Lahndan

yo, i'm back. I'm sorry it took ages, I was at some concerts the last two nights.  But first, sit down and let me tell you about London. 
 
We took the overnight bus from Edinburgh, a ghastly 12 hour ride aboard a stuffy bus that I swear smelled like toilet the entire time (ah, my sensitive nose).  Sleep on a bus should not be labeled as sleep, but rather as  butt-aching numbness. But we arrived in Victoria Station nice and early, hopped onto the Tube and popped up under Big Ben, drizzled in rain.

We walked over to the Westminster Abbey, but it was closed. It was pretty impressive from the outside though.

We walked across the Thames, and of course when you look back, you see this postcard image (including grey sky). It actually looked a bit differently than what I had imagined. I think I was disoriented a bit from coming up from the Tube station, but it looked less significant than I had thought.

We saw some public art--it consisted of umbrellas. Reminiscent of Christo and Jeanne-Claude's yellow umbrellas?

We walked over to Hyde Park (the largest park in the city), and as soon as we crossed the gates we ran into a cavalry brigade just taking a serious stroll through the park....

There was such a juxtaposition of the traditional processional against the hustle and bustle of car traffic flowing around the park. They both tolerated each other.

A stop to Harrod's was mandatory, and so indescribable. It was like my eyes were gorging on the sights. The fanciest watches and purses and jewelry, right next door to this incredible, expansive food market that had rooms just for meat, just for wine, just for fruit, just for chocolate, etc. It was so over-the-top, but in an acceptable way, for it was unique in its extravagance.  The fish market....

London has a lot of free museums, and the first one we went to was the Natural History Museum. It wasn't huge, and of course there were a lot of little school kids there, but it was fun to go and see skeletons of dodo birds and stuffed, dusty lions. It was a cool building too.

The other museum we went to that day was the Tate Modern. It is an excellent museum, a large, free modern art museum with many exhibitions spanning many ideas.  I would recommend it to anyone going to London.

Picadilly Circus is as ridiculous as its name.  Just look at Josh's reaction to the utter scene that is Picadilly.

It is essentially the Times Square of London. Tons of ads up on screens, a giant Ripley's Believe It Or Not, kids who took day jobs handing out fliers shoving deals into your face, garish Christmas lights hanging between the buildings.  But.....it is the theater district (and the adult movie theater district, a literary neighborhood, and Chinatown. Quite the mix), and we got tickets to go see Avenue Q. It was good to see a proper show, although I thought the ending could have been better; most of the show is in the first half, and it would have been just the perfect length and funniness if they stopped there. But it was funny, and the puppets were neat.  It was a mixed show, with puppets and people, and the puppetmasters were completely visible. 

We were staying at a friend's parents' house off of Warwick Ave (a tube stop), and got to sleep in comfy beds for the weekend. 

The next morning, we headed over to Brixton to see the Jamaican market. It reminded me a bit of Chinatown, with stores that sell everything you could need in your house and beyond. The most impressive thing was the food though--fresh fruit and vegetables and meat and fish, all plentiful and beautiful and absolutely fresh. 

Do you know what that white round vegetable is in the center? It was labeled as "garden egg" (in quotes).  Lots of yams, chiles, and okra.  Whole chickens with feet still on, and a motley array of fish. 

Then, we went to Camden. Camden Market and Lock is a giant permanent swap meet of sorts that is situated in old horse stables in these crazy old brick buildings. Its awash with alternative culture, from tattoo shops to goth clothing to and entire store devoted to glow-in-the-dark rave ware with live dancers in the store.  But it also has a lot of cool second hand stores with books and clothes and records and its worth a look around. We spent a lot of time there (getting our rave clothes, what else?) because it was like a never ending maze of things to see. Good food stalls too. 

We ventured over to the Tower of London and Tower Bridge, but couldn't be compelled to pay for the tour inside. Instead, I contented myself by climbing the Roman wall that protected Londinium (Roman London).

We spent some time hanging out with friends, and then caught the overnight bus to Edinburgh on Sunday. Got back right in time for my 9AM class. 

One last little reminder of a friendly bear in a funny hat who happens to love marmalade.....