My final week in London was fairly different than that of my peers because Ben came out to visit and not only did I get to play tour guide, helping to plan how to make the most of his four days - two of which would be almost completely on his own - but I also got to stay an extra two days longer than most people in the group.
Ben and I talked extensively about what he would like to do and what I thought he shouldn’t miss, but ultimately, it was up to me to guide him since I’ve been to London twice now and he had never been. In making a schedule I looked at what the group schedule was and planned things for him that were relatively near one another. I also, of course, based my choices on what I knew his interests were and what he thought was important to see in the short time he was there. Finally, the Rick Steve’s 2012 London Guide had a helpful 7-day visit layout and good walks. Here’s what we ended up doing:
Tuesday: 7:30am arrival! I had a group tour of the Royal Opera House schedule for 2pm which is practically attached to Covent Garden, a great place for street vendors, music, buskers and other various types of street entertainment. I knew that Ben wanted fish and chips and I thought it would be cool to see St. Paul’s Church, a.k.a. the actor’s church (not to be confused with St. Paul’s Cathedral) which is in the area. So we headed over to Covent Garden, grabbed fish ‘n’ chips from a place called Rock and Sole and sat in the church courtyard to eat. The food was very good – though painfully expensive in comparison to the fish ‘n’ chips from Stratford and Oxford. The church is small with several memorial plaques along the inside walls for various theatre artists and entertainers.
Lookin' cool.
The ticket was good for 24 hours and he could get off at any of the stops to look around further. With following along on a map, Ben also started to better understand the layout and scale of the city. After this tour I was impressed to see him take off on his own in confidence.
After dinner Ben saw Noises Off while our group saw A Long Day’s Journey Into Night. In his four days in London and my three weeks, Ben saw four shows, and I saw eight. There are tens of very, very good theatres in London and shows of all types and scale. Most of which are much less expensive than in the states, and not just for students. This makes attending the theatre so much more accessible to all age groups and not just the older generations which is so common in the states. The attitude about theatre seems to be different, too - I mean there are hundreds of shows to see at any given time, so it's understandable that people go out to the theatre more often.
Ben and I saw two shows together, one of which was War Horse. It was stunning visually but we both agree that script-wise the movie was better.
On Wednesday Ben finished the bus tour and went to the Tower of London. Tower of London is great because it has such a vast and interesting history. The crown jewels are always fun to see, even if I don’t personally find the aesthetic very appealing. As Americans, we can never fully understand the ideal of royalty and what it means to the English people, but to give you an idea: more English were excited for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee than they are for the Olympics. The Tower’s history of execution and torture is very interesting. I found the Beauchamp tower, where the many high-profile prisoners were kept, to be especially fascinating because the interior is covered in 15th -17th century graffiti unlike any graffiti we have today.
Left: Beauchamp Tower, Right: Graffiti
The sad and the beautiful.
The Scavenger's Daughter. This was apparently the most effective use of torture; prisoners would confess after only an hour. Of course, it was the least used.
A Bansky painting located on the exterior of the UpMarket building on the exact location of Jack-the-Ripper's second victim.
Left: Around the bend is the restaurant.
High Tea includes finger sandwiches, pastries and scones with clotted cream – the best spread ever.
That
evening after War Horse we wowed some tourists with my clever idea to fit both Ben and
me in the picture at Platform 9 ¾. Seriously, as we were leaving they
were retaking their pictures in the same form. I was a little
disappointed that the platform isn't actually located between platforms 9
and 10...
The Globe with all of the Globe-to-Globe posters along the wall.
...grabbed some meat pies for lunch and ate on a bench looking out over the Thames...
...and through Jubilee
Park to the London Eye.
I was skeptical at first, but in the end we both really enjoyed the London Eye and if it’s a clear day (and I use “clear” loosely as the day we were there it was overcast but we could still see very far) I highly recommend it. It’s very touristy but worth it.
Check out that view!
I loved playing with the "miniature" setting on our camera.
It was the perfect day leading up to the show that night, which was a hilarious new play on A Servant of Two Masters.
We left early Saturday on a train to Germany to spend the next week visiting friends in Aachen and Chemnitz. But that, folks, is for next time.
Oh, man! This all looks like so much fun. If envy's a sin, I've got a lot of repentin' to do.
ReplyDeleteLovely! I love the miniature settings on your camera too! How fun!
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