Voyage to Londinium
This is long. It's for my family to read, but go ahead. <3
So after Hogmanay and before the first week of classes, I was feeling cold and lonely in my apartment and decided to take a week long trip to London to visit with buddies and see the sights.
Cambridge, Bury, Godric's Hollow
Because my flight was delayed, I didn't arrive in Cambridge until after dark. Charlotte and her sister graciously showed me around and we went to a pub to hang out. We then walked around downtown and saw all of the fancy beautiful college buildings and cute winding shopping streets. So this is Cambridge! thought I. Charlotte and I then had an amazing Japanese feast of katsu curry, gyoza, and sushi. We then drove to her & Robin's place in Bury St. Edmunds.
It was so nice to just sit in a living room on a couch and laugh and watch TV and catch up. The next day while they were at work, I wandered around Bury and went to the cute little museum they had and the cathedral/abbey gardens. Beautiful. It's funny to think that if any of these little British towns were transplanted to the US, they would be an insanely popular trendy little tourist trap, but here they are just the default.
When Robin & Charlotte got back from work, we drove over to Lavenham, which is a very old town that is famous for its whimsical-looking squint lil houses (check 'em out). It was where they filmed Godric's Hollow for the Harry Potter movies! We had a nice pub dinner and then walked around to some of the filming locations.
Tower of London, Matt Smith, Westminster
So I stayed with them Sunday and Monday. Then Tuesday I was off to London. I met up with Hannah at her work in the Southbank. I dropped off my suitcase and headed to the Tower of London. I don't know what I had pictured, but it wasn't that. It's a castle, you guys. Lots of little bits with different exhibitions and walks along ramparts and such. The crown jewels, as well! There was hardly anybody there, so I went around and around on the little moving walkway past the crown jewels a few times. My favourite part was definitely the medieval apartments of the kings. And look, I just wrote 'favourite'.
Met back up with Hannah after she got out of work, picked up some taco fixins, and headed back to her bohemian warehouse loft apartment and made dinner while watching Walking Dead. Good day.
I got up early the next morning to queue for tickets to see Matt Smith (Doctor Who!) in American Psycho: The Musical. Hannah had mentioned casually that she had seen it when it first opened, but I didn't even know it existed. Maybe it's that I'm a bad Matt Smith fan, but such an amazing thing could exist just never even occurred to me so I hadn't heard about it. Since Hannah is in the theatre industry, she told me that though tickets are all sold out, you can queue in the morning because they release day-of tickets on a first come first serve basis. I was there.
Waited about 2 hours, but I had my DS so it wasn't a problem. I also didn't feel like I was wasting my day because actually the queuing forced me to get up & out of the house early. I snagged the last two tickets that were together. Score!!
After that, I wandered around Charing Cross/Euston and went to the British Museum where I saw the flippin' Rosetta Stone and lots of other things plundered from ancient cultures. They had an amazing exhibition on the history of museum-ing, complete with original displays from the museum's early days. I didn't even make it to the second floor because there was so much stuff to look at. Murals from flippin' NINEVAH. I was blown away.
I met up with Hannah near the theater and we had some snackies before heading in. Our seats were in the very back row of the very top, but the theater was small so it was ok. Matt Smith!! Singing!! And sometimes without any clothes on. And murdering people! And having a really terrible American accent... but I forgive him. Afterwards, he came out for a few minutes to sign stuff and he signed my poster. I was in heaven. The day before I would have never have guessed that the next day I would actually see Matt Smith. London is truly a magical place.
The next day while Hannah was at work, I went for a wander and looked at the houses of Parliament/Big Ben and Westminster Abbey. I understand why it's a big deal now. Truly breathtaking. Signed up for a 'free' tour inside and got a little guided info about some of the statesmen/kings/queens/artists/scholars buried there and some amazing history. Beautiful everything. Now I can actually picture what they're talking about on the History Channel when they mention it.
Left Westminster Abbey, tried to walk to Trafalgar Square but ended up in Picadilly Circus, then headed out to Surbiton (about 30 minutes out) to meet up with my next host, Dan. His parents are in Italy, so we had the house to ourselves. We went wild and ate Cornettos and made Vines and had fish & chips and stayed up late watching trashy TV and giggling about Tinder.
