Castles and Capitals 4: Lots of London (2/2)

On Saturday I made my way up to St. Paul’s Cathedral and took a few quintessential red telephone booth photos along the way. The “Occupy Wall Street” protesters had foiled my attempts to see the inside of the building the day before, as their presence had forced the cathedral to close; today the gallery with the view of the city was still closed, so I vowed to return another time. We instead made our way back on the Tube to Buckingham Palace, an area which I loved because of its openness, gorgeous architecture and neat path outside the main gates (unfortunately the Victoria Memorial was obscured behind scaffolding, another off-season project). We ate at a sandwich place and began our walk towards Hyde Park, passing under the beautiful Wellington Arch just as a protest parade involving Syria was escorted past by policemen. Hyde Park itself was fantastically large, a slice of nature in the middle of urbanity, and I enjoyed sitting on a bench with my friends eating a vanilla ice cream cone and walking through the grass under the blue sky and along the lake Serpentine. 

St. Paul's

Buckingham Palace through the gates

My friend and I in front of Wellington Arch

The blue skies in Hyde Park

A walk in Hyde Park

The British Museum

Afterwards, I made my way on the Tube to the British Museum, passing through Russell Square and through the grand columns of the massive (and free to view!) collection of historical and cultural artifacts. I spent only the better part of an hour here but was impressed by the interior of the building and the amount of objects on exhibition. Afterwards I met my friends in Trafalgar Square and popped into the National Gallery to appreciate the architecture and a brief glimpse of some beautiful paintings. We took the Tube one last time back to King’s Cross before heading out to dinner at a restaurant for good pub food (I had fish and chips, a usual in Scotland), and spent some time that night in the room sorting out our belongings for the trip home.

Trafalgar Square from the steps of the National Gallery

Coming up out of the Underground

King's Cross

Gorgeous views out the window of the train

Another pretty view

It was sad to think of all the things I hadn’t seen in London yet, but I was so grateful for all the experiences I did have, and I absolutely cannot wait to come back and see especially St. Paul’s Cathedral, Westminster Abbey and perhaps take a ride on the London Eye. I thought the five hour train ride home would be dull, but I was treated with the most beautiful views out the window of sunny English countryside dotted with sheep, small towns with towering old churches, colorful autumn trees, cream-colored houses with red roofs along the water, and the Eastern coastline running parallel to the train tracks. 

The sun was setting as we made it back to Scotland, and when the train operator announced in a thick Scottish accent that we were arriving in “Stahling,” I was surprised to find myself thinking how happy I was to be coming “home” after a week’s travel. 

I had an absolutely wonderful experience that week, and while I may have spent a tad bit more than I had anticipated it was worth every penny. There is a lot that happened and even more to reflect on that I haven’t detailed here, but even as it stands I hope I haven’t bored anyone, and I won’t be offended if you just skimmed for the photos.

Basically the path I took on the trip!

I covered a lot of ground that week and am so grateful for all the planning my amazing friends put into this. Here’s to a week of great sights, great company and a great memory!

Castles and Capitals 4: Lots of London (1/2)

Our final destination on the week-long trip was London! This was my first time in the city but hopefully not my last, as even with three days to explore there is so much left to see.

Abbey Road

We took a train into King’s Cross from Cardiff on Thursday and made our way to our newest hostel. A few of my group decided to make our way to Abbey Road, so after waiting in line for our day pass, we started our expedition on the fantastic transportation system I came to be familiar with: the Tube. I loved how easy it was to zip from one stop to the next and to orient myself with the different “lines,” though I could not have done it without a pocket map provided to me that now hangs proudly (and somewhat battered and water-stained) on my wall. From our station we were whisked to Abbey Road, a very busy intersection where cars from all directions are frustrated by determined tourists trying to take pictures. I was able to cross a couple times on the iconic zebra stripes and saw the outside of the recording studios before we descended back onto the Underground to Baker Street. The interior of the station was covered in a tile of small silhouettes of Sherlock Holmes, and indeed there exists a small museum and gift shop dedicated to the great detective himself (who I had to remember, through my mindset of seeing historical wonders, was fictitious and did not actually live in 221 Baker Street). Nearby was the Beatles store where we spent some time marveling at merchandise before attempting to make our way through the Charring Cross area. We ended up eating an amazing three-course Mediterranean meal in Convent Garden for very cheap and had a good night chatting at the hostel afterwards. 

A quick picture while crossing!

I love the Underground!

Jeremy Brett!

My first impressions of London were centered around how very little fanfare there was for tourists, and rightly so – this is a functioning city, but it was still surprising for me to realize in person, perhaps exemplified best in the situation at Abbey Road where tourists baffled the regular rhythm of traffic and everyday life. Everywhere there was construction on prominent buildings as they worked to remodel during the off season, and I often expected more directions from a tourist-friendly street sign or public map that did not exist. This did not make me like London less, but moreso made me aware of my self-centeredness as a tourist from abroad, which I hope I quickly adapted to for the remainder of my time in the great city.

