3.2.10 – A View of London: Then & Now

Today began with a company visit to Transport for London; this is the company that helps to coordinate the activities of the Tube, buses, taxis, waterbuses, bikes, walking routes, etc. Ironically, on our way to the visit, the Jubilee line got backed up and we were stuck on the train for an extra 10 minutes. It was additionally ironic because the first gentleman who spoke with us was a manager in the public relations department; he continuously apologized for the delay throughout his presentation. The second gentleman who spoke to us was the head manager for the Games. His job is to integrate the transportation networks to ensure that the 2012 Olympics run smoothly in terms of getting athletics and viewers to Olympic sights on time. All the planning and coordinating of projects and time schedules is absolutely crazy, but it was still pretty cool.

After our visit there, we were given the remainder of the day until dinnertime to do what we wished. A group of us got on the Tube and headed in the direction of Tower Bridge. It is such a sight to see when it finally comes into view when walking around the corner. It was also beautifully lit by the full sun, since it also happened to be a gorgeous day outside. After taking a variety of photos, we finally crossed the Thames via the Tower Bridge.

For some of us, myself included, we ventured to the Tower of London. I hadn’t been there before so it was on my list of places I really wanted to visit. We walked around by ourselves to all the main areas including the Bloody Tower, the crown jewels (which were amazing), the Tower Walk, the armory, etc. There was so much to see in one place (including the building itself). I feel like while I have seen it, I could still benefit from a guided tour or simply more time there.

After the Tower of London, I departed on my own to head to St. Paul’s. Everyone else wanted to go to Buckingham Palace, which is understandable because they had not been there before. I walked along the Thames to get to the Cathedral; there were so many people simply sitting by the Thames relaxing or having a bite to it. It was very pleasant and a great walk.

Once I arrived at St. Paul’s, I walked around the Cathedral and back to the high alter, which is incredibly ornate. There was so much detail in the mosaics and on the alter; it is hard to explain. I didn’t dilly dally though because the second main reason I wanted to go to St. Paul’s was to see the view from the top of the dome; knowing it was going to be a lot of steps, I wanted to give myself more than enough time. Now, I am not scared of heights, but the staircases near the very top got rather steep and narrow that it became nerve racking. However, I think part of this was due to the fact that I was in my “business flats” from the company visit in the morning, so I didn’t exactly have the best traction. I did eventually make it to the very top and got a gorgeous view of the city. To repeat myself, it was a beautiful day, and I could clearly see everything. After spending some time enjoying the views, I slowly made my way back down to the Cathedral, where I sat, relaxed, and listened to the soft music for a little bit. (I need to mention that while I was sitting there, I did take a couple illegal photographs of the inside of the Cathedral – don’t worry I turned the flash off, so the offense went unnoticed). I then gradually made my way out via the crypt of the building.

Before heading over to attempt to meet up with some people before dinner, I treated myself to Starbucks as well as a travel mug (I have been looking for a mug in Copenhagen and cannot find one anywhere).

Since it was so warm outside and the sun was shining, I decided to go over to Green Park and see Buckingham Palace myself prior to meeting up with some girls from my class. There were not many people around, and many people were simply strolling through the park. It was very relaxing and calming. I then set out on my way to try to meet people before dinner, however in the process I ended up on Carnaby Street and decided to simply wander some more on my own rather than attempt to find my friends. I only had about an hour, so it wasn’t that bad.

I then tried to make my way to the address for dinner. However, I began to feel like I was Harry Potter searching for the Room of Requirement because I kept walking down and back on this one section of the street passing it every time because I couldn’t find the address numbers for the building. As it turns out though, the door I was looking for was simply street entrance to an office building, which housed the main offices of the restaurant we were going to, not the actual restaurant. Once we figured this out though, a nice gentleman from the restaurants corporate offices kindly took us on a ten minute walk to get to the actual restaurant.

We had to eat dinner relatively quickly because we had to get to the “Thriller LIVE” concert. To me it was a rather interesting show; I still don’t really know what to make of it. I think overall, if you are a really big fan of Michael Jackson’s music, it was enjoyable. However, there really wasn’t a “plot” to follow. It was still fun and a good way to start the evening.

After the concert, I quickly headed back to the hotel with a couple friends so we could change (yes I was still in my business attire from the morning), and then meet up with everyone else to head out to a club for the evening. We went a Tube stop down from our station and went to a place called Las Locas. It was a fun little place, and there were a decent number of people there. Mainly, we just danced for a got part of the evening and had a good time. I headed back to the hotel “early” with a group of people. Since the Tube had since stopped running, we actually had to walk back, but it was only about 10 minutes, so it wasn’t that bad. I then practically collapsed in my bed, since I was so tired from the day.