London Calling

I know I've been back for a few days, but since everyone else is working today I decided to sit down and get some work done on my blog.

SO - just came back from London on Monday. It's a great place to go if you ever get the chance to, however, there are some tips I would recommend to any future travellers to London. Firstly be aware of the prices and exchange rates. London (as I am sure you're aware) is expensive - but it may be more so than you initially think! The tourist traps especially. LOOK OUT for them, they are lurking around every corner. One store will claim to have trinkets no other store carries, but the basic London shot glass, t-shirt, poster, you name it can be found somewhere else for so much cheaper. Certain things are harder to find, such as person specific items, like Sherlock Holmes, the Beatles, etc. Those tend to be centered around where they were (Abbey Road, Baker St, etc - Beatles store is actually nowhere near Abbey Road, it's on Baker st next to the Sherlock Holmes museum!)

Also - take advantage of the free things. The Natural History Museum, The National Galleries, The British Museum, WALKING, attending a service at a famous cathedral. These things are enjoyable and save you lots of money - especially since the dollar isn't doing so well at the moment. Walk wherever you can - and give yourself time. London's public transportation is wonderful but on a weekend night or an evening, traffic can run amok with your evening plans if you decide to take a bus or the tube. Packed quarters and slow traffic may make you late or ruin your chances of catching a last minute movie/restaraunt/sight to see. Also be very aware of tube closures when you arrive - this will save you time and grief when planning your stops for the day. There's nothing more frustrating than attempting to get somewhere only to find your original route shut down and you haven't planned a B.

And when you have this thought (as most of us do) - "I'll get there early and beat the lines of tourists" - DON'T!! We thought we'd get to Westminster right as it opened in order to beat the rush (we figured people are on vacation, who'd be getting up at seven to go see a church?) and ended up waiting in line to get in for an hour and a half, which completely messed up the rest of the day for us. We ended up running to Windsor and only spending a few hours there instead of the whole afternoon. And for those of you who know me - I HATE running through things. So - as we stood in line, we noticed that the later in the day, the less the line became. In fact, on our way out, we noted that the line wasn't even HALF of what it was at nine in the morning. SO - Think the opposite of the opposite. But ONLY on holiday weekends. Most of the time, the "beat the crowd" technique works.

FINALLY - avoid Holiday weekends (Royal Wedding was the week we went, that made it all the worse). Things are shut down, open less, closed to tourists and overall messy on such weekends. And the other tourists are RUDE on said weekends, as its all about "doing what I want, when I want, and screw anyone else who also has somewhere to go and something to see". Trust me on this - I was skipped in line, cut off, bumped, pushed, walked into, cut off, blocked, remarked about, gestured at, and other rude things from fellow tourists while just standing in line!

BUT - DESPITE all of these unlucky woes, we did see some awesome things. After a day of major fails with Good Friday having everything closed down, we managed to get into the Temple area and visit Temple Church, famed in the Da Vinci Code films, but also in history for having been built by the Knights Templar. It was small but gorgeous, and a bit of a win for that day. We also saw the Globe Theatre, something I'd never managed to get to in the past, and being a Shakespeare fan, it was neat to see the third reconstruction of the original (burnt down a lot over time).

We also, once in Westminster Abbey, got an audio tour which was narrated by Jeremy Irons - how cool?!  got to revisit some historical figures I never really appreciated when I was little when I came the first time. I touched the tomb of Elizabeth I, in my opinion a brilliant monarch and a personal idol. Her tomb was gorgeous, and as I listened to the music accompanying the tour, I was brought to small tears as I touched her marble effigy. It was a moving experience. Also very touching was seeing Mary, Queen of Scots, Jane Austin and the Bronte sisters, and touching them all. To think, I was inches from the remains of historical figures that I've been studying about for the last semester! Also in Westminster is Newton's tomb - that was cool. And seeing Will and Kate's wedding flowers being arranged and some already set up? That was pretty neat too.

We attended a service at St. Paul's - as it was getting expensive to get into things by this point, and services are free! But it was beautiful - mid-afternoon sun slanting in from on high amongst the gilded dome, a choir chanting, a priest reading poems and passages from the bible. It was very atmospheric, and humbling to sit beneath such architechture and think that man built that!

