The Beginning of the End... in London

Yes, that's right, this week started the end of my time in London. After the fabulous weekend in Cornwall, I spent Monday posting my entry on this blog, as well as generally recouperating form the bit of my cold that resurfaced for the beginning part of the week. Tuesday was cleaning night in the flat, with Wednesday finally being my night out in town. I went to the National Gallery for a bit before going to see "Night of the Iguana" starring Woody Harrelson (pretty decent) with Trace. Thursday I went to the National Portrait Gallery for the first time, which I was extremely excited about. I felt that I greatly improved my British history knowledge just by the portraits, and got to see portraits that I'd only seen in textbooks and of people I'd never seen images of in the first place. After that, I met Kate and John at the Prince Alfred for some quality hang out time, since we hadn't seen each other for a few weeks. Friday night I went out with people from work for a bit before going to see "Good Night, and Good Luck" (excellent!!!) and having a nice early night.

Ah, the weekend... My last full weekend in London... Monday I'd planned everything I wanted to still do in town, and had developed a plan for both days. Saturday I got up early and made my way with the gorgeous weather to Westminster Abbey (my first real time there too! unbelievable, I know...). Again, it was exciting to see the graves of people like Queen Elizabeth and Charles Dickens. My quest then took me accross the river and along the Southbank to the The Globe Theatre. There aren't performances this time of year, especially since it's an open-air theatre. It's also just a reconstruction of what they think Shakespeare's theatre actually looked like, though it's also probably pretty accurate. I had a fantastic tour (complete with the guide's favorite stupid questions including one where someone didn't know that Shakespeare was actually dead) there that was more about what Elizabethan London would have been like, especially if we'd been coming to see a show. After The Globe, it was on to Borough Market for a snack and back accross the Thames to find Leadenhall Market (the location for one of the scenes in the first Harry Potter movie where Hagrid and Harry are just about to enter the Leaky Cauldron. The exterior for the Leaky Cauldron in the third movie was actually filmed near Borough Market, where in the books it's supposed to be between the many bookshops of Charing Cross Road, just north of Trafalgar Square). (photos: Westminster Abbey; tour inside The Globe; and Leadenhall Market, though more closed stores in an old arcade)



After the Harry Potter dorkiness, I was off to St. Paul's to purchase a trinket for my sister and grabbed a bit of lunch. I then tried to find the Temple Church, which I'd never really seen and didn't know what to expect. Temple actually turned out to be a fenced-in housing area in v. old buildings and rowhouses that centered around the Temple Church (yes, as featured in the Divinci Code). After the church, I had a nice sit on the edge of the river while chatting on the phone before meeting the crew at a pub to watch the England v. Scotland rugby match. The pub happened to be next to the Twinings store that I'd been searching for and also hoping to go to before I leave, though it has extremely limited hours that render actually going to the store to shop a bit impossible. Scotland, the underdogs, trounced England, the leaders in the Six Nations tourney, by the way. Andy, his friend from home, and I left the pub (others had left sooner to go have some rest) and headed to Covent Garden for some food. We met Jen and her visiting mom for a drink and the Olympics at the Maple Leaf before heading to our fun gelato place for dessert. I'd accomplished above and beyond the day plan. (photos: St. Pauls, one of my favorite parts of London; and a view down the Thames)


Sunday I was up early again to go to Camden Market to get my sweater/jacket I'd seen and been wanting to purchase. I met Trace, Meredith, and another visiting friend there and Trace and I bought the sweaters before heading to Hampton Court Palace. The train service there was severely disrupted due to engineering works, so the half-hour direct train trip was really an hour and a half train-bus-train combo. We had a good trip, meeting a mom and her daughter from Texas that were in London for a long weekend.

I'd heard a lot about Hampton Court, often billed as the home of Henry VIII (one of his many, really), but it was indeed a facinating place. We went on a tour with a costumed interpreter, but then wandered through the rest of the royal rooms of multiple monarchs, the royal kitchens, before wandering through the extensive gardens. By that point in the day it was getting a bit cold and the cool maze was already closed, but we saw more than enough. We eventually made our way back to the train to London, only to meet the rest of our friends at the Alfred after some trip planning sessions. (photos: Front entrance to Hampton Court; me with the interpreters; and the back of Hampton Court from the gardens)