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…
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