While Dan was at work the next day, I tried to queue again for American Psycho but didn't get tickets that time. There were way more people there, probably because it was Friday? I dunno. I went out to Greenwich to meet yet another Karatsu person, Louise. We had a lovely lunch then walked up to the Greenwich observatory for a nice view of the Thames and to stand on the prime meridian. We also took a lovely stroll through the open market and I was introduced to some traditional English sweets in the cutest candy store ever. Good times!
Before it got dark, I headed into downtown where I met up with Dan. He took me on an amazing walking tour down the riverwalk and by Shakespeare's Globe and all the cool super London-y streets around there. We walked past St. Paul's and down to Covent Garden and Leicester Square and all of those other cute areas that I don't remember the names of. It was so nice to be above ground and seeing how all of the neighborhoods connected instead of just relying on the underground to get from place to place. London is very much like Tokyo in that way. Everything seems disjointed because you travel by subway all of the time, but if you walked it you would see how it's all connected.
Made our way back to Surbiton and had more giggly fun times and Skyped with lovely pretty princess Emily.
The next day was Saturday! So Dan had no work. We took our time in the morning, then headed out to Borough Market for some yummy foodstuffs and more cute wandering. We went in to St. Paul's cathedral and worked hard to get our audio tours to sync up. We then climbed the 250 stairs to the inner rail of the dome then the next 250+ to the very top on the outside for an amazing view of London at sunset. We were blessed with amazing weather and I was so happy to be there in that moment. Great views, and great company.
We then had more of a wander around downtown, tried to get tickets to see Jude Law doing Shakespeare but didn't feel like waiting around. So we just went into the lobby of the theater for the satisfaction of being in the same building as Jude Law, wherever he was. We also ran through the National Gallery (why not, it's free!) and said hello to priceless works of art. I think it is the most beautiful museum I have ever been in. The way the paintings are displayed it absolutely perfect. Now, I love the Art Institute, but the paintings displayed on silk wall paper in high-ceilinged halls with dark wood benches in the National Gallery make your mouth drop open in awe of the human race. Go there.
We then went over to UCL (Dan's alma mater) to see the stuffed body of its founder whose name I forgot. Anyway, dead guy in a cabinet. Unfortunately (or not), the cabinet was shut. We then walked down the street to see 'the door' -- the apartment that is 221b in BBC's Sherlock and Speedy's Café. Funnily enough, Dan and his family used to live in that apartment when he was a baby! Out of allll the apartments in London... insanity.
Then! We met up with the lovely Ian and his lovely wife Young-Ah. I think the last time I saw him was 4 years ago?? It was so nice to catch up. It sounds like they're doing really well and everything just clicked back to like we were before. They had to catch a train, so we parted.
The next day was the day I had to go back to Edinburgh. Left my suitcase at Dan's and we went to the nearby Hampton Court, the residence of Henry VIII. It was just like you'd think a Tudor palace would be. Tapestries and kitchens and corridors and chapels and elegant furniture and paintings and a huge English garden, complete with hedge maze. Very very cool.
I picked up my suitcase and then Dan dropped me off at the train station. I made my way to Waterloo, got some onigiris, and found my seat in first class (it was only £4 more!) for the 5.5 hour train ride to Edinburgh. Arrived at midnight, zombie walked my way across town, and fell into bed.
I had an amazing week and it was all thanks to amazing people. Charlotte, Robin, Hannah, Dan, Ian, Young-ah, Louise-- all friends from my time spent in Karatsu on the JET Programme. Great company, laughs, hang outs, and adventures. Christmas in Chicago and then my week in London reminded me how important friends are. Sure, I can entertain myself, but it is just so nice to see smiling faces or hang out on the couch or stroll around or sip hot chocolate. I saw a lot in London, but there is a lot I didn't get to see, so I'm excited to plan my next trip back. Hopefully I can convince some people to visit Edinburgh as well.
