Heading home....

Preceeding 5 days of blogs below.

Heading home (part 1)….

Up early this morning. I had my complementary breakfast at the hotel restaurant – and it was the same as it has been for the last week. The service at this hotel was clearly designed for the ubber wealthy and lazy; I was mammed until I almost screamed, I was asked repeatedly if the chef could prepare me a special omelet, and I was asked twice if I would like me tea poured for me (before I had even gotten milk and sugar into the cup). I used to think living that kind of high life would be fun, but it was more annoying and intrusive than anything – I ate as quickly as I could, then got out of there.

Back up to my room to finish my packing which, in retrospect, was rather haphazard. I decided to check one of my carry-ons and then take my new back-pack on the plane with me as cabin luggage, but it wasn’t until I had gotten to the security checkpoint that I realized how good of an idea that was, since all of my make-ups and liquids got shoved into my doctor’s bag just to get it out of the way.

I had arranged last night for the dot-to-dot shuttle to the airport – it’s like a mini-van/bus and, for $20p, it’s probably the best money I’ve spent here so far. I opted for an early ride since I now know how unpredictable London traffic can be, and got to the airport for quarter past ten. Getting to the departures gate, I checked in electronically to save time, but still ended up paying $44p for my over-weight luggage (AGAIN!). There was no other choice – all my other bags were packed and I would have had to loose 10kg from my big suitcase, so I wasn’t even going to pretend to try.

Once checked in, I headed for the security check-point. There’s a MASSIVE difference between Heathrow at 6am and at 10am. It took me a half-hour to get through security, and I still have an hour wait until my flight is assigned a gate. So, I’m going to wander around the duty free shops and see if there’s anything to spend my money on! ;-)

Heading home (part 2)….
On June 2nd.

Home! Well, halfway there – all my clothes are dirty, so I’m at my parent’s house to do laundry. After the first half of this post, I wandered around the duty-free shops and found some Twining tea (300 bags for $20? Yes please!), then waited for my flight.

Heathrow flights are a bit odd – you aren’t given a gate number until about an hour before the flight. When I finally found out what gate we would be leaving from, I took the 10 minute walk to get out to it. We were herded into a glass room to wait – it was an odd feeling. The plane had gotten into London late, so we were 25 minutes late leaving the ground, but the pilots made up the time in the air, so we landed on time in Ottawa.

The guy sitting in front of me had at least 4 (maybe 5?) glasses of wine in about 4 hours and was drunk as a skunk. We was getting louder and more obnoxious as the flight went on, and I don’t think the situation was aided by the Eddie Murphy films he was watching (like a toddler, they just seemed to get him wound up). To make the situation worse, every time he got up, or shifted in his seat, he would look back and me with this creepy smile on his face. When getting of the plane, he offered to help me with my carry on (which I said no to), then in the customs line up, every time I looked around at the crowd, he was staring at me. Trés creepy….

Anyway, besides being a 7 and a half hour flight (and a creepy on at that), everything went fine. I watched Yes Man and Frost/Nixon, and some 30 Rock episodes, since Air Canada has on-demand viewing at each seat – it’s a nice better system that the old days where everyone had the choice of watching the same movie.

When I got to the house, I started unpacking only to realize that I had left my power-cord for my laptop plugged into a wall somewhere (I think it was at the Hammersmith Novotel), so I don’t have it. I’m going to see if my old lap top’s cord will work and, if not, I’ll have to shell out for a new one. I still have loads of pics to put up, but that’s going to have to wait until I get to my house so I can connect directly to the internet. There’s a lot of them, so I’m looking forward to finally getting them posted!

I’m having a harder time adjusting to the jet-lag coming home than I did going over, oddly enough. Other than that first crappy morning in London, I was fine, but even though I made it to 9pm last night (that was 20 hours awake), I was up at 3am this morning; that’s only 6 hours of sleep. I think I’ll do better when I’m back at my place, ensconced in my queen-size bed. I’m really looking forward to that!

I’m glad I took this trip, though there are lots of things I would do differently and some things I wouldn’t change for the world. I definitely would have packed lighter, but I don’t think I would have taken that bus tour. I enjoyed my time in London on my own, and some of the sights on the tour, but I want to be able to see England at my own pace. Dad’s talking about taking a train/driving trip through Germany next spring, so I have that to (maybe?) look forward to, but renting a car and exploring southern England at my own pace is definitely something I want to have a chance to do in the future!

And so it ends….

Ah, my time in London is coming to an end. I started my day with breakfast at the Novotel courtesy of Globus. The breakfast buffet is getting a little boring, as it’s very repetitive – eggs, ham, mushrooms, beans, hashbrowns… Very boring now. After breakfast, I packed my things, checked out, and headed for the tube station at Hammersmith. I now have my massive suitcase, my heavy backpack, my doctor’s bag, my matching purse, and this morning I had my messenger bag as well. I was halfway to the tube station, and taking a break to rest my weary arms, when I realized I had left my purse on the bed in my room. So, I turned around (with all my stuff) and headed back to the hotel. Wayward bag in hand, I chose to take a taxi to my new hotel at Hyde Park - $15p later, I has at the hotel, and being ‘mamed’ to death by the hotel staff.

I left my bags at the hotel, then headed to the National Portrait Gallery at Charings Cross. Admission was free, so I was happy to shell out the $2p for the audio guide, and had a lot of fun (I’m a nerd, remember), going through the galleries with Tudor, Jacobite, Stewart, and Victorian portraits. I was hoping to pick up a museum guide in the shop, but they only had guides relating to specific galleries, so I grabbed one on the Tudor/Jacobite collection (as well as some magnets for my fridge). I had a crappy sandwich at the gallery café, then headed to Richoux for cream tea (again – but yum…).

On my way to Richoux, I almost got caught up in a massive protest against the Afghani/Pakistani (?) war in front of the American embassy. It was a massive crowd, but it was all men – no women anywhere. Continuing on to the restaurant, I was disappointed to see it was packed and there was a line, but the woman behind the counter assured me that it wasn’t going to be a long wait as there were some groups that would be leaving. I still had to wait 20 minutes, but it was totally worth it; a 3 cup pot of tea, 4 mini-cinnamon/raisin scones, clotted cream and strawberry jam? Heaven, I assure you.

After tea, I headed up to Bond Street to find a cash machine as I was completely cash-less, and still needed to figure out how I would be getting to Heathrow tomorrow morning. I was walking up the street, and noticed a plus-sized store (a little odd, for those who know about the plus-sized market). I stopped in for a look – a lot of the clothes weren’t all that great as they relied on wearing tights (which isn’t attractive on plus-sized women), but I found a dress and a blouse. For British pounds, the clothing was reasonably priced – my clothes, plus a necklace, came up to $60p. The guy at the counter surprised me when he asked it I wanted to pay (on my credit card) in pounds or Canadian dollars. I was surprised to be asked so, without thinking, I said Canadian dollars. It wasn’t until he showed me the receipt that I realized I could have made a huge mistake – the company could have given me a shitty exchange rate, but it was, in fact, better than what the bank in Orleans gave me (of course, I don’t know what the actual rate is right now, so maybe I got screwed over in the end).

By this time, I was exhausted – I think the last three weeks have finally caught up with me. I headed back to my hotel, rested for a couple of hours, arranged for a shuttle ride to the airport for tomorrow (for $19p), then had dinner in the hotel restaurant. I sat down at 6:30 and was the only on in the restaurant for the entire time. The food was amazing though – I had the seasonal menu which started off with cream of asparagus soup, the roasted chicken with bacon, roasted asparagus, and a cream mushroom sauce. It was pretentious, but extremely delicious. I get a free breakfast tomorrow with my room fare, but after that, I get to go home! I’m looking forward to crashing on my own couch, sleeping in my own bed, and getting to shower in a full size bath tub! To bed now!

A Long and Winding Road….

Ahhhh…. Tour is over, and I’m pretty happy with that. Being with a group of people that I don’t know, who are older than me, and doing things that aren’t always what I want to do, isn’t what I would consider the ideal travelling conditions. Besides, for an extreme home body, being away from home for more than 3 weeks is a little much; I’m looking forward to getting home.

We left Brighton this morning at 8am and headed for a small town that Queen Anne used as a resort town about an hour away. I bought a post-card, but seem to have lost it along the way – I’m hoping it’ll turn up when I unpack. We had less than an hour there (and there wasn’t much to see) but it was nice to stretch the legs and get some pictures. All I remember about the place was that Anne had pan tiles installed on the main promenade since one of her sons fell and broke a leg there. Once we left there, we had a 2 hour drive to Leeds Castle.

Because of the school break and the drop dead gorgeous weather Leeds Castle and it’s grounds were full of people. There was also supposed to be a jousting exhibition, but we didn’t get to see any of it because there was lots of talking before the jousting was to start. Walking the grounds was extremely beautiful – the flowers, lawns, ponds, and streams were charming and pretty. The castle was a mix of it’s original medieval structure and building projects that stretched into the 20th century. The highlight of the stop for me had to be the box maze though. I entered it, thinking I would always take right turns to get to the grotto at its center – that didn’t work. After about 10 minutes, I was back at the entrance. I headed back into the maze taking right turns, but quickly realized I was walking the same paths over and over again. I finally fell into line behind a family that had their 6 year-old daughter sitting on her father’s shoulders and giving directions to get to the center of the maze. From there, there was an exit through an underground grotto – it wasn’t well lit and they were playing The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner so it had a real creepy feel to it; besides, it was huge underground and led out to a place outside the maze. In all, I was there about 30 minutes.

