2 days and I already feel like I've done so much!
Tuesday 24 April.
So the travelling to get here was NOT fun. Door-to-door from Surry Hills to Clapham, it takes 37 hours! That's if you consider being stranded in Beijing for 4 hours due to thunderstorms. Apparently Beijing has had problems in the past with customers getting very agro very easily. It looked like their attempt to avoid this was to show 'air crash investigations' on every TV screen around the airport. As if to shock people to believe that they have their safety at the forefront of their decision to ground planes. I thought it was plain strange to show that sort of stuff. It's like showing 'Snakes on a plane' as the inflight movie. You just don't do it. (Not that 'Puss in boots' or 'The Zookeeper' were much better! Haha) I have to say though, the one amazing experience was getting out of Heathrow (one of the busiest airports in the world) in 15 mins. Amazing. I guess having a British passport has its perks ;)
So met Bron at the arrivals area and off we went on the Tube. Such an awesome transport system. Can't get over how efficient it is in comparison to Sydney. It's so easy to get around London. After a decent Tube ride and a cab, we arrived at Bron's pad in Clapham. Really cool little place. Everywhere here has so much character and history. Even in my jet lagged/confused/hungover state in the cab, I was still amazed by the old looking villages we sped through. I thought Surry Hills had character. This is a whole different level!
Wednesday 25 April.
The next morning, I was out of bed at 6am. This jet lag is messing with my mind! Either way, was excited to get out and about.
First on my list: a traditional full English breakfast. So I made my way on the Tube to Piccadilly Circus and had the most amazing breakfast. Perfect start to the day. From the moment they brought out the bottle of HP sauce when they set my table, I knew I'd come to the right place. Little did I know that every single food establishment in London has a bottle of HP on every table! Haha love it!
Second on the list: I'd heard so many people rave about the double-decker hop-on hope-off buses so I thought I'd give that a go. Only thing was that It was belting down with rain the whole time so I never hopped off. It wasn't all that bad. I still got to see all the main attractions in London in 3 hours. It was kinda good that way because then I could decide where I wanted to go after the bus ride. Haha I felt like a real tourist, snapping away at pretty much everything with my camera.
Trafalga Square, the National Gallery and the British Museum. They were the things I wanted to see first up. All three were so 'grand'. Trafalga Square is such a sight. Lion statues and monuments to past leaders were scattered amongst the new and the old buildings. So interesting to see the convergence between really old and really new.
I'm not a huge art buff but the National Gallery sure was impressive. Wondering around, I quickly came to realise what artistic styles I do and don't like. It feels really special to know that these art pieces were painted so long ago. You're probably going to find this strange, but I kinda wished they allowed taking photos just so that I could 'photograph' the visitors in the gallery. There's something about staring at people who are staring at paintings that really intrigued me. I saw one old man sit there for a good couple of hours staring at the same painting! It was only when I stood behind a class of cross-legged school kids with an art teacher talking to them that I realised why I had this weird intrigue. The teacher would ask the same question about each painting the kids sat in front of. "What do 'you' see?" The kids would rattle off simple observations that they saw in the painting. "The lady is sad". "The man is scared". In my head, I likened it to music. Everyone has their own taste and context. They see a different part of the art. I wasn't that impressed with the painting the old man was looking at, but watching his eyes wander across the wall of art made me realise that it meant a lot to him. It was a really nice bit of enlightenment for the day. Other peoples appreciation for art made me appreciate art more :)
The British Museum was amazing too. If you're not into ancient artefacts, the sheer awesomeness of the building itself is enough to take your breath away. I had a good wonder around. Really liked the ancient Egyptian pieces. Very cool.
By this stage, I was all museumed out. Jet lag also began to kick in. And by this time, Bron was finishing up at work. So, we met up and headed off to Covent garden for a Cornish pasty, mash and gravy. Such a cool place. The little food places downstairs feel like little eating grottos. When we left the Pasty place, we had to squint to adjust to daylight again! Wouldn't mind going back there again and hanging out all day! As we were leaving, a string quartet entertained all the people in the lower food hall and the surrounding balconies. They were REALLY good musicians.
Full to the brim with pasty goodness, we wondered through Soho, down Regent street via the most intense toy store I've ever been to, then settled down for a pint at a really nice pub in Soho with Bron and Trina. Jeez it felt good to have a drink after a long day of touristing. The size of drinks here are huge! I was baffled when I went to the bar to order a glass of Rose for Trina when the guy behind the bar said "small, medium or large?". I said, "what would a lady drink?". He smirked and recommended 'a medium'. They're really all about eating and drinking as much as you like here. I'm quite concerned for my health! Haha I can see why Australians call it the Heathrow injection!
So after quite a number of ciders, we headed for dinner at Soho Pizzeria, where we had super tasty pizzas accompanied by a jazz pianist in the corner of the room. Definitely right up my alley! By this stage though, jet lag was setting in and it was time to Tube it home and pass out :)
Thursday 26 April.
So after my Soho experience the day before, I had to go back. I love that area. That morning, I got onto Foursquare to see what the best breakfast place is in Soho. 'The Breakfast Club' was the recommendation, specifically their 'All American Pancakes' or as I like to call them, 'heart attack on a plate'. Much to my self-disappointment, I was defeated by this meal of doom which included pancakes, bacon, maple syrup, hash brown (potatoes), sausage and poached eggs. I'm sure after further training on this holiday, I'll be able to go back there and finish a whole meal.
To walk off my food coma, I thought I'd wonder down Oxford Street and check out the ridiculously sized retail stores. Marks and Spencer's, Niketown, HMVs flag-ship store, the Apple store and Topman were all very impressive, yet being the worst at shopping, I didn't buy a thing!
All this walking had made me thirsty. And what better person to have a drink with then Daire Carr, a friend who I hadn't seen in 13 years from Ireland! What a blast from the past! Amazing to catch up! Even though it had been so long, we weirdly picked up where we left off! A couple of hours/beers later, we found overselves in the oldest pub in London called 'Yee Old Chesher Cheese'. What a great place. It felt like we were drinking in the deepest darkest dungeon in London. Devastated that I didn't take any photos!
Bron then met up with us and we headed to the next drinking hole to meet James Lammert, a friend of mine from Sydney who's just moved over here. Awesome to catch up. Hopefully another beer or ten will be had before I head back to Oz.
Speaking of 'Oz', it was time for Bron and I to make our way to the Apollo theatre to see 'Wicked'. I was so excited to see a musical on the Westend. What an experience. The music and actors were phenomenal, particularly the wicked witch actress. She had such an amazing voice. But sadly, much like an evil spell, jet lag hit me again. While monkeys flew above the stage, my left eye started to fall asleep, then my right eye started to do the same. If the actors could see me, I would have looked a sight. Probably crosseyed :) Unfortunately all the pick and mix lollies in the world couldn't save me at this point. So after the show, I had turned into an anti-social goo in human form, incapable of speech and smiling. It was time to head to bed. Tube. Cab. Bed. Crash.
P
