauty, culture, and diversity. We continued to walk along the Thames
for at least an hour or more passing (not
in order)
the Globe Theatre where Shakespeare performed, the old Tate Museum,
the Shard, the famous Millenium
Bridge, and MANY more sights and stores and candied nut vendors on
the way. Finally,
we reached the London Bridge, the last bridge in London. We were
headed there to see the Tower of London (home of the Crown Jewels)
and chose to walk instead of take the underground so we could see
everything. Unfortunately, this took longer than was expected, and we
arrived too late to take the tour. However, we were very fortunate in
that right before the London Bridge was docked the BMS Bellfast (one
of the most famous British war ships- now museum) with a new Royal
Navy ship anchored right next to it! We couldn't resist and bought
tickets onto the ship. We got to see the new ship set off (with all
of their departing rituals) and explored the vast crawl spaces and
boiler rooms and sleeping chambers complete with the occasional wax
figure of the grand Bellfast. It was truly a magnificent (and
exhausting!) day. A week's worth of tourism within a span of 5 ½
hours (of mostly walking). We then went home and had a homemade
yogurt cake with cocoa powder icing. Worth it.
The
next day I took Cyrus to Heathrow and reluctantly put him on a plane
for St. Petersburg before headed back into London for classes. It was
quite a whirl-wind week (one that I'm still recovering from), but I
signed up for a gym membership (and all of their challenging,
fitness-busting classes) and have been kept busy by classes, making
the gap between now and end of term seem smaller. I can't wait till
my next great adventure- Russia! Until then, it's the same old boring
school work and smelly Camden. Only 5 weeks left now! I think I
can... I think I can... I think I can... :)