Our bus was supposed to leave at 1:05, but two ladies (who were really heavy) misjudged how long it would take them to get back to the bus, so we didn’t get out of there until 1:15. From there, we headed strait to London. We’re staying at the Novotel at Hammersmith – I’m not to far from the Tube, so I’ll be able to get to my hotel tomorrow morning without to much of a hassle. The big shock about the hotel was that the rates were posted on the back of the door - $200 pounds a night! :-O

When they dropped us off I took a couple of minutes to relax, then headed out to the shops looking for a luggage store. I found a piece that’s a backpack with wheels on it and loaded is up with some heavy stuff so I don’t have to pay the over-weight fee on my luggage again. It’ll be easier to carry, and I’ll come out $30Can ahead in the situation, so there you have it.

I chose to pass on the optional tour excursion tonight – it was dinner and a show (Billy Elliot, the Lion King, or Wicked; one I’ve seen and the other two I have no interest in, and it cost like $60 pounds – not cool). Instead, I had dinner at a little bistro where the food was fresh, inexpensive, unpretentious, and delicious; it was probably the best meal I’ve had since getting here. Yum!

Well, tomorrow I’ll start with my last free tour provided breakfast, then head to my new hotel, then to the National Portrait Gallery in the morning, then Richoux for one last tea! A full day planned, but a relaxing night tonight. I have a couch in my room, and I’m enjoying sitting on a couch for the first time in 3 weeks!

Beauty, beauty everywhere…. But not at the end of the day….

A raucous night last night. When we were at dinner there was a bachelorette party going on at the same time in the dining room; starting around 10pm that group, and a bunch of other pesky young people, were heading for the clubs. I was cursing the fact that my room faced onto the street (a thought I would come to regret today), and had to dig out my ear plugs. Oddly enough, when I woke up, I couldn’t find those plugs in my bed or on the ground around them anywhere. I was getting ready to leave when I noticed both of them in the shower; I don’t know if I was sleep walking again, or what. Odd though.

I got to the bus early enough to get the front seat, and shared it with one of the other single girls on the tour (we talked a little bit, but she’s from Japan and isn’t that great with the English). We left Bath this morning at 8am to fog. For the first hour or so, we couldn’t see much until the sun broke through the fog. But, by 9:15 we had arrived on the Salisbury plain to see Stonehenge. I was frustrated at first since we had gotten there 15 minutes before the site even opened and, from where we were standing we couldn’t see them across the road. But, when we finally got onto the site, I struck to the left while everyone else headed right; this meant that my shots of the circle didn’t have people in the background and the path was quieter. I walked around the monument, then headed back towards the bus. Behind the parking lot is a field held by the National Trust that has burial mounds in it. I had about 20 minutes until we were supposed to leave and, since there was no one in it, I decided that a nice quite walk would be helpful. I took the time to wander right up to the fence that surrounds the mounds (which put me about shouting distance from a herd of cows). The walk was nice, and when I got up to the top of the hill the mounds were on it was nice and breezy and cool.

From there, we headed to Salisbury Cathedral. Again, the tour director told us where we could get pictures, but said it wasn’t necessary to go into the cathedral, but we could if we wanted to. I took the opportunity and paid my student fee to get in. It was interesting and beautiful, but we couldn’t take pictures inside. Salisbury is renowned for holding a copy of the Magna Carta and the highest spire in England. After I wandered around the cathedral I headed into the town and had a cream tea at a little tea shop. There wasn’t much time to do anything else (we only had 40 minutes in the town), so I headed back to the bus.

On the road again, we headed to Arundel. This is the seat of the Duke of Norfolk. We had about an hour and a half to have a late lunch and wander around. There really wasn’t going to be time to view the large catholic cathedral that is in the town, nor the palace/castle, so I wandered the streets looking for a quiet place to have lunch. I found Belinda’s, a 16th century structure that had been converted into a tea house/restaurant. I had ‘potato jackets with cheddar’ which was a baked potato with butter and cheese. Yum. I started heading up the hill in town and stopped into a print store to see if they had any advertisements, but they didn’t; I still had quite the conversation with the proprietor about my thesis topic after the asked what I was doing; he gave me a bit of a diatribe on Americans and their coffee. When I finally got out of there, I kept heading up the hill for the view, then back down. I got some sherbet from a confectionary, then had to head back to the bus.

We left Arundel for Brighton but, because it’s Friday, the schools are on vacation, and the weather is beautiful, the roads were crowded and we got caught in traffic several times before getting into the regency town. We drove in along the water front and it was a nice view, but frustratingly slow. When we got into town we headed for Brighton’s Royal Pavilion, built by George IV during his regency. We were given an audio guide (which I’ve noticed has replaced actual people at all the stops where the company tells us that there will be ‘guided tours’), I went through a lot of the rooms, but my audio guide broke when I got to Queen Victoria’s rooms. Oh well, the really interesting parts involving the Oriental-inspired decorations were downstairs and I had already seen them, so it wasn’t the biggest loss.

From the Pavilion we went to the hotel. When we were told we were staying at the Brighton Beach water-front Hilton, I was expecting something completely different from what I got. I walked into the room as I was realizing that no, I wasn’t going to be having a water-front view (see what I meant about cursing my thought about getting a room on the front of the hotel? I’ve have killed for one today….), I then realized that my bed was a twin and jammed against a wall – my room is very long, pretty narrow and reminiscent of a servant’s quarter from the age when the building was built (except I’m not in the basement or attic, and I have a plasma screen TV – so you see, life is tough!).

After dropping off my things I headed out for a walk to see the ‘beach’ and would like to tell the Brits that no, you don’t have a beach, you have piles of rock that abuts the ocean – you should know that. I walked down one block along the main street, then tried to cut down to the water. I was wearing flats and rocks kept getting into them so I thought it would be better to just take them off (big mistake). So, I stopped and sat for a while, just enjoying the sea breeze and the view. Finally sucking it up, I walked down to the water to say I had dipped my foot in, and I did. It was cold, but not uncomfortably so. I then walked along to the beach to the pier along the water; there was a strata of harder, sand-like material that I could walk along, but walking about up to the boardwalk was hard.

When I got back to the hotel, I had a better chance to look over my room. As it turns out, I only had one set of towels (have you seen my hair?!?! I clearly need more than one towel…) and my toilet wouldn’t flush. On my way down to dinner I asked the front desk to send up someone to fix that (they did, but it still won’t flush….). As I was walking into the dinning room, a group of 3 invited me to join their table. They’re a mother, daughter, and the mother’s friend travelling together from Texas. They’re very sweet, but it’s like the walked out of a Rachel Ray catalogue; I listen to discussions about what the daughter’s kids would do this summer, recipes, and Church. Like I said, very cute, but the brain-trust, it wasn’t. Still, I could have ended up at the old guy you creeps me out or Twitchy McGee’s tables so, it could have been worse.

Tomorrow is the last day of the tour. We’ll be getting back to London by 3:30. I’m looking forward to getting onto my own thing. I still want to see the National Portrait gallery and maybe the London dungeon (now that I know where it is), and Kensington gardens. So, I’ve got a few more must-dos before leaving and only one day left on this trip. And, I’m looking forward to getting home.

Say hello to Wales and goodbye to vowels….

Le sigh… it was a loooonnnnggg day. Started with a late wake-up call in Stratford (by 10 minutes) after a night in a king-sized bed made up with two of the oldest twin mattresses known to man; they both dipped in the middle and the springs could be felt through the ticking. It wasn’t all the comfortable and it took forever to fall asleep. But, alas, I was up and ready to go after a lovely hot English breakfast.

We were on the bus and on the go by 8am. I had to sit next to a guy because his wife and him were the last ones on the bus, so ended up sitting to a guy who not-so-affectionately became known in my inner monologue as ‘Twitchy McGee.’ Through the entire day on the bus he kept shifting and moving; what’s worse, he kept invading my space bubble. One minute he would move and his arm would be touching me, or he would shift and his thigh would be touching mine. Had it been a long driving day, there might have been a classic Elise freak-out move, the likes of which have never been seen before (by anyone but her mother, that is). Our first stop was in the town of Cotswold (where the annual, traditional fox hunt begins every year). We were there super early, so nothing was open, but is was nice wandering around the quite little town.

We left there and headed to the ruins of Tintern Abbey. We stopped there for less than an hour – our guide told us we could pay to go in if we wanted, but she didn’t think it was necessary. Shag that – with my student ID it was only going to cost me $3.50, and I’m sooooo glad I did. The ruins were striking, but I was blown away when I walked into the shell of the cathedral; there is no roof, no window, and the floor is carpeted with the greenest grass you’ve ever seen. The first thing that struck me was that this was a true house of God (it’s corny, I know); the efforts of man are pervaded by nature and it seems like nature wins – if more churches were like that, I might go. Oh, and what the hell was the tour guide talking about?!?!

From the Abbey we headed to Bath – we got into town, had a little bit of a drive around, but because of traffic, we got stuck in the lower part of the city for almost 20 minutes before getting to the Roman Baths. But, when we did get there, we got an audio guide and entrance into the baths themselves – it was packed though, so I was feeling decided uncomfortable. I grabbed lots of pics, but didn’t stay long to listen to the audio guide or read the information panels. The one thing that our tour guide (and the employees at the baths) told us repeatedly about the waters was that we shouldn’t touch them – they’re untreated, full of minerals/metals/god knows what, and you don’t want any part of the dysentery you might end up with if you splash around in it; inevidably though, I saw several people sticking their hands in the streams/pools to see what it felt like. We call that Social Darwinism in the Guest house, I’ll tell you what.

After booking in through the baths, I exited the museum and headed to the Pump House for lunch. The Pump House, attached to the baths, was the center of Georgian society in Bath during the 18th century. As I sat waiting (and it was a long wait – service was shit), I wondered who had tread on the floors, stood in the wings, and engaged with history in that very room. Hey, I’m nerdy, I’ve never denied it. After lunch, I wandered back down to the area we got caught up in traffic to look at a used/rare books and print store I saw – I couldn’t find anything to tempt me, so wandered back to the touristy area of town and had a cream tea at a tea house behind the baths (not a good as Richoux’s, but it hit the spot. I got to finally try souchon tea – I’m not to sure I like it, but it was smoky and unique, so I think it’s an acquired taste). I wandered the back streets and alleys, window shopping and got back to the bus on time.

