London – Day 3 of 3 :(

Well, today is the end of our time in London. We may have a couple hours tomorrow morning to go see a few things we missed but that will depend on the train situation. I wanted to start this blog with something a bit different, sure, i’ll get into the daily stuff soon but first I wanted to say something about what London has taught us. So, without further adieu:

3 things I learned in  London

1. Bus + Subway + Walking is better transportation than a car at home
2. Beer is cheaper than water
3. I should wear more suites (everyone in London wears a suite)

3 things Nic learned in London

1. Elevators are mean. Do they really need to try to take your limb off when you hold a door open?
2. Even though cigarette packages say “Smoking Kills” on the front, everyone still smokes
3. If you don’t like walking on dead people…don’t look down in a church (yes, those are tombstones you’re walking on)

All in all London has been amazing. Abbey Road, amazing churches, good food (even though everyone says it’s terrible), fun bus and subway rides, miles upon miles upon miles of walking every day, bridges, castles, friendly people, a lil too much litter, crap television, good beer, amazing – i mean seriously amazing paintings and more. For a town that Nic “had no interest in” 4 months ago she and I had a great time.

Day 3 started later than expected. As Nic mentioned earlier we over slept and her knee was hurting so we didn’t leave the hotel room till after 12:00. I, honestly, was a lil peeved. I mean, we are in London, let’s get going. But, I soon realized that the extra sleep was needed and deserved and got over it. We made our way to Rock & Sole Plaice; what some people have said is the best fish & chips in our area. We hadn’t had fish & chips yet so why not start with the best. We found the restaurant which was crowded and they offered to sit us downstairs. Downstairs smelled like mold + fish guts, we opted to wait outside. 15 minutes later we were sharing a picnic table esque bench with two women who didn’t speak english, or at least they didn’t speak it with us around. The fish & chips were very good. Honestly I can’t remember the last time I ate fish & chips so they may have been terrible, but I enjoyed them. Nic had fried cheese but tried my fish & chips and agreed that they were delicious.

From lunch we headed to the tube to take 3 different lines back to the Tower of London. We wanted to walk across the London Tower Bridge. In an earlier post I mentioned the London Bridge, I was mistaken, it was the London Tower Bridge, the London Bridge will come later in this post. The London Tower Bridge (LTB – too much to type this late) was really cool. It had bright blue supports and tall towers (hence the name). The center raises to allow boats to come in and out of the London Pool. We walked across the bridge and headed to the Queens Walkway.

The Queens Walkway is a fancy way to say: walkway by the river. I don’t know why it was the Queens other than someone opened it in her honor, and it wasn’t particularly Royal looking, but it was nice. It led us to three suprise encounters 1) the London Bridge isn’t that cool, 2) an old gothic church and 3) an open air market, like Pikes Place in Seattle. We hit the jackpot. Fish mongers, butchers, pies, cookies, jams, salts, chocolates, fruits and veggies galore.  One butcher had a whole pig in his area, head and all. It still had the eyes. Kinda creepy, but…..kinda delicious too. Nicole bought some salt with spices mixed in and we made our way back to central London. Oh….the church….it was cool too. Free to go into.

(Insert a mile walk plus two tube stations)

Next stop: The National Gallery in Trafalgar Square. This was an exceptional collection of paintings back to the 1200s. Cezannes, Rembrandt, Raphael, Michelangelo, Picasso, Van Gogh, Monet and more. We saw paintings that I had to study back in school, paintings I’d only read about or seen on the internet. I had never seen a Rembrandt self portrait and I must say that it was exceptional. His use of paint to create light was like nothing i’d ever seen. There was an artist copying a painting by Ruebens, and while this artist was good, you could see just how masterful these old painters were. Even 400+ years later Ruebens painting blew the doors off of the copy. I nerded out for around and hour and a half before they closed the museum and we went on our way. Even now, writing about these paintings, I can’t explain how magnificent they were. Everyone should come to the National Gallery.

(Insert a couple mile walk)

Next Stop: London Eye. Yep, I rode it. And I rode it at night. The lights came on in the city and I was 450 feet in the sky to see it. With London sprawled out before me I took a zillion photos of the Parliament, Big Ben, the Thames and a bunch of other stuff I couldn’t make out. The ride is about 35 minutes but it is well worth it. I recommend going at night. The pictures are harder to take but the view is well worth it. Nicole enjoyed the view from a bench below as she tries to opt for 2 feet on the ground.

After the London Eye we took the camera on a lil night time photo shoot. 2-10 second exposures, small F-Stops and a tri pod made for some great pictures. We walked down to the opposite side of the river from the British Parliament and took pictures. With my back turned to the path a homeless guy came up right next to me, I mean seriously right next too me, and ask me for pence. I told him I didn’t have any cash (the truth) then his pit bull attacked a joggers dog so he left me alone. Seriously, this guy got too close to me for comfort. I woulda ninja chopped him if I had too but luckily it didn’t get that far. Someone should give him a lesson in personal space though. No one likes to have a homeless person sneak up on them for change. Jeez.

(More walking + tubes)

Dinner started at Piccadilly Circus. How can I describe PC? Hmmmmmm. Times Square with a London twist. I mean seriously, a zillion people, lights, cars, buses, tube stops, statues, stores, restaurants, more people. I loved it! It was full of energy and just the place to start looking for dinner. We walked up the street and away from PC but towards more shops, restaurants, theaters and people. Eventually we made our way to SoHo and found a small Italian joint down a side street. It was packed, smelled amazing and full of Italian people yelling and running around. Sounded perfect. We sat down and learned a new trick, ask for tap water NOT still water and they charge you 1.20 for unlimited glasses of water. Yes, I still ordered a beer. I think I’ve had beer with every meal that isn’t breakfast on this trip. That’s okay though, it’s vacation .

Dinner ended with two stuffed tourists ready to call it a night. We walked back to the hotel, stopping by Punjab so we could get more crispy cracker and chutney stuff and headed to the hotel. We had a quick conversation about whether or not we were lame because we weren’t out at a pub getting sloshed (with the rest of the town) on our last night in London. We decided that Yes, we were lame but that it was okay. We’ve had a great time in London and don’t need to be drunk or stupid to top it off. Besides, there are better ways to end an evening…

Flickr Photostream

London Day 3 Pics