The Tower of London from the outside

The next day was Friday, one of the last days of our adventure, and perhaps the busiest day so far. A part of the group took the Tube near Trafalgar Square and an area packed with theatre promotions and houses to pick up a London Pass that allowed us discounts and free entry to some attractions in the city. My first stop was the Tower of London, a very famous and fascinating collection of buildings, grounds, architecture and items like the Crown Jewels situated right amongst a very urban part of town near the Thames (you could see the Tower Bridge from the walkway). I enjoyed seeing the different parts of the Tower, and the weather stayed beautiful with only a few clouds. While I did get to see and take pictures with the “beefeaters” or Yeoman Warders (ceremonial guards that live in and give tours of the Tower of London) and the massive ravens (part of a superstition concerning the protection of the Crown Jewels), I did not get to see Jewels themselves as the line on that particular Friday was at least a one hour wait. 

And old building and a modern one

In the back, you can see a guard in red

Tower Bridge

The bell tower where prisoners like Thomas Becket were kept

Instead we perused the Tower gift shop before hopping on the Tube to Westminster area, where I was treated with my first sight of golden Big Ben and the Parliament and the fantastic exterior of Westminster Abbey (I will have to return to see the inside). Afterwards I went up to the Tower Bridge exhibition, which provided lovely views of the Thames and the more modern buildings along the water. We took the lift down and each bought a cup of sugary roasted peanuts from a street vendor before finding a place to watch the bridge we had just walked along raise for a passing boat. As the sun began to set we joined a Thames river cruise, where we got to see the city waterfront as the lights came on (and got a little wet in the process!). 

The London Eye in the back

The awe-inspiring Westminster Abbey

On Tower Bridge

Big Ben at night from the Thames river cruise

 We made an effort to take the Tube to Greenwhich for the British Music Experience; unfortunately we were too late, but we had stumbled upon “The O2” or “Millennium Dome,” a massive, spiny bubble housing an indoor mall made to look outdoors as well as a cinema, concert hall, and various other facilities. We made our way back out past concert-goers with tickets to Britney Spears and back to the hostel before heading out for a night in the East End of London. A friend of the group led us around the multicultural and urban Brick Lane, where I enjoyed some excellent curry before returning on the bus with friends to rest our feet! 

Next part: Saturday in London!

Castles and Capitals 3: Sunshine in Wales

Our next stop during the week-long break was Cardiff, the capital of Wales, where we would be spending a couple nights in a lovely hostel along the river. Our trip began at an early hour of the morning in Dublin, and after a quick flight with Ryanair we found ourselves in Bristol, England, a gorgeous city bathed in sunlight that I had the pleasure to view out the window of a bus to the train station. Our trip to Cardiff was brief and when we arrived in Wales, we were greeted with an open blue sky and dry pavement and weather that we would be able to enjoy for the greater part of our stay, which contributed to the general feeling of relaxation I experienced here.

A lion on the Animal Wall outside Cardiff Castle

We dropped off our belongings at our fabulous hostel across from Cardiff’s Millenium Stadium and the River Taff before exploring town. Along the way towards Cardiff Castle stretches the “Animal Wall,”  a cute collection of well-sculpted stone animals set and different intervals that we had fun taking pictures with. The shopping area in the city centre was packed with visitors, and we walked around a bit before stopping in to eat an inexpensive lunch in a quiet tavern. The warm sunshine, coupled with the general atmosphere of leisure, made this day extremely relaxing and calm. We took a walk down to Cardiff Bay to enjoy the sights along the pier of the Bristol Channel and saw the exterior of the massive Millenium Centre, a building dedicated to housing artistic events like opera and theatre, and the neat reflective Water Tower outside in the plaza. In the streets around Cardiff Bay in waterfront Mermaid Quay I indulged in some shopping before we made our way back into town. For dinner that night we went out for tapas, the Spanish-based meal of appetizers, a dining experience that I found extremely fun and satisfying. 

I think Dad will like this!

At the end of the shopping centre

Cardiff Bay

The Millenium Centre

Near a recreation of an old farm

We woke up to a fantastic selection for breakfast and walked in the Welsh sunshine to our bus to St. Fagans. This amazing national history museum is designed as an outdoor walk-through of different eras of Welsh life, with buildings, stores and other structures designed as if they were from different periods. I especially enjoyed the old general store, where a pile of outdated British coins sat on the counter for anyone to examine (half crowns, shillings, sixpence and the like were phased out around 1971 on Decimal Day), and the absolutely gorgeous gardens near St. Fagans Castle where we spent a long time after lunch. Our meal consisted of fresh warm bread purchased at the bakery in the museum along with different types of cheese from the general store (I believe white wine and garlic cheddar, and something I can’t remember that was also tasty) and some rhubarb and vanilla jam that we devoured happily in the café. The weather held up for our time in the gardens. It was a perfect autumn day – leaves on the grass, a little chill, sunshine and a bright sky covered in a few fluffy white and grey clouds – and before long we realized we needed to catch a bus back into town. While relaxing and the bus stop we chatted with an older couple visiting the museum from Northern Wales. They would speak Welsh to each other, and conversed with us about how the language is taught in some schools at an early age. 

Old Celtic village

Near the gardens

Cardiff Castle

Back at the hostel we prepared to head out for dinner and took a bus back to Mermaid Quay to meet a friend of one of the group who was attending Cardiff University. We enjoyed food and laughter for three hours in an upstairs restaurant near the bay before we called it a night.

After a beautiful and relaxing couple of days in sunshiny Wales, it was on to London for the remainder of the trip!