There was an optional excursion to Castle Combe on offer this afternoon. Castle Combe is the quintessential English village – the houses are protected and must be maintained in their historical look, there are no above ground wires, and there’s a bunch of little streets. We got to wander around the town for a while, have a drink at the pub, and take all the pictures we wanted. It was the perfect spot. I wasn’t a fan of the forced socialization at the pub, so left after I was done my drink for another walk down the main street and another stroll through the church yard. It was beautiful. It took us 40 minutes to get there and another 40 to get back, so we only had 10 minutes after getting back to Bath before dinner.

The room here is classy and comfy, and totally wish we could transport this room with us. The only down side is that I’m right over the main door and right across from the elevators – it might be a noisy night, we’ll see.

The people on this tour are driving me a little nuts. Besides Twitchy McGee, I was sitting in front of a woman who would grunt or honk every time the tour guide would give us an interesting tid-bit or fact and her sister read every sign we passed and repeated the names of all the places we passed through. When we got to the hotel, I was out in the hall way and heard through one of the doors (in the most obnoxious American accent): “OH MY GOD. Do you know what I just found in the closet?!?! A FAN!” It’s like 10 degrees here at night – were you planning on turning on the AC? Also, the number of people sleeping on the bus is getting ridiculous – we only have about one and two hours between stops, so why the hell are you sleeping, besides which – you paid all this fucking money to see Southern England, why are you sleeping through it?!?! This is all to say nothing of the complaining that the old people are doing about how rushed and hurried we are. Yes, it’s true, we are rushing for place to place, but it’s just the type of vacation this is and, most of them have been on this type of tour before, so what the fuck? Some people (okay, those people are usually old people and Americans, which there are more than enough of on the trip) just like to complain.

Third day of tour, first day of doing anything of note….

Last 3 day's worth of posts are below.

The morning started with another yummy British breakfast at the Hilton hotel, and we left there around 8am. Our tour guide, Gillian, is nice, if a bit long winded. We got a 5 minute lecture on the crops and economy of Britain this morning, and her discussion of British history (while interesting for people who don’t know much about the topic) was nothing new or overly interesting and, in some cases, just plain rumors that have been debunked by historians in the last few years. But still, I guess it is interesting in a way.

Our first stop was at Hampton Court – I was really disappointed that it was just going to be a tour of the gardens. Had I known that, I would have struck out there on my own to have a look around. I have one day in London after the tour, and I might end up going out then to see it, since I really want to see the palace. The walk around the outside was interesting, but it was pouring rain, so the walk wasn’t all that comfortable. We got there around 9am, and the grounds were only opened to us so it was nice to have the entire grounds to ourselves.

From there, we went to Oxford. We wandered around with the guide for a bit, but it was freezing and still pouring! The walk wasn’t the comfortable, but it was nice to wander around the place. We had a little bit of free time to wander around and have lunch. I stopped at a Wagamama in honour of Alanna. It was expensive, but alright – I had chicken raman that came with goyza and I ordered some rice. The soup was nice on such a cold day. I thought to buying an Oxford college sweater while I was there, but couldn’t find one that fix and with a colour I liked, so I chose to suffer the cold.

From Oxford we went to Blowden (where Churchill is buried). We got to see the grave, and since the rain had ended, it wasn’t horribly unpleasant. From there we went to Stratford-Upon-Avon. We only had a chance to see the outside of Anne Hathaway’s cottage, but got to go in and wander around Shakespeare’s birthplace and home. We got some more free time to wander around the shops on the pedestrian mall. I found a place selling antique prints/advertisements, and found two for tea companies; together they cost me almost $50pounds, but both were from 1894, in colour, and matted. I also found a shop selling Oxford gear, so I picked myself up a tee shirt for sleeping in.

On a whole, the pace of the tour seems rushed and we aren’t getting a lot of time to see the places we stop and we aren’t stopping at places I figured we would. I’m kind of regretting spending the money now (I think that’s partly the fact that I’m tired of travelling now, but I’m glad I’m doing this trip now and not before my time in London).

Some observations on my fellow travelers:
-The Americans are a freaking joke. They insist on reading every sign we pass, call everything ‘charming’ or ‘quaint,’ and keep making a big deal about how everything looks like a movie set. Enough already.
-I was sitting around 2 older men on the bus. At different times, they both fell asleep, and proceeded to snore. Nice. You’re paying a shit load of money to go on this trip and you’re sleeping through it? Come on!
-One of those guys was in his 40s/50s and is with his daughter (I hope that’s his daughter and it’s not a Lolita type situation). I didn’t see him smile all day. The girl started off talking to him first thing on the bus until he told her she was annoying and then she barely said anything else all day. When we got off at Blowden, she didn’t want to go, so he went and brought a poncho. When he got back on the bus, he took off the poncho he just tossed it on her and then sat down and left her to fold it an put it away. If dad ever pulled that kind of shit with me….
-I’m glad I paid the extra money to have a single room. There are two other single women on this tour and two single men. Odds are, I would have ended up sharing a room with some one. And, as a single, I have a king-sized bed rather than a set of twins. Nice….
-One of the single men on the trip is at least 60. He sticks like glue to the tour guide and gets her to repeat all her instructions to him and then repeats them back to her, sometimes interrupting her when she talks to the group on a whole. Very annoying, I don’t care how old he is.

May 26 - A day (un)like any other….

Today was the first full day of my Globus tour. It started off with a buffet breakfast at the Hilton restaurant. The scrambled eggs were too loose for me, but there were extremely delicious mushrooms to make up for that. I got a pot of tea and a muffin out of it too, so how could I complain? Besides, it was one of my first proper breakfasts I’ve had since I got here, so it was much appreciated. After breakfast I paid $3pounds to check my email and move some money around (there’s no free wireless here!), then headed back to my room to collect my things and met my tour group in the lobby at 8:15.

We had a bus tour through London that was interesting. A lot of the things were saw were places I had discovered on my own, but it was nice to get extra information on them. The history the guide gave us about London and England was interesting as well (though there wasn’t a whole lot new for me), but you could tell he was a Princess Di fan, because a lot of what he gave us was about her and her links to London and the royal family. I was sitting next to an older lady on the bus who was from England, but was with her cousin who was visiting from Vancouver – she was sweet, but I am hoping to get my own seat for the majority of the trip.

Our first stop on the sight seeing trip was at St. Paul’s Cathedral. I hadn’t visited it on my own because I knew we would be seeing it on the tour, but it was a quick in and out kind of thing – I would have like more time. The guide was clearly a fan of Sir Christopher Wren and knew a lot about him. We walked down the center aisle, then through the chapel at the back of the church, and then the crypt. We didn’t have time to look at the side aisles or the whispering gallery, and there was only about 15 minutes at the end of his tour to look through the crypt. Had I known it was going to be a speed race through there, I would have paid the admission and gone on my own.

But, in the crypt, I was really taken with Wellington’s tomb. Having now seen both Napoleon’s and Wellington’s, I have to say, Wellington’s is much nicer. Napoleon’s is inaccessible to average person and is huge – you can tell the people who designed and built it were trying to prove a point; with Wellington’s tomb, you can touch it, wander around it, and feel more reverence for the man since his memory stands on it’s own and doesn’t rely on an over-done monument. Surrounding his coffin are the colours of the divisions that he commanded at Waterloo (the original ones, some of which are in tatters now). Also in that crypt is the tomb of Nelson – it’s directly under the central dome, but is more ornate than Wellington’s. Being an army girl, I’m far more partial to the iron duke’s, but all the same, the fact that the two biggest military men of the 19th century lie within feet of each other is a historian’s dream.

After we left St. Paul’s, out tour guide wanted us to see the changing of the guard at Buckingham. Having sat on the lawn of Parliament to see our own guards, I wasn’t all that excited to see the one in London. Just as well, the parade down the Mall was cancelled today in order to rehearse the colour parade that will happen in June. So, our tour guide gave us about a half-hour to wander around the area. Unfortunately, the trees were releasing their pollen today, so my eyes were watering, my throat was scratchy and I was sneezing like mad (I wasn’t the only one; most of our tour was suffering from the same problems!). After that, we got back on our bus and headed through Belgravia and Notting Hill back to the hotel.

I left right away to head back to the City for lunch and some sight-seeing on my own. I had lunch at Edgar Wallace (on Connors’ recommendation) and had the best fish and chips I’ve had since getting here. Delicious. I left the pub and tried to get in to see the Temple church, but there was another talk going on, so I could get in. So, I headed east to the Suffolk Bridge – I got a little lost (no surprise) and ended wandering around the financial district a bit. I crossed the bridge in search of a tea and coffee museum that’s show on my map – but, after walking up and down the street a couple of time, I couldn’t spot it, so gave up and headed for the London dungeon museum. I got lost getting there (again, no surprise) but when I eventually found it, the line up aside was as long as Mme. Tusauds, so I decided to pass on it. From there, I headed home on the tube, grabbed some dinner at the M&S, and crashed.

I have to be packed and ready to go tomorrow by 6:45 (we’re leaving at 8), so I’m looking forward to a quite night after doing so much today (without doing much) getting ready for the start of the tour!

May 25 - The Glorious Gorgeous Day That Was Monday….

Up early again this morning, I think it was excitement. I finally started my tour this morning, which meant I got to transfer from the ‘quaint’ Royal Court Apartments to the Hilton London Metropol. I’m only one tube stop away from my old hotel, but the Hilton seems a million miles away – trés chick and classy. I got here around 10, but my room wasn’t ready until 11. I wasn’t struggling to fight the jet lag like a lot of people sitting around me, so I didn’t mind the hour or so wait to get a room above the 12th floor.

