Hello to all of the various creeps who are stalking me as I journey through the great city of London! I am currently on my third day here and am having a great time. Let’s go through some highlights.
Today the group rode the tube to St. Paul’s Cathedral, which is something that I have been wanting to do for a very long time.
The photos truly do not do it justice. The art alone was a religious experience, and I would love to go again. I also conquered the perilous climb to the very top of the cathedral, at a whopping 528 steps to get to the top (and all 528 down again, plus some that we took multiple times). Some of the steps were absurdly short whereas others were exceedingly steep, so I would rate the St. Paul’s Cathedral steps as, on average, about average height. Once we got to the top, the view was absolutely gorgeous. There is something to the victorious feeling of having climbed that high, and experiencing that while the wind is blowing through your hair 365 feet above London.
As for my experience riding the tube (or the subway, as you Americans would call it), I have honestly been having a blast. I wish that America would take notes on the public transportation systems here (they need the help!). Yesterday we went on a walking tour from Piccadilly Circus to Buckingham Palace, with intermittent aid from the tube to get between locations. I got familiar with it pretty quickly and as of today have been riding on my own!
During our tour yesterday, we learned how to use our Oyster cards on the tube. Our journey consisted mainly of taking a photo in front of the Eros statue in Piccadilly Circus, then trekking determinedly through the torrential downpours of London (which was actually just a light drizzle) to Buckingham Palace. I even got a halfway decent picture to commemorate seeing the king’s quarters!
Today, after our aforementioned tour of St. Paul’s Cathedral, the group of losers seen in the Buckingham Palace picture walked aimlessly through the commercial, financial, and fashion districts near the City of London. Somewhere in there I got a pretty sick falafel wrap from Oliver’s Falafel. We walked probably more than 3.1 miles (update: I wrote this about 5 hours ago and have since talked to the people who were tracking their steps and I can now confirm I walked about 12 miles, actually…) before just going home, then wandering around a little closer to the hotel. It’s a crazy life we live, right?
More to come!
CW
Theatre in London U of A 