~ah~ if you read that, you are a superstar and I think it means you have to come visit me.
So after Hogmanay and before the first week of classes, I was feeling cold and lonely in my apartment and decided to take a week long trip to London to visit with buddies and see the sights.
Cambridge, Bury, Godric's Hollow
Because my flight was delayed, I didn't arrive in Cambridge until after dark. Charlotte and her sister graciously showed me around and we went to a pub to hang out. We then walked around downtown and saw all of the fancy beautiful college buildings and cute winding shopping streets. So this is Cambridge! thought I. Charlotte and I then had an amazing Japanese feast of katsu curry, gyoza, and sushi. We then drove to her & Robin's place in Bury St. Edmunds.
It was so nice to just sit in a living room on a couch and laugh and watch TV and catch up. The next day while they were at work, I wandered around Bury and went to the cute little museum they had and the cathedral/abbey gardens. Beautiful. It's funny to think that if any of these little British towns were transplanted to the US, they would be an insanely popular trendy little tourist trap, but here they are just the default.
When Robin & Charlotte got back from work, we drove over to Lavenham, which is a very old town that is famous for its whimsical-looking squint lil houses (check 'em out). It was where they filmed Godric's Hollow for the Harry Potter movies! We had a nice pub dinner and then walked around to some of the filming locations.
Tower of London, Matt Smith, Westminster
So I stayed with them Sunday and Monday. Then Tuesday I was off to London. I met up with Hannah at her work in the Southbank. I dropped off my suitcase and headed to the Tower of London. I don't know what I had pictured, but it wasn't that. It's a castle, you guys. Lots of little bits with different exhibitions and walks along ramparts and such. The crown jewels, as well! There was hardly anybody there, so I went around and around on the little moving walkway past the crown jewels a few times. My favourite part was definitely the medieval apartments of the kings. And look, I just wrote 'favourite'.
Met back up with Hannah after she got out of work, picked up some taco fixins, and headed back to her bohemian warehouse loft apartment and made dinner while watching Walking Dead. Good day.
I got up early the next morning to queue for tickets to see Matt Smith (Doctor Who!) in American Psycho: The Musical. Hannah had mentioned casually that she had seen it when it first opened, but I didn't even know it existed. Maybe it's that I'm a bad Matt Smith fan, but such an amazing thing could exist just never even occurred to me so I hadn't heard about it. Since Hannah is in the theatre industry, she told me that though tickets are all sold out, you can queue in the morning because they release day-of tickets on a first come first serve basis. I was there.
Waited about 2 hours, but I had my DS so it wasn't a problem. I also didn't feel like I was wasting my day because actually the queuing forced me to get up & out of the house early. I snagged the last two tickets that were together. Score!!
After that, I wandered around Charing Cross/Euston and went to the British Museum where I saw the flippin' Rosetta Stone and lots of other things plundered from ancient cultures. They had an amazing exhibition on the history of museum-ing, complete with original displays from the museum's early days. I didn't even make it to the second floor because there was so much stuff to look at. Murals from flippin' NINEVAH. I was blown away.
I met up with Hannah near the theater and we had some snackies before heading in. Our seats were in the very back row of the very top, but the theater was small so it was ok. Matt Smith!! Singing!! And sometimes without any clothes on. And murdering people! And having a really terrible American accent... but I forgive him. Afterwards, he came out for a few minutes to sign stuff and he signed my poster. I was in heaven. The day before I would have never have guessed that the next day I would actually see Matt Smith. London is truly a magical place.
The next day while Hannah was at work, I went for a wander and looked at the houses of Parliament/Big Ben and Westminster Abbey. I understand why it's a big deal now. Truly breathtaking. Signed up for a 'free' tour inside and got a little guided info about some of the statesmen/kings/queens/artists/scholars buried there and some amazing history. Beautiful everything. Now I can actually picture what they're talking about on the History Channel when they mention it.
Left Westminster Abbey, tried to walk to Trafalgar Square but ended up in Picadilly Circus, then headed out to Surbiton (about 30 minutes out) to meet up with my next host, Dan. His parents are in Italy, so we had the house to ourselves. We went wild and ate Cornettos and made Vines and had fish & chips and stayed up late watching trashy TV and giggling about Tinder.