After getting to my room and settling in (I get more than 5 channels on the plasma screen TV – how will I learn to live again!?!?) I had a real fight on my hands as to whether or not today was going to be a lazy-do-nothing day or not. The thought of getting to have tea at a Richoux drove me from my room, so I walked over to Regent Park. Of all the parks London has to offer and that I’ve seen, Regent has to be my favorite – the gardens are immaculately kept and it’s gorgeous there. There was some debate as to whether or not it was going to rain today or not. The final decision out of the Met Office was that it was going to rain this afternoon. Knowing that, I grabbed my umbrella a coat and headed out the door.

It was past noon at this point so I stopped at the first appealing restaurant I saw (a pizza express for lunch). As I came out, there must have been some sort of soccer matching being shown at the local pub(s) because the street corners were packed and there were cops out en mass. So, I kept walking. Then, I came across Madame Tussaud’s – the line up to get in by buying tickets that day was more than half a BIG city block long; just to look at fake celebrities? WTF? Besides, it was so beautiful by that point of the day, why would you want to stay inside?

Just as I was getting to the park I had to take my jacket off because it was getting so hot. There was some sort of family picnic day being sponsored in the Park, so it was packed with people, kids, and families. But just walking around was a treat – I got lots of really beautiful photos. Besides being a large human population in the park, there were a whole whack of birds – pigeons, doves, geese, ducks…. So, there was more than enough bird shit on all the paths. The birds were aggressive, but strangely passive as are all birds in London. It is also apparently matting season for the pigeons in the city, so there was quite the show going on.

After walking through the Park, I went to the Richoux for tea that was near the St. James’s Wood tube station. It was a really different feel than the one near Hyde Park – instead of having a Victorian feel like the Hyde branch, it was more of a hipster joint with jazz music and art deco decorations. The waitress was far less attentive than the ones at Hyde, but the tea was just as delicious. Yum. From there, I headed back to my hotel after stopping at the M&S for some take-away dinner.

Now, I’ll looking forward to a quiet night in my 4 star hotel after taking a shower in a full bath-tub! Yeah!

May 24 - A Snap-tastic day….

Sunday, and it’s gorgeous here in London! Sunny, not hazy, +20, and a light wind. Hyde Park is packed, everyone is out…. But I’m getting ahead of myself. I woke up early today (on my own, the upstairs neighbors were conspicuously quiet this morning), but didn’t leave my place until around 9:45. I took the Central line from Lancaster Gate (which I just figured out yesterday was a block away and closer than Paddington!) to the British Museum. No surprise, but I got a little lost between the tube and the Museum but, after taking a minute to look at my map, I was soon on the right track and headed to the museum and got there around 10:15. It was already busy, but I think I can thank the nice weather for it not being a total zoo in there.

I started off by wandering around the main court and, for once, taking pictures! This was the first museum I’ve been in all week that didn’t jump all over you for taking pictures – I attributed that to the fact that the exhibits are mainly artifacts and not paintings/documents that are vulnerable to repeated flashes of light. The Rosetta Stone was almost impossible to see, but the Lord Elgin Marbles were a nice treat. I had an audio guide so learned a lot about what I was seeing. I wandered around for a couple of hours seeing the famous (and not so famous) treasures of the British Museum. My favorite gallery though had to be the Enlightenment Wing. It was just a hodge podge of various collected items, some housed in class encased bookshelves, others in little cases, and still others on pedestals. I can only assume that gallery used to be the home of the King’s Library (that has since been moved to the British Library), as the Museum used to be the Library’s home. I could have spent hours in there, very happily, had I been allowed to look at the books. I guess I’m going through book mould withdrawals…

By 1pm I was over the whole walking and learning thing (I’m fickle, what can I say?). I headed out looking for somewhere to eat. All the pubs within a block of the museum were packed, but I found a burger restaurant only a block and a half away that kicks The Works’ ass. I realized while eating that I haven’t actually had a decent serving of meat since getting here (just fish and chips and lots of salads). After lunch, I headed back to the Tube station and back to Lancaster Gate station. I wandered into Hyde Park for an ice cream cone and a bit of a walk, but after a few minutes the heat and my long day caught up with me, so I headed back to my apartment only to meet up with the cleaning lady in the hallway who told me she wasn’t done in my room yet (at 3pm!).

All I can say, is that I’m looking forward to the classier establishments I’ll be staying at for the next week. I’ll leave here tomorrow morning for the first hotel of my tour, but I’ll have the day to do what I’d like. Monday is a bank holiday here, so I’m not sure what will be open and closed, so I think I’ll be taking my book and wandering through the city’s parks (it was supposed to rain, but this morning they were saying it’s supposed to be nice…. Thanks Met Office, you wankers). I might see if the National Portrait Gallery will be open.

Best random moment of the day:
-I saw a young woman, about my age on the tube, wearing a full out 1980s-style cream coloured silk wedding dress. She didn’t appear to be on her way to a wedding, but you never know….

My long and winding road….

Up early again. Those pesky up-stairs neighbors were up around 5, then again around 7:30. So, I left my place around 8:30, and went to the Praed St entrance of the underground to get some money on my oyster pass for the rest of the weekend. $15p later, I was on my way to Westminster. As soon as you step out of the tube station at Westminster, you’re met by Big Ben. It’s a little shocking as I wasn’t prepared for it. My purpose of going to the area was to see Westminster Abbey, but I was about 20 minutes early for its opening time, so I walked around the Houses of Parliament and the garden along the Thames snapping pictures.

I got back to the Abbey shortly after 9:30 and the place was already busy. Buying my ticket and picking up my free audio guide (narrated by Jeremy Irons himself, or, Jeremys Iron as I like to think of him) and proceeded around the place. Pictures weren’t allowed, and I got the feeling that was the keep the crowds moving, because even that early in the morning the place seemed packed in all the little side chapels. Once again, I was struck by the way history is layered upon itself – Elizabethan, Stewart, Medieval, modern tombs are all packed in, one beside the other. No distinction is really made between the eras they were entombed, just were there happened to be space. I managed to snap some pictures in the very entrance to the Abbey that I used (they were mostly EICo monuments) but I almost cried when I couldn’t take a pictures of the General Wolfe’s memorial – it was just so elaborate and based of the West painting (on which I’ve written a paper); I really wanted an image of it. I consoled myself thinking I would grab a visitor’s guide of the place, but there aren’t a lot of pictures in it, so I missed out all together.

From there, I headed down Whitehall for a bit of a stroll as recommended by my Frommers. I missed the turn I was supposed to take, so ended up almost at Trafalgar before realizing my mistake. I found a pub to have lunch in (the Clarence, there for 400 years) and was a little shocked when, after starting a conversation with the girl behind the bar, I found out she was from Ottawa, but more than that, from Orleans and a uOttawa alum. Small world, hun? After a lunch of fish and chips and mushy peas, I turned around and headed back to Horseguards where I should have turned and headed in (thinking of Dad and the Sharpe movies the whole time….). I walked along the edge of St. James park and the back of the cabinet rooms, where I found a monument to everyone’s favorite 18th century super hero – Robert Clive! (“By day he worked for the Company and, by night….” “He fought crime?” “No, no…” “He did wear tights and a cape!” Ah, good times….)

I continued along through St. James’ Park, then to Buckingham, then through Green Park to the Wellington monuments. Since I no longer have a weeklong pass on my oyster, but am rather playing by ride, I didn’t want to waste the cash at that point and decided to just walk home. Feeling the need for a pick me up though, I pulled out my Frommers to see if there was a tea house near-by. I didn’t want to go back to Harrods, but there was the Richoux restaurant just a little out of my way, so I headed for it. I ordered the afternoon tea (for $8.25p) and got 4 mini raisin and cinnamon scones, clotted cream, strawberry jam, and a 3 cup pot of Assam tea. Very yummy. It was my first experience with clotted cream though – I’m not sure I want to know how it’s made, nor the calorie count, but it was delicious.

After that, I headed back to my hotel through Hyde Park, exhausted and worn out. I’m looking forward to a quite night in at this point!

A Towering Day…

Up early this morning. I spoke way to soon when I said it was quite in my hotel. Because of the age of the building, the floors are really squeaky. This wasn’t a problem last week when I had considerate neighbors upstairs, but when I heard them moving around at 7:30am last Saturday, I figured they were leaving and I was probably right as I now have at least 3 different people in the room above mine. How do I know there are 3 people? Because I can hear them walking around and talking, usually starting around 10pm and starting around 7am. I have resorted to using the ear plugs dad leant me for the flight just to get to sleep, but they fall out during the night, so when my up-stairs neighbors are awake, so am I. So, up early this morning. That was the general plan, since I got to play tourist all day!

I left my apartment at 8:30 and headed by tube to Tower Hill. My Frommers guide recommended buying my ticket at the kiosk outside the grounds to save on time in the line ups and getting there early, so that’s what I did. I got into the gate around 9:15 and, though it was busy, it wasn’t too bad. I wandered around the grounds and through the buildings and what struck me most was how much the Tower of London is about layering – Victorian built upon Stewart, built upon Tudor, built upon Norman, built upon Roman. All the ages of Britain are represented and are there – it’s really quite something. What’s more, from certain vantage points in the grounds you can see modern London encroaching on the old.

Highlight of my time included the Tower Green where a handful of respectable people lost their lives. There’s a god-awful glass monument there now – it would have been better just to mark the location with a stone marker or nothing at all. I missed the anniversary of Anne Boleyn’s death by only a couple of days, but someone had left a bouquet of roses on the moment with a card on them for the “Innocent Anne Boleyn;” a nice touch, if not a little over the top. Also, I got unreasonably excited when I saw the ravens. They were just wandering around the grass in front of the White Tower (legend has it that Britain will never fall as long as there are ravens at the Tower, so for insurance they’ve clipped the birds’ wings). I had to laugh when I saw the sign “Caution – Ravens May Bight.” The poor things are fat, imprisoned, flightless birds – I think they’ve got something to complain about. But, my experience of domesticated fowl in England continued….

