Sunday, April 30, 2006

London, pt. I

Back in London now...

...but to recap the rest of Helsinki:

We cooked a Finnish meal, saw Antie randomly on the tram again, and saw Ron and Claire in Estonia (two people we met in the sauna). RANDOM. Anyhoo, we saw some lovely cathedrals and we visited Tallinn for a day which was interesting. We always are with the old people. It's supposed to be a fun boat but the young people go on Fridays or Saturdays and we went on a Tuesday. Sad. I already can't remember some things...let's move on to London.

It's been fun and busy so far! We arrived on Thursday and made a really good Marks and Spencer meal at home. M&S here isn't like the ones we used to have in Canada. They have really good grocery food too! I guess it is like a Whole Foods. Anyhoo, the next day I woke up "early" to see St. Paul's Cathedral (gorgeous!) and stayed for a service and communion (I think it has been 2 years since I've done that last...) and then I proceeded to grab a bite to eat at Pret A Manger (?) which is a sandwich shop that is as abundant here as Starbucks in Vancouver. Anyway, I then went to see the Tower of London. It was soo interesting! Our tour guide was hilarious. He's called a Beef Eater. I don't really know why and no one knows why either, he said. It might mean Queen's protector or something like that. Also, they used to get paid in beef and beer. Anyway, he was funny. And I saw the crown jewels too! They were SO beautiful. I went into the White Tower for the museum part - it is where they used to house the gunpowder and for storage. Then I went home and Scarley and I cooked some dinner. We met up with Hanna for drinks and to wait for Joanna and Afsaneh to arrive from their flight from Toronto and we chatted a bit then went home.

Yesterday I went to Green Park with the intention of reading my book (Guns, Germs, and Steel) and hanging out. Too bad it was freezing so I stayed for an hour and then was planning to go to the Museum of London. Unfortunately my connecting tube was closed so I didn't know how to get there. Instead I just left the station to walk around and end up somewhere. I got to Russell Square and the British Museum, both which are lovely! I didn't look at the British Museum thoroughly yet - I just bought a map and planned my walk. It is huge - I want to see it all (I don't know if that will be possible). It is like the MET in NYC. I heart. I'm excited to go back this week. So Scarlett really wanted M&S curry because she saw me eating it for lunch so I tried to walk around the area of the Museum after but I couldn't find one. So I thought I would hop on a bus and it will be easier for me to spot it and I won't get so tired from walking. Sound like a good idea?

No.

I got so lost because the bus went off the map I was carrying. Humdinger. So when some guy got off the bus I got off too and starting wandering around. It was kind of a sketchy area...people handing you flyers...kids running on the streets. I dunno. Anyway, so I kept walking and then finally asked a guy at a bus stop if his bus went to a tube station. ANY of them. He told me I was pretty close to a tube station so I walked there. I went to Liverpool Street station to get Scarley her curry and to pick up other stuff for dinner and then got on the tube to go home. Lo and behold, I heard someone calling my name. WDH?

I had hopped on the tube and then hopped off because I realized it was the wrong line, but Taylor (a girl I used to work with at the Gap in Kingston and who goes to Queen's) was calling my name. Weird. This stuff happens to me all the time. Anyway, I sat on the Circle line with her for a bit and got off and took the tube back to Scarlett's house. We had another M&S dinner and then we went to Bar Chocolate to meet up with her friends. Afterwards, we went to the Roadhouse. Reminded me of a Kingston bar or something. Ha ha.

Today I am meeting up with a friend of Scarlett's because he is going to show me around town today! I missed Hillsong, which is the church service he goes to. I will try to make it for the next week. Europe is making me churchy again...HD. Current religious views will be the next post.

So today I am going to see Big Ben. I will update you soon. Sorry this is a rushed post I have to get ready for the day!

j.

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