Yet again this blog has been on the receiving end of neglect.
I won’t make any excuses, I’ll get right to it!
So on to London! My friend Michael (who is an officer in the Coast Guard back
home) was over on this side of the pond for some training with the Royal Navy.
So we decided to hit up London together! We got off at the London Waterloo station
and started off with a stroll across London Bridge (yes the one supposedly
falling down). We didn't really have a plan, so we just struck randomly in
search of famous sights. The first major one we came across was the Tower of
London. I've read so many books in which this monument is a feature.
Next we headed on down the banks of
the Thames and over to Tower Bridge which of course is one of London’s most
famous features. When I was younger, I mistakenly thought that this was London Bridge;
it is so much more imposing and picturesque.
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| Tower Bridge |
We then hopped on the London subway, “the tube” and got of at Westminster. That square alone is chock full of must-sees. The first that greeted us as we exited the station was good old Big Ben and The Houses of Parliament. Big Ben truly is a magnificent clock tower.
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| Big Ben! |
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| The Houses of Parliament |
Across the road was the
famous Westminster Abbey. We didn’t go inside, but we explored the grounds and
took lots of pictures.
After a snack break with some (expensive) hot dogs, I
finally got a chance to take a picture in an authentic London red phone booth!
We then continued walking (yes there was lots and lots and lots of walking that
day) to Trafalgar square.
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| Nelson Monument |
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| Outside the National Gallery |
From there on to Piccadilly Circus and then China
Town for lunch. We then wandered around somewhat aimlessly for a bit until we
decided to have a go at the London Eye.
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| Michael and I on The Eye |
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| View from The Eye |
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| The London Eye! |
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| The Houses of Parliament from The Eye |
When we got there, the line was pretty
long, so we just shut our eyes, ignored the price and got express tickets.
While it was a cool experience, if you’re pressured for time on a London trip,
you can probably skip riding this and get some other things done. We however,
were just going with the flow, so this fit in quite nicely. Across from the
Eye, was a mini-amusement park that had one of these:
So you know I HAD to be on it right? My
travel companion wasn’t as enthused, but I managed to convince him nonetheless.
I was going with or without him, and how would that have made him look? We also
decided to take on the roller coaster, good times. Lol
After that we hopped on a bus and
literally just hoped we’d end up somewhere interesting. Luckily it took us over
Waterloo Bridge and into and around Convent Garden. The main aim was to find
somewhere that we could chill for a bit and have some drinks. After hopping a
few places that either or both of us vetoed, we ended up in a nice little bar.
We had our drinks, mission accomplished. While there, an obviously inebriated
older man took the opportunity to hi-jack our conversation and tell us bits of
his life story. By the end we knew all about his beloved granddaughter, his
wife who passed away, general advice for life and politely turned down his
offer to buy us drinks. His friends came over and whisked him away after
apologizing profusely. To tell the truth, it was fun while it lasted and his
friends were a set of real jokers. To sum up, we had a GREAT day! :)
When in London, I’d been staying with cousins of mine. My mom's cousins to be specific.
Simply put they are splendid. It can be quite awkward sometimes to meet family
that you don’t know/don’t know so well, but no such issues here! I immediately
felt quite at home in their company.
One day over the X-mas holiday, my
cousin Del and I went into the centre again. She took me to Knightsbridge,
which is one of the ultimate shopping spots in London. Designer stores everywhere!.
Not that I bought much, but it was still nice to be out and about there.
Knightsbridge is also the home of the famous Harrods department store. On another trip
into the centre, this time solo, I did a bit of my usual museum hopping. I
visited the British Museum, home of THE Rosetta Stone, as well as the National
Gallery in Trafalgar Square.
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| The British Museum |
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| THE Rosetta Stone! |
As with any other iconic city I’ve
visited (such as Paris), it’s always wonderful to actually see all the
landmarks and monuments of which you’ve heard so much, read about countless
times and viewed through TV and the web.