After leaving the Tower, I headed to Tower Bridge. Because of an accident earlier on last week (one of the elevators in the Bridge fell 10 feet injuring 6 people), the lifts were out of commission, so if you wanted to go up, you were taking the stairs. I took the stairs. Half way up, I asked myself what I was doing since I usually get winded going up just 3 flights for meetings with Connors – what was I doing? But, the trip up was interesting (and I took breaks) since you got to see the ingenuity of Victorian building. The view from the walkways up-top weren’t what I was expecting since that part of London is now the business district, but I got some nice shots of the Thames. From there I went to see the engine rooms from where the Bridge was raised and lowered.

It was a little after noon at that point, so I started walking east along the south bank of the Thames looking for somewhere to have lunch. When I got to London Bridge, I popped into the first restaurant I saw – it was actually in the foundation of the Bridge. Outside, the sign said the Mug House, but inside the menus said Davey’s, and it was more bistro than pub. For some reason they had sprinkled sand all over the floor (for effect?) but I didn’t notice that until I had picked up my purse of the floor and put it on my lap to dig out my journal, getting the stuff all over me. I had a goat’s cheese sandwich, which was alright, but as I was the only one in the restaurant, I ate quickly and got out of there since I was the focus of the wait staff’s attention.

Continuing my walk along the South Bank, I saw the reconstruction of the Golden Hind (but didn’t go aboard) and the reconstruction of the Globe Theater. I had intended to go into the Globe, but on the Friday before a bank holiday, there were lots of school groups milling around and two big bunches of kids were entering just as I got there, so I decided to forego the experience. From there, I walked to the Blackfriar’s Bridge, and across the Thames.

I made my way up to The Strand where I found and electronics store and bought a universal power adapter for about $8 (my $50 one from Staples broke my first day here and I’ve been using one of the hotels – now I won’t have to steal it when I leave. And yet, I’m wondering why I paid so much back home….). My walk down The Strand led me to Twinings where I happily dropped about $50 on tea (and would have spent a shit-load more it I didn’t have to cart it all home with me. I did pick up some info on become a member of the tea of the month club). I asked one of the employees there if I could take some pictures of the shop, and was told to go for it. There were a bunch of portraits hanging above the shelves of the Twinings, and I was able to recognize most of the earlier ones since I had spent a day reading their personal papers at the British Library.

From there, I headed to the tube and back home. I have to do some laundry before leaving on my tour, so I think I’ll do that this evening. Tomorrow I’ll be going to the Westminster area – I’m really excited about that! I took A LOT of pictures today (about 300 – I blew through 4 batteries and was lucky to have a set of disposables on me!), but won’t be able to post them until I find myself near a wireless network that’s much faster than the one at my hotel. I’m hoping when I move to ritzier hotels next week to be able to put them up.

Some observations:
-London men all seem to wear the same uniform: a pin-striped suit with a checkered button-up and either a solid or patterned tie. And douchy leather loafers – can’t forget the loafers
-The Brits can master an Empire, but they can’t master the concept of water pressure. My shower is like a weak rain; I’m really looking forward to a proper shower when I get home!

A comedy of errors (non-elevator related, though)…

As it is Sunday, and the British Library is closed, today was a tourist day. The weather report I looked at circa Thursday said that it was supposed to rain Saturday, but be clear today and Monday, so I decided to make Saturday a research day then Sunday and Monday tourist days. As I walked into the Library on Saturday, amidst sunshine and reasonable temperatures, I thought it best to check the weather again; this time, they were calling for light rain on Sunday and heavy rain on Monday. So, there was nothing I could do about today – it had to involve tourist time or it would be a lost day, but I think I’ll work Monday through Thursday, then make a long weekend out of it. Though, listening to the weather reports here make you scream at the TV, “JUST SAY YOU DON’T KNOW!”

Anyway, back to today…. Tired of PB and J (and in this case, British jam is more like a jelly) and fruit for breakfast, I decided to try one of the local eateries for a full English. Instead, I ended up with just an egg, toast, ham, a sausage and beans on toast from Raffles, which is halfway between my place and Paddington. The egg was half runny (not bad with toast), the bacon was more like a slice of ham, I’m not the biggest fan of sausage, and the beans on toast were tomato-y and the toast looked like it had been deep-fried. It was good, and only 5p with tea and tip. Before popping into Raffles it had been raining just a bit, but by the time I was done, the rain had stopped. From there, I took a Bakerloo line train to Charing Cross (the Circle and half the District lines are closed for repairs making it harder to get around this weekend) to see Trafalgar Square.

By the time I got top-side, the rain was back with a vengeance. I managed to get some pictures of the Admiralty Arch, Canada House, the Square, St-Martins-in-the-Fields, and the National Gallery without getting too wet. And hey, it’s London – I was expecting rain loooong before today. Alas, I wasn’t swarmed by pigeons in Trafalgar – as they aren’t on a limited schedule, they can put in an appearance when it dries up. All in all, it wasn’t that bad. By the time I had gotten all the pics I wanted, the National Gallery was opening. Admission is free, and the audio guide was only 3.50p so I picked one up. As it was just past opening, the first hour was busy, but not too bad, but by 11 it was packed. Between the audio guide and the comfy benches in the galleries, I had a good time learning a lot about a few pictures (some I had seen before and some I hadn’t). My favorite had to be the collection of 6 works by Hogarth that were a comment on aristocratic marriages in the 18th century – really funny stuff. From the gift shop, I picked up a guide book, a magnet, a matted print of one of Monet’s Parliament scenes (to replace the one that’s broken in my bed room), and a few post cards.

From there, I headed across the street to St. Martin’s. When I had been walking around the Square before 10, the bells were peeling calling people to mass. By the time I was done in the Gallery, they were peeling again as services were over. By this time the sun had come out and Trafalgar Square was much more crowded than before. I went into the church, wandered around a bit, and took some pictures. The anti-abortion monument on the Church’s steps freaked me out a bit and no, I didn’t get a picture of it, but suffice it to say, it was pretty gross. While in the crypt of the Church, I took some time to plot out the rest of my afternoon as it was only a little before 12. I was at a loss for what I wanted to do – seeing the portrait gallery didn’t really appeal to me, so I decided to walk down The Strand to go see the Temple Church (according to Frommers, it’s famous for being a setting of the Da Vinci Code. Yeah Frommers, that’s why it’s famous….). So, I started heading east down The Strand.

After a few minutes of walking, I decided it was time for lunch and when I saw the Wellington, I knew where I wanted to eat. I found a table in the bar and sat for a few minutes before realizing that I had to order both drink and food at the bar, and they would bring it too my table (which I’m realizing might be common practice in pubs here). I ordered some fish and chips and a Pepsi (yes, I’m still on the wagon). It came with mushy peas, which were good but cold, and the fish was a little tough and the fries a little mushy/oily, but all in all, a good lunch. I had a chance to update my paper journal and write a few post cards, then I headed out to continue my walk down The Strand.

Ah, The Strand. Awesome, amazing, hilarious. It was a treat getting to see all the 18th century buildings still standing, some having been re-purposed, some still in use by their original builders. I’ll have to take a walk there again on a weekday, since many of the shops (including Twinings, which has been there since 1706) were closed. On my way, I walked around the square of Sommerset House and stopped into St. Mary le Strand and had a wonderful conversation with a docent there (she was telling me that the church was one of the first to be commissioned by Queen Anne’s church-building program, is made entirely out of stone, and is all original having survived the Blitz without any damage except having the windows blown in. As well, she gave me a 10 minute empire/Tudor/religion of England lesson which, if she hadn’t have been so nice, I would have hated). I then continued on my way and made it as far as Farringdon Street before realizing I had missed the Temple Church. So, I turned around. When I got to where the Church was, I realized why I had missed it – it’s set back from The Strand by an alley way and the gates were shut. So, I didn’t get to see it.

I started heading back up The Strand, but when I got to the circle where the London School of Economics (which scares me, since only the smartest people in the world go there) and Australia House are, I noticed that one of the side streets led down to the Thames where the Temple tube station was. I stated to make for it, only to see when I got there that it was closed for the weekend due to repairs, and the sign out front advising passengers to take an 11 minute walk up the embankment to the Embankment station. And I’m glad I did.

On my way, I got some nice pictures of the London Eye, Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, and the Obelisk. Along the way, I also stopped for tea and a bite at a little café. From there, it was just a quick ride back to Paddington on the Bakerloo Line, where I stopped at M & S for some more groceries. And, when I got out to the street, the rain had started again. I figured it was a good time to call it a day.

Some observation:
-I was right, prices are killing me! 3.50p for a tea and a piece of pie seems reasonable, and yet that like $7 Canadian.
-most intersections have markings that tell pedestrians to look either left or right before crossing. At first, I thought that was because London collected so many tourists, but I’ve come to realize that it’s probably due to the fact that there’s no real rhyme or reason to the directions of the streets here. Some are one ways, but not marked; some are turnabouts; and some seem to run opposite to what you’d expect (ie. Cars driving on the right, but there aren’t many of these.)
-I watched the Eurovision song contest last night. It was held in Russia, but the BBC had Graham Norton narrating it. He was just mean, but hilarious. The Norwegian kid won (much to the crushing disappointment of the Brits), and Norton’s was saying about the song that yes, he did like it. Three days ago before he’d heard it a thousand time. Now the singer had a face he just wanted to slap. It was pretty awesome to listen to the BBC get that catty, I’m not going to like. But, let’s just say that there was no Waterloo coming out the competition this year…

All's well.

