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I was going to write something yesterday about how much fun it is to be in an airplane for 12 hours, but I fell asleep too soon. Jet lag is a strange thing. There's an eight hour difference here, so when we fell asleep at 8:00 PM ... It felt pretty late. Anyhow, to recap the activities of yesterday: we arrived at Heathrow from Toronto, and managed to take the tube to Shepherd's Bush, which is right across the street from our hostel. We've got a great view of the street, and the can even see the BBC Broadcast Centre. After checking in, we took the tube to Westminster Bridge, saw Big Ben and Westminster Abbey, and finally walked up to Trafalgar Square. From there we walked to Buckingham Palace and took the tube to the Tower of London. We took the tube back home, ate a pizza from Safeway (conveniently located in the same building as the hostel) and went to sleep very early. Now it's 8:15 AM, and soon I'll be back outside.
Strange things about London: a woman jogging and talking on a cellphone, a guy on a unicycle in the bike lane, "way out" not "exit" signs, and ugly flagpoles on the road to Buckingham Palace. And all the dark clothing...
24/May/2002 12:30 AM
The jet lag is done. It's 12:30 and I'm just beginning to get tired. Today, we visited quite a few places. And we walked between most, which gave a great view of more of the city. First a tube ride to Kensington Gardens, then Hyde Park. We got lost for a bit, but then found our way to the generically-named Science Museum. It was more eye-candy than substance, and offered only a few interactive exhibits. Highlights of the SciM (as they like to call it) included the naked people in the book, the face recognition / tracking exhibit, and the neat white LED message board art piece. Next Sarah dragged me to look at some period clothes at the Victoria and Albert Museum. That place is a maze... We then walked to Harrod's and I took the tube to the British Museum. Sarah went to see St. Paul's. While in the room labelled only "Parthenon Gallery" I asked a guard where the Elgin Marbles were. He said flatly "all around you." I mumbled some excuse about missing that, but felt quite stupid. Ahh, my first American moment. Sarah met up with me at the gift shop. From there we went to the local Virgin Megastore, then to Regents Park. It was a bit better trimmed than Hyde or Kensington. I'm not sure I like the style as much. I did, however, enjoy the variety of neat ducks in the pond. FInally, we took the tube to Picadilly Circus, and stumbled our way around for a few hours. What a busy day. Note to self: visit London again.
25/May/2002 12:00 AM
Earlier, in London, we went on the Eye, ate at Garfunkel's for lunch, and at a fun Indian place for dinner, and hung out at Waterloo Station for way too long. The Eye was great -- I could see Hyde Park, Regents Park, and even the BT Telecom Tower. It put the whole city in perspective. If only I knew where Shepherd's Bush was...
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