BATH
Speaking of which, I will briefly
mention my little jaunt over to Bath. I initially went to meet friend, but when
that didn’t work out; I decided to make the best of it and had a lovely day!
Nothing wrong with going solo.
I left the train station and began
strolling around with no particular destination, having no set itinerary.
Sometimes, that is the best way to explore. Bath is quite a picturesque little
city.
Whenever I hear of Bath, I almost immediately think of
Jane Austen. Her novels Persuasion and Northanger Abbey had Bath as their
primary setting. The author herself also resided there at one point. Jane
Austen is one my favourite authors (Pride and Prejudice!!!!!!) so of course, I
had to visit the Jane Austen Museum. I was greeted outside by a gentleman is full Regency dress and once
inside, I realized that all the staff were similarly attired. It is a small,
quaint museum, but quite interesting and I loved it. Afterwards, I headed
upstairs to have afternoon tea at the Regency Tea Rooms. The was a portrait of
Mr. Darcy (more specifically, Colin Firth’s Mr. Darcy) right above my seat; I
could ask for no more.
After that, it was time for a bit
more aimless wandering before I decided to head over to the Roman Baths and
spring. Which of course, is what Bath became famous for in the first instance.
Now this was definitely a pleasant surprise.. I thought that I would just go
in, have a look at the baths and that would be it. I was wrong; there is much
more to this visit than meets the eye! The audio tour that comes with admission
was so informative. Not only do you get to see the baths but also underground
and the inner workings, private chambers and baths etc etc. Some of the
engineering accomplished in Roman times is really something.
Another day well spent :)
SOUTHAMPTON
I think I’ll just tack on a bit about
Southampton here. To be quite honest, one of the reasons I’d been so quiet this
past semester is that there really hasn't been that much to say about
Southampton. Southampton is a relatively small city. However it’s not really
beautiful, quaint etc etc. Southampton is just Southampton.
First few hours in Southampton? Mini-disaster. When I got there, it was pouring
rain. Well not wholly unexpected as this is jolly old England after all right?
To add to the already unsatisfactory situation, my umbrella jammed. What rainy
day adventure is complete without a generous splash by a car driving through a
huge puddle? Not mine my friends, not mine. *sigh*. So soaked almost from head
to toe and feeling very cranky (especially as my thoughts flashed to the balmy
30 degree weather that I had just left behind) I soldiered on. You can tell
that I wasn’t amused right?
Then there was the house hunt. I won’t bore you with the
details of all the ups and downs (of which there were many I can assure you).
To cut a frustrating story short, I managed to find a flat in a building that
one of my classmates was already living in. The National Oceanography Centre
(NOC) where I was based is quite impressive however. They have top-notch
facilities and the faculty are well-known, established researchers, so the
teaching has been quite good.
Otherwise it was pretty much school, home, an occasional
night out, escape to London. I will however give a few highlights and random
tid-bits.
· -An
interesting field trip I had was to go out in the waters of the Solent in one of
the university vessels to survey two historic wrecks using geophysical
equipment.
· - There
is a Caribbean restaurant called “Turtle Bay”. The food is mainly Jamaican and Trini, and not bad at all. They also have Caribbean spirits and beverages (even
Red Stripe!)- bloody expensive though.
· - I
went to see the English National Ballet at the Mayflower theatre here. An
afternoon well spent.
· - I
saw The Hobbit here! The very first day it opened in the UK, at the very first
screening in Southampton. In IMAX of course!
· - This
guy telling me that I didn’t look like a Jamaican. Apparently I’m not black
enough…. What??? That one confused me no end. Lol
· - Leaving
Southampton for London some weekends (yes that is a Southampton highlight!)
· - Trip
to Bath
Don’t get me wrong, Southampton isn’t
terrible, I suppose. I don’t see myself returning though unless its for
something specific. It really just isn’t somewhere a lot of people visit for
the sake of visiting.