All's well, I just don't have much to report - I've been going nose to the grind-stone the last few days in the Library.

The ordering system for the India Office has me all confused. The nice guy at the desk must be wondering how any institutions of higher learning could ever have admitted me as I can't even figure out the on-line ordering system.... He took pity on me and ordered me a document set so that I wouldn't have too long of a wait, but he made me order the other two that I need; I choose to believe he's trying to make me learn from my mistakes. I think I get it now, so hopefully I won't be cocking it up anymore.

Other than that, I've got more merchant directories to look through tomorrow morning, and a speech by Richard Twining (of the Bible-thumping dilatants) to look through too.

To the Librarium!

Well, the Archives were a bust, so today I headed over to the British Library and knew I was finally in the right place. As soon as I walked in the door, I almost sighed with contentment. Right away you’re struck by the massive black book shelves at the center of the building that reaches up to the top levels – this is the enclosed King’s Library that isn’t accessible to the public. Oh well, it looks pretty.

I went to the reader registration room and was struck by the difference between staff at the Library and the Archives; the Archives are rather nazi-esque in their love of power, while the Library staff is kind, warm and very welcoming. The man who registered me and I had a nice conversation about the oddity that are the Québecois when it comes to language protection, and he gave me plenty of directions to the rooms that I would probably be using.

From there, I found a locker for my stuff and took considerably less with me up to the Rare Books and Music Reading Room (though the lady at the security desk just waved me through rather than search every nook and cranny I had in my bag, unlike the lady at the Archives). I found what I wanted, ordered some books for today and tomorrow and then waited my 70 minutes to go claim them. During that time, I was able to check email and facebook (including uploading some pics), unlike at the Archives where the uOttawa website was blocked.

I was only able to get one of the books I requested (the other had apparently been recalled in 2008 but has been lost in the shuffle), but had fun looking forward through a merchant directory for London in 1781. Among interesting entries were ‘ostrich feather maker,’ 12 seperate orange merchants, 2 lime merchants, and almost 50 (each) of sugar distillers and tea merchants. I’ve requested similar lists from earlier years, so I might have an interesting picture to describe in my thesis. After that, it was past 1, so I decided it was time for lunch – being limited in choices, I ate at the Library’s café (holy crap, expensive! But good) and resolved to buy my lunch at the Marks and Spencers at Paddington on my way to the Library to save a few bucks.

After lunch I went to the Asian Reading Room – because I was confused about the on-line ordering system (believe me, that was a running theme for the day, and one I’m going to have to figure out asap) I had to wait another hour for documents to be delivered to me. The letter book I eventually got to look at was that of George Grey (on microfilm - ew) which was an interesting collection of letters Grey sent to friends in India after his return to England. I didn’t look through all 8 meters of it, but the first dozen pages I looked at (and it was hard since it was done in tiny handwriting) included several requests for grocery goods that the author was hoping his friends would send him. Again – very interesting.

A little fed up with the day that had passed, I wanted to take the opportunity to go look at David Strachy’s exhibit on Henry VIII. The exhibit was supposed to be a new look at the man who wasn’t supposed to be king – while the first ¼ of the collection was about Henry’s childhood, the rest was the standard look at the wives, religious upheaval and political dealings. Nothing really new. The collection was interesting in a way because it was made up almost completely of documents, with some paintings and artifacts. And yet, looking at pieces of paper that can’t be read isn’t all the enchanting. There were some interesting documents – a love letter, that the Vatican has just recently admitted to having and released, from Henry to Anne Boleyn that was kept by the Vatican during their divorce proceeding, a psalmster that Henry and Anne were known to pass to one another during religious services with flirtatious notes in the margin (how sacrilegious!), and a letter from Katherine of Aragon to her father begging for money because she was broke and Henry VII would pay for her living expenses (after Arthur’s death). A detailed look at Henry’s childhood, or a different description of what the exhibit was to be, would have been appreciated.

After that, it was 5:30 and I decided to head home. And I caught the rush hour traffic. I had the tail end of it this morning on the way to the library at 9:30, but it was full on tonight. I got lost coming out of the Tube (I took a new exist and took a right instead of a left, like I should of) so went for a walk around the block and got to see what was available food-wise in my neighborhood – some fish and chips, pizza, pubs, and Asian restaurants. Good to know. I ended up having a Marks and Spencer’s prepared meal that I bought yesterday; it was alright, but I was surprised to be able to pronounce and identify all the ingredients it contained – no artificial anything.

Well, I’ll be posting this a day late as I don’t want to go down to the lobby for the wireless. I’ll do it tomorrow from the Library.

Some observations:
-it’s odd that I’m planning on going back to the library tomorrow; I feel like I should be doing something different everyday while here, but I keep reminding myself that I’m here for research first, touristy-time second.
-I’ve never seen so many murses in on area – almost all the men I see on the Tube and streets are dressed in suits and carrying a murse.
-my shower is 3 feet square with no shelves in it. It is a pain in the ass since my soap has to go on the faucets and my shampoo/conditioner on the floor. I regularly knock my elbows when trying to shower.
-the elevators in the building are scary. The ‘big one’ is about a meter across and a meter and a half deep, and shakes horribly when it moves. The ‘small one’ is half the size of that but is a smoother ride. So, fear of death or fear of tight spaces are your choices.
-I’ve been thrown off my game several times as the Brits don’t number their ground floor as 1 – rather, the floor we consider to be the second floor is the first here. It’s really fun at the library where there is a main ground floor and a lower ground floor.
-I’m hoping to be more efficient in my research starting tomorrow, but I think I’ve made a good start and I’m not overly-concerned about a lack of progress.

The uneventfully-eventful day….

So, as I am here to actually do research, I headed out to Kew today to the National Archives. I got a late start because I wasn’t sure what time they would be open, so I left my apartment a little after 9:30. For some reason, I am completely unable to naturally adjust to the Tube and took the wrong train one station before getting off and transferring to the right line (at least I was headed in the right direction!).

When I got out to Kew (about 45 minutes later), I made a mental note to give Kevin a smack up-side the back of his head; he never mentioned how beautiful the archives, or the neighborhood they are located in, are! The walk up to the archives looks like a Disney film – all the little houses with their front gateways, and the cars parked pell-mell in front of them were adorable. The good times did not, as they say, continue to roll.

The whole purpose of my trip out to the archives was to see the d’Este family papers (the Prince and Lady d’Este, that is). Upon arriving at the archives I ditched my purse and brought what I considered to be ‘necessities’ with me up to the reading rooms. I registered for my readers ticket (which carries the most hideous photo of me anyone has ever taken) and headed into the reading room. That’s where my trouble started – security was adamant that I leave anything that they didn’t consider ‘necessities’ with them (which were my spare pencils, all my pens, the erasers out of the end of my pencils, my folders, and spare paper). I then had to wait a few minutes until I was noticed at the enquiries desk and was given my assigned seat and told how to collect and use my papers.

That was the other big problem. Even before I opened up the folios, I knew they would be of no use to me – what I didn’t know when I had ordered them was that they were the journals kept by the couple while on vacation in Rome (either right before, or after their marriage). What’s more, the Lady d’Este would switch back and forth between English and French mid sentence (much like my mothers and her sisters will when talking on the phone). That wasn’t such a big problem, but the Price’s handwriting was just plain illegible. After reading the first dozen pages of the 3 folios, I realized it was a ‘we saw this painting, we dined with this person, and we went there’ account of their time in Rome, and what’s more, the second journal was half empty. Needless to say, there was nothing usable for me at the Archives.

Not wanting to waste my day, I decided to see Kew Gardens while I was already out that way – I wasn’t sure I was going to get a chance, but since I now had the free time, I figured what the hell, I’m here and I might as well. When I had gotten off the Tube, I found my way to the Archives via a map that was posted outside the station. On that map was also directions to the Gardens – on my way back from the Archives, I didn’t bother checking the map again, because I remembered that the Gardens were in the opposite direction of the Archives; what I failed to notices, was that they were on the other side of the tracks. So, 10 minutes and about a mile of walking later (with my giant bag, full of all the school stuff I would ever need for researching, including my lap top), I finally turned around and consulted the map. I then realized my mistake and headed in the right direction to Kew Gardens.

When I finally reached the gate, I noticed a sign for The Original Maids of Honour, a scone shop that has been in operation for decades – Frommer’s mentions it as a must-eat kind of place. Since the sign said it was only 500 meters away, I decided it would be a good opportunity to knock another thing of my ‘want-to-do’ list and I headed that way. 5 minutes later I arrive and walk in, only to notice no one sitting there eating, no food in the display cases, and the lady behind the counter telling me they were closed for the day. Oh well, back to the Gardens.

At this point, I was hungry and tired. I paid to get into the Gardens (13 pounds!) and headed towards one of the cafés that are listed in the map they gave me. I found lots of opportunities to take pictures along the way of either flowers or garden ornaments. When I got to the Pavilion Café, I opted for a cheep sandwich and some chips and headed out side to eat. I hadn’t even got the wrapper off my sandwich before a MASSIVE peacock materialized out of nowhere at my side. The think looked at me while I snapped some pictures than wandered away to the next table when it was obvious that I wouldn’t share my lunch. After eating I headed over to the Temperate House where the tropical plants are kept. I meandered through there, sat on a bench for a while to update my paper travel journal, and snapped lots of pictures. From there, I took a different path back to the Victoria Gate where I came in, picked up a guide book and a post card for Karen, and headed back to the train station. In all, I spent a couple hours walking around with my heavy bag and my flats, so my feet and back are now killing me.

The tube ride back was uneventful, and I stopped at the Marks and Spencers for some more groceries on my way home. All in all, a day that didn’t go as planned, but one that was utilized to my advantage. I’ll be heading over to the British Library tomorrow to look at the London merchant directories, the Twining family papers, and some papers kept by merchants in the 18th century, and I expect things to go better there.

