I will begin with a little disclaimer. Although this is a London blog, it was written in Paris with sticky fingers and kouignette (little scrolls of pastry and syrup, nuts or jam) all aver the keyboard.
Our time in London was far too short. We had only planned for 3 full days to recover from our flight before moving on. Our planning failed us in this instant, as the less time we gave ourselves to recover the more manic we were to see everything London had to offer.
As we wandered through St James Park on our way to Buckingham Palace, the jet lag was real! It was only our second day when a driver swerved across both lanes and ran down 15 pedestrians and cyclists nearby. Three were injured and the attack was classified as a terror attack before police had reached the scene. From what we were able to read in the Evening Standard (the free newspapers given out each evening in London) the driver was a regular, non-cooperable man, that didn't make any comment to suggest or refute any act of terror. As is the way of things in big cities, we didn't hear about the incident until our friends and family in Australia messaged us to make sure we were ok.
London is everything I wanted it to be. The anticipated discomfort of the underground with a potent cocktail of rain, sweat and metal, is just so London. Finding our accomodation was surprisingly simple. Our room could sleep an army and after a short rest, we were on the hunt for food. This is an essential element of our travels to every new place we visit. We aimlessly wander around the city, not bothering too much about direction and try to get our bearings as quickly as possible. Neither Josh or myself are the social chameleons that can fit into every environment. The faster we know how this new place operates, the faster we can disappear into the crowds and be "just another London local".
We delight in the pedestrian lights that display and array of "GO" symbols. There are two girls crossing-lights, two boys crossing-lights, and sometimes all three crossing-lights. The public acceptance this city has for every type of person is insane and I really admire it. I already feel at home here.
Tate x
Ps. Please excuse any spelling mistakes, I've been drinking French wine.
For Travellers:
- Every gallery we went to was free, our favourite so far was the National Portrait Gallery, with lots of old royal paintings. Perviously I said look up in London, but in galleries, looking down is where its at. The floors are littered with mosaics that are all beautifully unique.
- Surprisingly the tea was terrible, because of the calcium in the water. Although you can buy lots of different artisan teas here for a pretty penny.
- The changing of the guard (a parade with the royal band and royal guards) is another cool ceremony not to miss. It happens most days at 11:00am first at the Horse Guards Parade, then along the street by Buckingham Palace.
- The Natural History Museum is spectacular just for its building if nothing else. It's also full of real dinosaur and blue whale skeletons if that's more your thing. Again entry is free.
- If you're living on beer due to the price of food, fear not. Wetherspoons is a good cheap pub that you can get a decent meal and drink combo for about £9 (about $18aud)
- We use the app "maps.me" to download free city maps. It tracks our GPS location and doesn't require wifi. Be sure to download each map before you arrive and don't stress if it doesn't know where you are immediately after ascending from the underground.
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