England Adventures: London

London, baby! Took the train yesterday morning from Bristol for two days of wandering London and seeing the sights. I’ve only been to London once before, and that was a very brief visit, so I’m excited to get more time in the city.

Man, yesterday was COLD though! Walking around at least kept some of the cold at bay, but I definitely wasn’t expecting this level of cold. I spent some time in the Natural History Museum (note: don’t try this type of sightseeing at half term if you’re in a rush, because man, there were A LOT of children around) which was really quite fun, even though the dinosaurs weren’t on exhibit due to reconstruction or something. They do have an exhibit called “Otherworlds” which is a collection of large scale space photos from our solar system accompanied by really cool music inspired by the theme. It’s pay to enter, so it was a lot calmer in there, and the photos were magnificent.

After the museum I wandered around Kensington, found a cute place for lunch (Kensington Square Kitchen, I highly recommend it!), then walked over to Kensington Palace for some photos and a sit in the sun that had come out. After catching the tube to my hotel area, which is over near the Victoria station, I ran back out to take pictures around Westminster Abbey and Big Ben because of the great skyscapes and clouds I was suddenly seeing. I’m so glad I did, because the photos turned out great!

Today was my second day in London, and it was FREEZING. Not that the weather was going to stop me from exploring, but sheesh, I did not think I was going to need my down-filled coat for this trip, but I was really missing it today!

Started the day with breakfast and check-out at the hotel (Luna Simone Hotel, it was a reasonable price, well located, nice full breakfast included, and super friendly staff, so I definitely would go back!). Then ventured out into the cold for a morning wander along the Thames up to Westminster. My original plan was to maybe visit the Abbey, but I realized I’d been too early of a riser for that (sightseeing didn’t open until 9:30) and I didn’t really fancy killing time in the cold, so I just walked to the tube station, which I took to Blackfriars, close to St. Paul’s Cathedral, which luckily opens at 8:30.

Wow. St. Paul’s is amazing. First off, it’s huge, and the dome is amazing to look at (apparently I did a lot more looking than photo-taking, because I realized while editing the front shots didn’t show the dome, and I only took one from the side! Whoops!). There’s no photography allowed indoors, so I resisted the temptation to sneak my camera out, but it’s really spectacular. It’s so peaceful, and kind of glorious in the extensive detailing and elaboration and care that clearly went into the cathedral. And also, there’s a crypt, which is just cool to say “I’m headed down to the crypt.” So that was pretty much fabulous, and then I sat in the garden in a nice spot of sun (for warmth, of course) and just relaxed for a bit while looking at the building. Really a great spot.

St. Paul’s is quite close to the river, and conveniently the Millennium Bridge, so I walked across that, stopping for some photos along the way. No Death Eater attacks took down the bridge while I was on it, so that’s a plus. :) The bridge basically drops you at the the doorstep of Tate Modern, so I took that as a sign I should go in and check it out! Upon arriving, I discovered that they are in the process of building a new expansion of the museum, which looks like it will be amazing, but isn’t opening until this June. Darn! Came a bit too early. But I still enjoyed my wander through the existing galleries, especially seeing some works from Mondrian. My favorite piece was “NY, NY No. X” by Hedda Sterne - and yet, I didn’t take a picture of it! Google it though, it really stuck out to me.

Almost next door to the Tate Modern is the rebuilt Globe Theatre and Exhibition, which I just couldn’t resist. Being winter, there of course weren’t any plays on, but I did go in for the museum and theatre tour. Which was actually really fun - our guide was funny and engaging, and well-versed in Shakespeare. And I’m definitely putting “see a play there” on my to-do list for the future. Also would love to see a play in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, which is a guesstimate recreation of Shakespeare’s indoor theatre at Blackfriars, including being lit entirely with candles. Which sounds really cool.

After stopping for a bite at a nearby pub (definitely a tourist spot, nothing to write home about, though the fish and chips did hit the spot), I walked across London Bridge (no, it did not fall down), which offers spectacular views of Tower Bridge. I headed over towards Tower Bridge via the Tower of London, where I decided I was actually too worn out to do another tour, so I just took some photos and sat in the sun and enjoyed the scenery for a bit. Needless to say, I had totally forgotten that the Crown Jewels are kept at the Tower of London, so I’ll just have to go back sometime. (Maybe when it’s not overrun with school children?) Anyway, I still decided to walk across Tower Bridge, which is even cooler up close. It’s very ornate, and really quite hefty. Plus, when I was halfway over, the traffic suddenly dried up, which I thought was awesome, I could get photos without cars in the shot! Then a camera rig drove past filming a red GT close behind it, and that was even cooler! That doesn’t happen in Seattle really, as anything set in Seattle is actually filmed in Vancouver. So that was a little excitement, even though I have no idea what they were filming for.

So after that extensive walk around, I jumped on the tube and headed to Camden Town. Now, I was actually planning to walk around the markets and grab a snack and explore a less monument-driven area of the city, but I hit that wall where all your energy disappears at once. So I mustered up enough perseverance to hustle up Primrose Hill, and I took a break to soak in more sun and the view. What. A. View. It’s really a great spot up there, I highly recommend it. If I’d had more time, I definitely would have stayed for sunset. As it was, it was my final stop, as I headed towards the train station from Primrose Hill, and finally arrived back in Bristol around 9pm. But it was an amazing two days, my first time as a solo traveler to pretty much anywhere, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.