Some observations:
-Kew was freaking expensive! I almost had a fit at the gate, but upon walking around, I could see why; almost every square inch in landscaped and the areas allowed to grow freely look just as well kept. It took me two hours to walk less than a quarter of the park, so I get it now.
-On the train ride out, I was able to see the different ages that London has gone through – the regency townhomes are replaced with turn of the century, which are then replaced with more modern ones; it’s like digging into the ground and being able to see the strata of different ages.
-There was one block of apartment buildings that blew my mind – it was at least 3 city block long and it just kept going and going and going…. The front facing was a white plaster effect, while the backs (which is mostly what you could see from the train) were in red brick – the effect was amazing.
-The makers of the Tube map need to take a lesson in perspective – the distance between the stations shown on the map are horribly, horribly flawed.
-I’m having a serious problem adjusting to the Tube, it’s been so long since I’ve been on one, and it’s not like Toronto where my experience was all trains head to the same spot, so the difference in lines is really throwing me off my game.
-All the birds in this city are tame – from the peacock in the Garden that sidled up to me, to the chickens (also at the garden) who watched me go by then followed me a little, to the pigeons that will get within a foot of you to explore food options. I even had a Top Gun style moment at Earl’s Court station where a pigeon buzzed me – it missed my face by mere inches.
-Kew is pretty much a metaphor for the fall of the empire – the purpose of the Gardens were to collect specimens of every plant growing in the empire, but in the Temperate house, the Victorian architecture has been over-run with foreign plants; they cling to it, use it to grow, and smother it, making it almost unobservable. The imagery that the viewer gets is that the native plants are stronger and more powerful than English iron and steel.
-For some unknown reason, I’m having a hard time with my wireless internet – I’m either going to have to forego daily postings or figure out what the hell is going on or start paying for internet. I haven’t decided yet what to do….

What a busy day!

My day started super early, and not because I fell asleep last night at 8pm. At 5:30 I heard what I thought was a drunk in the hall way outside my door. He was soon joined by two other voices who were asking what room number he was from. What decided me against thinking he was a drunk was the way he asked them repeatedly how he could get the ‘swine disease’ and if he ‘could kill them now’ without slurring, but while still being reasonably polite. Whatever his story was, he was swearing at the security/management by 6, in a shouting-like voice, before they finally led him away. Having slept almost 10 hours, I figured it was probably a good time to get up.

Last night when I went to blow-dry my hair, I found that my power converter, which was working earlier on in the day, was no longer functioning. So, I decided to ask at the desk where the nearest electronics shop around here was and incorporate that into my day. I was told that the Piccadilly/Marble Arch area was my best bet, so headed that way through Hyde Park. I might have some sort of allergy though since the second I got into the Park my eyes started watering and wouldn’t stop until I left it at the Marble Arch (and it was back, on and off for the rest of the morning, but not the afternoon). I walked a few blocks east of Hyde without seeing anything that might prove to be helpful by way of an electronics store, so cut south into the side streets with a mind of coming out at Hyde near Speaker’s Corner. On that walk, I saw one of Gordon Ramsay’s restaurants, a building where the Bee Gees lived and composed, and stumbled upon Grosvenor Square; the Square has a monument to FDR and Dwight Eisenhower and is flanked by the Canadian embassy on the east end, and the American one on the west (and yes, the American embassy is as obnoxious here as it is at home).

From there, I walked over to Hyde and passed the Animals in War monument which, when you’re looking at front on, all you see is a horse and ass’s ass (which made me laugh) – the artist probably should have thought that one through a bit farther. Across from that monument was Speaker’s Corner; I got there around 10:30ish, so I might have missed the real fire-brand preachers. Of the three people collecting a crowd, all were talking about the economy rather than religion (I would have thought the guy dressed like a Quaker/Hasidic Jew would be preaching hell and fire, but when I got closer to him, I saw his placard said “Socialist Party” on it).

On my walk through Hyde Park to Apsley House, I saw a procession being led by a priest with a cross; I thought he had little kids with him, but when I got closer, I saw that they were all older women dressed in red robes with a mortar-style hat on. I figured it was probably a graduation ceremony of some sort – when I got to the far south-east corner of the Park there were a bunch of cops doing crowd control for some sort of event. I figured then that the procession and the large number of gentlemen I was seeing in suits with bowlers, cane umbrellas and military medals (of all ages, but mostly older) were related somehow, but I’m still not too sure.

When I got to Apsley House, I was a few minutes early before it would open, so I crossed the street and got pictures of the House from across the street as well as the monuments in the park (one to Wellington, and a few other – the details I’m a little sketchy on). Finally, I got into Apsley House where Wellington lived after the wars and while he was Prime Minister. It is beautifully maintained with loads of paintings (since the Duke was an avid art fan). Pictures weren’t allowed so I bought a guide book. Wellington’s nickname, the Iron Duke, has it’s roots here – while PM, he proposed electoral reform in the 1830s; during a protest of the Act, mobs attacked Apsley House prompting the Duke to install iron bars on the windows. It is only half-open to the public (the other half is still held as a residence for the current Duke and his family) so it didn’t take to long to get through it, even with the complimentary audio guide.

From Apsley, I decided that I would go south into the side streets to look for a pub for lunch (since I saw a bunch on my walk during the morning). But the neighborhood I was in was clearly ritzier that where I was that morning, since I passed lost of high-end fashion houses (like Armani and Prada). Just before I was ready to give up, I realized that I could see Harrod’s at the end of the block I was on. Remembering that the food halls are a big tourist deal, I headed in – but it wasn’t at all what I expected. The halls are treated like a grocery store that just happens to have a lot of prepared foods. I grabbed a sandwich, a bag of chips (or crisps, if I want to blend in) and a bottle of water and looked for a place to eat. When wandering the ground floor, all I saw was impossibly thin floor staff and loads of tourists, but no place to eat, so I decided to take my food back to Hyde Park. I found a bench that over-looked the Serpentine to eat while behind me a family played cricket.

After lunch, I decided to walk down to the Victoria and Albert museum. By this point, my feet were killing me and I was getting tired – I decided that I didn’t want to spend too much time there. I wandered around the sculpture rooms and picked up a guide book in the gift shop (admission was free, so I figured why not) then hunted for Tipoo’s Tiger. I wanted to have my picture taken with it, but no one was around to ask. Oh well, I got some close-ups, so it’s all good. At this point, I was really tired, but I still wanted to see Victoria’s monument to Albert, so I headed back to Hyde Park. That monument is huge! I know that Victoria really loved Albert, but that fact never quite registered until I saw the grandeur of her monument to him. I got a bunch of pictures of the base sculptures since they depict Britannia with the four continents they had colonies on.

From there, I cut back through Hyde to my apartment. My street is blocked off for the most part for construction, and as I was walking home I found out why – the signs on the site state that the city is replacing Victorian water pipes. The history is even under-ground here! When I got back, I figured I would ask someone at the desk for specific instructions to an electronics store, but when I explained what I needed, the girl at the desk lent me one of the hotel’s that I’ll have to return when I leave. So that’s awesome, because I’m really tired!

A few observations about the day:
-The way the old city stands out it amazing. The old buildings are everywhere and were simply re-purposed for whatever was needed, saving a lot of physical reminders of the people’s history. -Some of the common poster ads that I’m seeing around are all for books. Fiction books. It’s amazing to me that reading has such a prime place in this society.
-Hyde Park today was absolutely full of people. It’s a gorgeous 18 degrees here, with NO HUMIDITY to speak of, so the cool breeze off-sets the sun’s heat. There were lots of families, kids, and couples either playing ball, or walking, or just lying on the grass. I passed three school-aged boys climbing a tree and listened as I passed to one of the boys school his friends on British history – he was telling them that when Mary was executed, her wig fell off when the executioner picked up her head. I found it really adorable.
-You would think that with so many people living in such close proximity that the city would be messy. But, unlike New York, I don’t remember seeing litter anywhere, not even in the Park. Whether it’s because of an expensive on-going cleaning project, or just a more socially responsible society, I’m not sure.
-My lips are, for some un-known reason, painfully dry. It doesn’t seem to be overly-dry here, but maybe the constant level of humidity we get in Ottawa was just enough to protect me from chapped lips.

Well, that’s my tourist time for the weekend. I have to be at the National Archives tomorrow since I requested some materials. I might take Friday though and do the Westminster Abbey walk-around that I wanted to do yesterday – we’ll see how research goes and how much time I need to dedicate to it.

My hotel offers free wireless in their lobby – the problem is that the system is so freaking slow! I’ll have to wait to post photos when I get to either a faster network or home.

Some early observations….

(Written May 9th, posted May 10th due to lazziness and an unwillingness to go down four flights of stairs to the lobby for an internet connection. Read on, and you'll understand why...)

Sigh. I feel like utter crap. I don’t know if it’s just nerves (which is a likely candidate), or exhaustion, or crappy airliner food being the only thing I’ve put in my body, or what, but I’m nauseous and tired and not really digging being here right now. Three weeks seems like a long time at this point… Needless to say, I haven’t gotten to my touristy agenda for the day and I doubt I will; planning such big events was naïve and flawed. Lesson learnt.

The flight was alright. It was almost exactly 6 hours from tarmac to tarmac and I was through security and on the tube before 7:30. (And that was after getting lost momentarily and buying my oyster pass – which cost me 30 pounds for what the agent estimated would be one week. That’s almost $60, which is a bus pass for a month in Ottawa. Yikes.)

So, what kind of impression do I have so far (even getting past the feeling like crap bit)? Heathrow was quick; big, but quick. I don’t know if it was because I was one of the last to get off the plane, or one of the first to check my bags, but just as I got to the baggage carrousel my bag was coming off. Customs was quick, but it seemed like the agent had a hard time understanding my non-accent accent. When he asked what I was doing there, I told him I was researching for my masters, he asked what I was studying and when I said the Empire, one eyebrow went up and I got a very dry “Well, you’ve come to the right place then, haven’t you?” Should I mention he was black? Yes, I think I should….