While Dan was at work the next day, I tried to queue again for American Psycho but didn't get tickets that time. There were way more people there, probably because it was Friday? I dunno. I went out to Greenwich to meet yet another Karatsu person, Louise. We had a lovely lunch then walked up to the Greenwich observatory for a nice view of the Thames and to stand on the prime meridian. We also took a lovely stroll through the open market and I was introduced to some traditional English sweets in the cutest candy store ever. Good times!
Before it got dark, I headed into downtown where I met up with Dan. He took me on an amazing walking tour down the riverwalk and by Shakespeare's Globe and all the cool super London-y streets around there. We walked past St. Paul's and down to Covent Garden and Leicester Square and all of those other cute areas that I don't remember the names of. It was so nice to be above ground and seeing how all of the neighborhoods connected instead of just relying on the underground to get from place to place. London is very much like Tokyo in that way. Everything seems disjointed because you travel by subway all of the time, but if you walked it you would see how it's all connected.
Made our way back to Surbiton and had more giggly fun times and Skyped with lovely pretty princess Emily.
The next day was Saturday! So Dan had no work. We took our time in the morning, then headed out to Borough Market for some yummy foodstuffs and more cute wandering. We went in to St. Paul's cathedral and worked hard to get our audio tours to sync up. We then climbed the 250 stairs to the inner rail of the dome then the next 250+ to the very top on the outside for an amazing view of London at sunset. We were blessed with amazing weather and I was so happy to be there in that moment. Great views, and great company.
We then had more of a wander around downtown, tried to get tickets to see Jude Law doing Shakespeare but didn't feel like waiting around. So we just went into the lobby of the theater for the satisfaction of being in the same building as Jude Law, wherever he was. We also ran through the National Gallery (why not, it's free!) and said hello to priceless works of art. I think it is the most beautiful museum I have ever been in. The way the paintings are displayed it absolutely perfect. Now, I love the Art Institute, but the paintings displayed on silk wall paper in high-ceilinged halls with dark wood benches in the National Gallery make your mouth drop open in awe of the human race. Go there.
We then went over to UCL (Dan's alma mater) to see the stuffed body of its founder whose name I forgot. Anyway, dead guy in a cabinet. Unfortunately (or not), the cabinet was shut. We then walked down the street to see 'the door' -- the apartment that is 221b in BBC's Sherlock and Speedy's Café. Funnily enough, Dan and his family used to live in that apartment when he was a baby! Out of allll the apartments in London... insanity.
Then! We met up with the lovely Ian and his lovely wife Young-Ah. I think the last time I saw him was 4 years ago?? It was so nice to catch up. It sounds like they're doing really well and everything just clicked back to like we were before. They had to catch a train, so we parted.
The next day was the day I had to go back to Edinburgh. Left my suitcase at Dan's and we went to the nearby Hampton Court, the residence of Henry VIII. It was just like you'd think a Tudor palace would be. Tapestries and kitchens and corridors and chapels and elegant furniture and paintings and a huge English garden, complete with hedge maze. Very very cool.
I picked up my suitcase and then Dan dropped me off at the train station. I made my way to Waterloo, got some onigiris, and found my seat in first class (it was only £4 more!) for the 5.5 hour train ride to Edinburgh. Arrived at midnight, zombie walked my way across town, and fell into bed.
I had an amazing week and it was all thanks to amazing people. Charlotte, Robin, Hannah, Dan, Ian, Young-ah, Louise-- all friends from my time spent in Karatsu on the JET Programme. Great company, laughs, hang outs, and adventures. Christmas in Chicago and then my week in London reminded me how important friends are. Sure, I can entertain myself, but it is just so nice to see smiling faces or hang out on the couch or stroll around or sip hot chocolate. I saw a lot in London, but there is a lot I didn't get to see, so I'm excited to plan my next trip back. Hopefully I can convince some people to visit Edinburgh as well.
~ah~ if you read that, you are a superstar and I think it means you have to come visit me.