We saw the play War Horse, something I've been meaning to do since my good friend Sarah came back from London gushing about it - and it was everything I hoped! It was fantastic - the story, the puppets, the theatre (front row seats!), the actors, the music - it was all good! I didn't cry like I expected to, but I was very moved overall by the whole thing. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes a good play, enjoys something new, loves horses, is a history buff, or anyone period! It has something for everyone - humor, joy, sadness, epic scenes and touching moments. It's an experience not to be missed!

We also - much to my delight, went to Abbey Road and re-created, as one must do, the famous album cover of the Beatles. A hint for other Beatle nuts - GET THERE EARLY. Preferribly between nine and ten, as rush hour traffic is died down and most of the tourists start arriving around ten-eleven. And watch out for cars. The locals don't exactly enjoy being held up on their way to work so a bunch of giggling girls can get their photo taken. A lot of drivers respect the famous crossing, but most will not. Be aware of that - and check the abbey road studios website, you can see for yourself the traffic, busy hours and the danger! But it was awesome to take a photo there - especially because I got to be John Lennon - my favorite Beatle. You can thank my mum and my flatmates for my lasting obsession with the Beatles. They're one band I'll be listening to for a LONG time :-).

Baker street was next on the list - it was a tourist trap, unfortunately. Unless you're a HUGE literature buff or a UBER fan - don't bother going in the museum. It costs 6 pounds, and its a set up of the Detective and Doctor's house as it was in the novels. The shop is also over priced. Keychains run at 3 to 6 pounds, while mugs and shot glasses range anywhere from 6 to 12 pounds. Not worth it. Though I was geeked to see the place of Sherlock Holmes (fan of both film and novel) I didn't bother buying anything or going in the museum - but I did get my picture taken!

Windsor is a must see. The castle is GORGEOUS, and the grounds are even prettier. The town itself is lovely, and a great place to get some grub before and after a lengthy wander of the castle and cathedral. The Drury House is a recommended tea stop to any traveller. And Windsor is handy to get to - its only about an hour train ride from central London, and costs about 5pounds with return so long as you have a railcard. The castle itself is expensive to get into, but its well worth it. You'll be awed by the gilded state apartments and the beautiful St. George's Hall - and you may even get a peak at the royal family, who frequently inhabit the side of the castle the tourists aren't allowed to see! While we were there, we were told that the Queen, Prince Charles and William were all across the courtyard! How cool! I saw the wedding flowers, and I was only yards away from Will himself!

The Natural History Museum is said to take two hours to get through. We were there for that long and didn't even get through half. It's a gorgeous buidling with a lot of awesome things inside, so much in fact, that it was a bit overwhelming at times! But worth it - I saw specimins there that I wouldn't see back at the Milwaukee Museum just because of its sheer size. For example - ever stand next to an actual Blue Whale? No? Well, you can at the Natural History Museum and I can tell you, you never feel so small as you do next to THAT. It's a relaxing wander if you're looking for something the kids will enjoy too, or for those who just like musuems. The BRITISH MUSEUM, however, is the crown jewel of all museums. It contains things I'd never in my life thought I'd see. Panels from the Pantheon, the Roesetta stone, the head of Rames III, Cleopatra's mummy, the famed winged oxen of Assyria, artifacts from Mesopotamia, Babalyon and other ancient civilizations. And it was free to get into! Bonus! But - BUYER BEWARE, this museum takes an ENTIRE DAY to get through. We only had two hours to spare and didn't get to see much! The audio tour would be worth it as well (its not free but I would have paid for it) as you an pick and choose which items you want to hear more about. It's helpful too that it doesn't matter what order you go in, so if you're only interested in the Eygpt and European rooms, for example, you can go straight there and pick the numbers you want to hear about. But this too, will take all day. Each case of artifacts contains HUNDREDS of things, all with descriptions and numbers. It's a great place to visit if you want to kill an entire day! (In a good way!)

Overall, it was a great time - I did miss seeing some things I wanted to see (Tower of London, London Eye, Tower Bridge) but I got to see other that I'd never been to before (War Horse, Temple Church, the Globe, Baker St, Abbey Road). I'd love to go back to London again, but I'd make sure that it wasn't on a holiday or the weekend before a Royal Wedding! Oh well, you live and you learn. At least now I can navigate the tube system with no problem. May come in handy again sometime, right? My next trip is Rome with my flatmate Saori. I hope its a bit less of a fail! We plan on seeing the Vatican, the Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Castel Sant Angelo, Maria Del Popolo, the Parthenon, hear the Pope speak, and eat great food. I look forward to it.

But for now I'll say good bye - and good luck to Will and Kate! All hail the future King of Great Britain!