I am a planner - a self-professed OCD, organized, list-making (with the little boxes on the side so I can check it off) non-procrastinating, perfectionist, planner. I am type A – I admit it. I know this about me and most people who know me even for five minutes, can probably grasp this fact. But in a city you have only been in for one month, with your parents who only have four days to take in the sights before heading to Paris, with must-see tourist attractions scattered miles apart, and weather that does not always behave, planning becomes a challenge - a big challenge. The truth of the matter is, sometimes you simply cannot plan for everything and it is in the unplanned moments that you come across a hidden treasure or get lost but end up laughing your way back on course. But accepting this is not always easy for me - the planner - and while I know nothing is perfect, smooth sailing is so much more my style. But today brought on the waves – and while we (meaning my parents) embraced them and still had a great day, it made for an interesting tour. But heck, its freakin wet enough here anyways, I guess some waves shouldn’t ruin all the fun J.
The morning began with a tumultuous ride on the tube. I usually go into my internship on Wednesdays but I traded days so that I could take the day off. But this morning, I still had to go into the office to drop off monologue books we had shipped from Barnes and Noble to mom, who then brought them over here (to save on shipping). Rob needed them for class tonight, but I had a full day planned (surprising?) no where near the office, so I had to do it first thing. I usually miss rush hour time, but this morning I had to drop them at 9am before meeting my parents for breakfast. And trying to get a tube at 9am on the brown line is like trying to get a friggin lifeboat on the sinking Titanic. People pushing, running, everyone squeezed in airtight. Basically, it is a claustrophobic’s nightmare. Not to mention, when your personal bubble is being seriously invaded by random strangers, including one old man who would not stop staring at me – dead in the eyes – which was completely awkward – all before your first cup of coffee, it quickly becomes uncomfortable and frustrating. But I finally was able to drop off the books and then get back on the tube to meet the parents at their hotel.
The sun was shining, which was a welcome surprise, and we had breakfast at Giraffe, a chain that I had been to before for dinner, but their breakfast was actually pretty good. Then we were off to the Tower of London where we spent most of the morning.
The Tower looks like a gigantic castle and it is most famously known for housing the royal jewels and the royal family before they moved into Buckingham Palace, as well as for all of the prisoners it held captive and tortured during the 14th and 15th centuries. We took a very animated tour from a tour guide (probably in his mid fifties) who was really entertaining and had been working there (these guides are certified guards as well who live at the tower) since he was 15 years old! He had great stories and was really captivating – as were the sights of the tower lit by the morning sun. And then the clouds rolled in…. the dark clouds.
Before we knew it we were caught in a bit of a storm. I have not experienced wind and rain like this before in London so unannounced - I think because it is getting colder, the on and off rain becomes even more uncomfortable and disruptive to the day – especially while trying to navigate around a busy and outdoor sight. But, we made the best of it and it eventually passed. After seeing the White Tower’s torture chambers and weapons (uplifting, I know), as well as the Bloody Towers decorated halls filled with medieval armor and artifacts from centuries ago, and of course my favorite part, the royal jewels (oh! and after watching Don slam his head into a plastic framed window not seeing it there…. Poor Don J ) we headed back on the circle line toward St Paul’s Cathedral for some lunch.
We were looking for a place to eat before touring the cathedral, and we stumbled upon this hole in the wall pub called Davie’s. The food was delicious – they had the best chips I have had on this whole trip – and we relaxed at the spacious table tucked into a back dining room where we were served by the sweetest French lady who kept calling mommy Madame – I am telling you, anyone who says London is not a cultural experience is horribly mistaken. There are people from all over the world here, the language barriers are everywhere and in this case, just like that, we were in France J.
After lunch we went to St. Paul’s but were sadly turned away – the hours for tours are so random and crazy here and even when things should be open, they sometimes simply aren’t, which can be frustrating – wave (in my smooth sailing ocean, if you are missing the metaphor here) #1. Then we were like, well what now? There is so much to do that it can become very overwhelming and I felt like I had this responsibility to be some kind of guide. So it was a little stressful throughout the day figuring out what to do and in what order, but we collectively decided that as a plan B we would head toward The Globe Theater. Enter wave #2: upon getting off the tube and having quite a walk, we got there and the Globe is not touring because there is a performance going on. Great. So then plan C, we decide to go to West Minister Abbey – that means BACK ON THE TUBE…. after this morning, I am literally all tubed out…. And off we went.
Westminster tube stop is the hub for every major landmark that pops into your head when you think London – Big Ben, Parliament, West Minister Abbey, The London Eye – it is all right there when you get out. So we walked around and took a bunch of pictures around this area, and then headed to the Abbey. We finally made our way there (after a simple misunderstanding with the Parliament guard who looked at us funny when we asked if we could enter the abbey – note to self, the abbey is on the right side of the street, and parliament on the left, and in our defense, we had the map turned the wrong way, and both are beautiful landmarks that could easily be mistaken for the other). And here we go, one last time… wave #3 – CLOSED. We checked the guidebook and it said it was open M – F, but APPARENTLY NOT! At this point, I was a little frustrated. We were back to the “now what?” but after a quick detour to a pub to pee, we decided to walk about 40 minutes back to The Globe (where I was to meet my theater class for a showing of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at 7pm) and eat a light dinner at the famous riverside pub, The Anchor.
This pub is by far the most beautiful I have seen, and what a prime location overlooking the Thames River. We took a deep breath from the rollercoaster day, had some food and drink and listened to some uncharacteristic music – they were playing like Nelly and Destiny’s Child… way to kill the old world pub mood with some American radio. Then I was off to the theater and since it was sold out when I found out mom and Don would be here, we went our separate ways. I was then off to stand for three hours in the cold to watch the Shakespeare production (I am positive my parents are glad they didn’t have to stand through that after such a long day and still readjusting to the time change), and while it was really entertaining, my tired feet had had enough. Not to mention, there was this man obnoxiously cackling at every punch line – meaning every five friggin mississippi seconds, he would grunt and cackle like a possessed donkey – and then his little girlfriend would do this high pitched sing songy laugh – together they made quite the cacophony of sound. It got so bad that I kept hoping the play would stop being funny so that I didn’t have to hear the “hehehhehe….honk honk honk…hehhehehe….honk honk honk” any longer. It did take away from a bit of the enjoyment – and what a long play! I thought it was going to take until midsummer for it to be over…. Like the pun? Lame I know (or as Monica and I would say- so lahm! J)
But now I am off to bed. We have all day tomorrow and Friday to fill in the blanks and hopefully have more luck with the sights and the weather – it was only actually raining part of the day, but it is pretty cloudy and cold. There were some blue sky moments, and we made sure to snap our pictures then – a technique I am sure most guidebooks to London have mastered seeing as you never see cloudy and raining pictures of the city or prepare for just how rainy it is actually going to be. Carrying an umbrella with you everyday is a must, because there could be not a cloud in the sky at 10am, but come 2 you could be facing a tropical storm.
It seems to me from the weather to the tour closings, to the great and unknown pub and the Westminster tube stop that has it all, it is safe to say that in London you can expect the unexpected. I think and hope that mom and Don are having a good time and would certainly agree.
Love and hugs,
Jenny
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