It was a pain in the ass dragging all my stuff all the way through Heathrow to the tube and then making a transfer at Earl’s Court. The Brits don’t seem to be too insistent on making anything handy-capped accessible, so I had to cart my three massive bags up a flight of stairs to get my connection. It took two trips. I finally got the Paddington and decided that I definitely had to take a cab to my hotel – I was developing blisters on the palms of my hands and my arms were like jelly. When my cabby figured out I was only 4 or 5 blocks away from my hotel he suggested that I should have walked as it would have been faster (there’s construction at both ends of the street which meant he had to go around the block to get to it). So the ride cost me 7 pounds, but it was worth it.

I got to the hotel then, feeling like crap. I dropped my bags at the lobby then asked if there was a washroom to freshen up in. By the time I got to it, I felt so sick that I felt the need to just sit and calm down. I ended up flipping through the Daily Mirror – holy crap, they still treat their politicians like it’s the 17th century; they call them Mrs/Ms/Mr, but there is such an undertone of disrespect that it’s a funny read. But, the nausea was so bad I took another gravol which resulted in napping on and off in the lobby for about 3 hours until my room was ready. I finally got into my room (pictures will be online shortly) and it’s better than I thought it would be; I was convinced I would be in an old servant’s room or something, but it’s pretty spacious with lots of conveniences. I should be able to work and cook here, so it’s all good. The hotel’s a bit old school though – I’m supposed to leave them my key at the desk when I go out, and have to present a card with my check-in/check-out information on it to get it back. I’m on the third floor and the elevator is a rickety old thing. I think I’m going to seek out a stair case so that I can walk down those – you know, cutting down my odds on dying in that thing.

Three points about London I’ve observed so far.
1) London seems to be sponsored by IKEA. There are ads everywhere, my oyster pass came in an IKEA pocket, and all my kitchen accessories are from, wait for it…. IKEA!
2) When I heard ‘mind the gap’ on the tube, I figured it would just be a little worse than Toronto – a horizontal gap that might trip you up if you’re wearing heals or if you had a rolling suitcase with you. Oh, no no, the ‘gap’ is VERTICAL. There’s anywhere between 4-6 inches (up or down) between the train and the platform. It’s a pain in the ass with heavy luggage.
3) Prices will catch me up here, I’m sure. I saw some flowers in Paddington station and it was a smallish bouquet with one gerber daisy in it for 25 pounds. Do the math – that’s like $50. Nuts. It seems reasonable, but really it’s not.

So, now I’m settled into my room. Unpacked, and already flipped through the TV. 5 whole channels! All of the BBC related. Nice. Oddly enough, while unpacking, I was listening to a reality show about oil drillers in Texas narrated by a British guy. It was a little surreal. Once that was over, I found an episode of Columbo that I couldn’t watch because Columbo had his dog and it made me miss my cat. So I ended up watching a British version of survivor/temptation island (I think? I couldn’t follow it…) and I’m now watching Scrubs.

I’m still undecided if I want to go out and do anything. There’s a Marks and Spencers and another grocery store at Paddinton (which is only a 10 minute walk from me) that I will probably utilize, but I’m not sure I want to venture forth today.

Update:
5 channels all showing some variation of either rugby, horse racing or western movies. Boredom will drive me from the room.

Update 2:
Made a grocery run. Marks and Spencers doesn’t have the slat and vinegar tubes or the shrimp flavored chips I remember – trés disappointing. But I picked up some breakfast fixings, so it’s a start. But it cost me like $20 for a loaf of bred, some cheese, jam, milk and juice. (Oh, and tea and cookies.) Yikes!

And so it begins....

I’m sitting here in the Ottawa airport, at 5pm waiting for my flight. International flights are relegated to the boondox of the airport – gates 13-17, and quite a walk with heavy bags! Speaking of heavy bags, Mom and Dad will notice a $100 Air Canada charge on my ‘emergency’ visa – my checked luggage was over-weight by 4 kilos (but since I live in the 21st century, I couldn’t tell you how much that really is, but it is freaking heavy!) and so they charged me. I was told that it was a hundred bucks no matter what the overage would be, but didn’t like the guy’s suggestion that I buy a duffle bag and transfer some of the weight – I can barely carry what I have with me now; adding a fourth bag to that line-up would be asking for trouble.

And so, that leaves me already in the hole financially and I haven’t even left Ottawa yet. But hey, it was to be expected and I’m rolling with the punches. I’m just glad I sold out and let my editor do what he wanted to my article about Working Girl – he was an idiot who writes like a 13 year old Twilight fan, but what the hell, money is money.

Now I sit in Ottawa’s semi-new grown-up airport waiting for my flight. I know it’s early, but looking around me, I’m the youngest individual here by at least 30 years. I guess there aren’t many overly-punctual 20 somethings going to London tonight. I hope to get on the plane, pop a couple of gravol and a robaxacet and sleep until I land in Heathrow ‘tomorrow’ morning at 7am.

On the docket for tomorrow is getting myself an oyster pass, taking the tube from the airport to Earl’s Court where I’ll transfer to the circular line to get to Paddington station (all while minding the gap, mind you). I had originally planned on walking from the station to my hotel – it is a 10 minute walk – but having gotten a fist full of pounds from my parents as a bon voyage gift, in tandem with my ridiculous need to pack almost everything I own ensuring my luggage would make Lou Farrigno think twice about carting it through London, I think I’ll opt for the cab. I’ll leave my stuff at the hotel, then strike out into London.

I’m going to check out Westminster Abbey first (since I can’t do it on a Sunday because of services) and the Jewel Tower, which is a museum of Parliament. I have a Frommers walking guide that is going to prove quite useful – there are tips about other site around the main two that I want to see, so I’ll have to see what’s what when I get there.

Well, I think that’s in for now. I’m dedicated to posting about my trip as much as possible, so you know that means I will inevitable get lazy about it in a few days, but I will make the effort!

Cheers for now….

6 Days to go!

Wow, time flies! It seems like just last week I was beginning my countdown from 105 days, and now I'm leaving in less than a week.

It's going to be a busy week for me between now and when my flight leaves at 7ish on Friday - besides packing, I have to a bunch of shopping for necessities to get me through my trip (I've heard from friends that the European peanut butter technology is sadly lacking, so I'll be bringing a jar with me!), I'll be working during all my free time to earn enough money to pay rent in May AND have some fun in London (and by fun, I mean museums), I have to tentatively figure out what I want to do when I'm in London, and I have to get my final reaseach plans together before leaving so that I can jump right into things.

As it stands, I know I want to see the Tower of London as soon as possible when I get there - it's the only thing I remember from the trip I took to England when I was 6 and since I'm a huge Tudor-history buff, I'm dying to take the dying tour (ie. this person was imprisoned here for years, or this is where this broad lost her head) and to see the crown jewles. Other places I'm going to make every effort to see is the musuem on Wellington's London home about his life, the museum of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, and an exhibit on Henry VIII by Peter Stratchy at the British Library (but I'll do that during a lunch hour some day during the week). I can only hope that I luck out weather wise while I'm there and the rain holds off so I can see a lot without getting wet daily.

Research wise, I'm starting at the National Archives to see the d'Este family papers, but will probably spend the majority of my time at the British Library which houses the India Office Collection. I have 10 archive days (maybe a few more if I need to sacrifice tourist days) to collect impressions of the Empire - it's not like I have 100 years and thousands of people to consider. Oh, wait...... Don't worry, I'll be fine. (I hope.)

The plans keep forming in my mind, but I'm going to have to stop getting so excited - it's decidedly cutting into my sleep patterns!

105 Days and Counting!

As most of you may know, I've just finished planning my research trip to London for the month of May. Sleep has become impossible now for two reasons - one, I'm super excited and two, I'm super worried about how much this whole thing is going to cost me in the end. London is one of the most expensive cities in the world (right behind Tokyo and Oslo, as I understand it) and everything for the hotel room, to the tube pass, to food costs are already starting to build. But, I shouldn't get ahead of myself...

I'm going to London to do reasearch for my History Masters. I'm working on exploring the relationship between the British Empire and the British national identity. When I ask you to think of the average Brit, do you not see someone sipping at a cup of tea? or enjoying a curry? or downing gin? All of these characteristics are resultant for British forays into the wider world - why, then, do we associate such foreign things with what it means to be British? That's what I'm trying to explore and understand. While lots of work have been done in the fields of national identity, the Empire, and consumption of goods, few historians have thought to consider these dynamics as a single subject and that's where I come in. So, while I'm primarily going to England for reasearch, I can't be expected to spend ALL my time in an archive.

I'm leaving Canada on May 8th (a Friday) for an overnight flight into London's Heathrow airport. When in London, I'll be staying at the Royal Court Appartments in a studio appartment. I was looking at pictures today and, while it seems smaller than I could have hoped, it's got a bed, a table, and a small kitchennet. And, I guess there's worse things than not wanting to spend too much time in your room when in London. The hotel is close to the Paddington tube station which is only a few blocks north of Hyde Park; Kew, where are archives are, is on the other side of the Thames River, but not too far away. I'll be in London for my first two weeks, but then, I get to be a real tourist!

I've booked myself a bus tour of Southern England with Globus and this is what I'm probably looking forward to the most. On the trip, I'll be seeing Hampton Court, Oxford, Stratford-upon-Avon, Tinter Abbey (in Wales), Bath, Stonehenge, Salisbury chatedral, Arundel, Brighton, and Leeds castle. Lots of hot spots for historians and all in just 8 days - what more could I ask for?

All in all, by the time I get home on June 1st, I'll have travelled over 11,000 kilometers for some education, exploration, and adventure.