So last time I posted that I had done a bit a bit of sightseeing outside of London. Weekends have been perfect for me to get out of the city and seeing a bit of the countryside. My first weekend out of London consisted of a day trip to Bath. I never knew this, but Bath is known for the Roman baths they still have the existed way back when (no clue on the year). My plan was to see Bath and then take a tour to Stonehenge because it's not too far from Bath. Getting there was probably a bit more stressful than I needed, but this was all my fault. So the subway/tube here is really simple and probably the best in the world. You buy the Oyster card, put money on it, and then you go places quite efficiently. I assumed that the train system would be equally easy. While I'm sure the National Rail is quite simple once you actually know what you are doing, my first time there pretty much had me swearing to myself in the middle of the wrong train station. So I knew where I wanted to go and I was under the impression that all train stations went everywhere you want them to go. Completely wrong. Certain stations only have trains that go to certain areas. This sounds very intuitive so I really don't know what I was thinking. I went to the Waterloo station thinking I would just buy a ticket and go, but apparently if I left from there I would have had to transfer like 3 times and it would have taken me 3 hours just to get there. If I left from the Paddington station like 6 tube stops away, it takes like an hour and 20 minutes. After talking to like 4 different attendants, one of them was finally helpful and understandable (a necessary combination for me), I got my ass to Paddington. I tried to buy my ticket from a machine, but I should have known this would fail because everything here hates US credit cards. That forced me to have to wait in the ticket line, which had some interesting characters to say the least. 30 minutes later, I finally had my ticket. I grabbed a quick Whopper while I waited for train (I couldn't help myself, I have a issues with fast food) and after another 30 minutes I was off to Bath.
Bath is a beautiful city. When I first got off the train, the town looks like a very nice upscale city with tons of cool shops and beautiful architecture. There is a main canal/river that runs all around the city that has probably the most beautiful bridge and little city center along it. There are also numerous parks and grassy knolls to just hang out at. Once I got past all these little places, I found the Roman baths and I was quite impressed. Tourists get to walk all though the baths and the underground area where everything was excavated. There is still a open air bath and that is surrounded by statues and columns, all of which makes you feel like you are in a different time. Very cool place. I wandered around this place for a good two hours before I finally decided to take in the rest of the city. I walked all around and even took some time to sit in this huge park in front of what I think is a hotel called the Royal Crescent. It was nice just relaxing for a bit and not acting like a tourist for little while. The problem is that I took way too much time taking in Bath and I didn't realize that I was taking away from Stonehenge time. By the time I made it back to where the tours take off from, they told me that I wouldn't get back from the tour until 8:30ish. That would have put me back in London way too late so I decided to just call it a day and head back home.
The next weekend my plan was again to go see Stonehenge, this time on Saturday, and then Sunday go the opposite way out to Canterbury. Well, I of course end up sleeping in way too late to make a trip to Stonehenge because I actually worked until like 11pm that Friday night (don't ask). I think I subconsciously, though, I have been sabotaging that trip simply because everyone and there mother has told me to skip this. I still think the idea of ancient rocks stacked up in the middle of nowhere is interesting, but I know an hour and half train ride plus some more cabbing/bussing really doesn't make it worth it. Once I finally woke up I instead went to Buckingham palace to say hi to the queen and walked all through the nearby gardens, parks and museums. Nothing too exciting there other than lots of history lessons and tons of picture taking, but I did make it to the more posh section of town where a lot of the designer store are as well as the world famous Harrods. I was a sweaty mess at this point, but I still wanted to see what all the excitement was over this store. I knew I was not going to fit in immediately simply by looking at all of the Ferraris, Maseratis, and other gorgeous car parked out front as well as all of the older looking rich folk who were eyeballing me like I was homeless. Once I got inside, I knew I was already in for an interesting ride. So I didn't know Harrods sells all expensive, sort of upper class sort of stuff; I thought it was just a mall. I walked around trying to find anything that was in my price range, and I came up with pretty much nothing. I also managed to get very lost and ready to strangle all of the people who seemed to be actively trying to get in my way. Upon trying to leave, it took my nearly 30 minutes to find an exit/navigate through the hordes of annoying shoppers. I seriously think they pack that place so tight with people and have as few exits as possible to keep people inside, forcing them to eventually buy something. I finally found my way out of the store and got as far away from that side of town as possible.
That Sunday I did end up waking up at a decent time and since I had already looked up all the necessary travel info (see, I'm getting smarter), Canterbury was a go. I got to the correct station, had another Whopper, and got on the train like I was an expert. The train ride to Canterbury was again quite beautiful. The countryside really is pleasant and I can see why people live out there. Canterbury itself was nice, but nothing like Bath. This place felt much more medieval and castle-like. The cathedral was absolutely amazing. The amount of history there is incredible. The cathedral itself stands taller than everything else there and it's hard not be taken aback by it's size and beauty. Inside is even more amazing, especially when you look up and how high the ceilings are and think about how long it must have taken to build. The stained glass is beautiful and the ornate nature of everything there was quite impressive. I easily spent two hours just walking around and taking pictures. Sadly though the cathedral closes early on Sunday so eventually I got kicked out before I had a chance to completely see everything. That left me to wander Canterbury, and to be honest, there really isn't much else there. I tried to find some thing interesting to see, but failed miserably. Defeated, I got back on the train to London. I was happy I went, but I should have looked into what else to while I was out there.
Moving beyond my weekends, my weekday nights here are pretty much either drinking with coworkers or being tired at home. Last Wednesday, though, I decided to try and get lost again, this time in Oxford Street area where there is a ton of shopping. My coworker was giving me shit because he thinks I'm not seeing enough of London so he suggested I go there. Why he chose there, I have no idea because as most of you know, I'm not much of a shopper. What I've found since coming here, though, is that everyone else who comes here loves shopping. Oxford Street has at least two of every store you can imagine. I literally walked by the same store at different points along the street. I won't knock that business plan because it seemed like every place was doing fine as I'm never seen so many people buying stuff.
As I was walking down Oxford Street I couldn't help but notice that there weren't any British people around me. Everyone was either Italian or French or even Middle Eastern. It made me realize just how much of a global city this is, more so than any other I think. It helps that it's much closer to so many different continents and groups of people, but it's still fascinating seeing the melting pot which are the streets of London. What I also realized was that London really doesn't have like thing it's known for, at least in my opinion. Maybe I'm wrong, but most cities have like that one thing that everyone knows it for. Los Angeles is the movie business and beautiful weather (and traffic), Vegas is booze and partying, and New York is arts, more nightlife, and I guess working. I can't really come up with one thing for London. It's kind of got everything, but maybe not one thing in particular. Plus, maybe crap weather, but that's not something you want to be known for. I'm going to continue to think about this as the trip rolls on.
This weekend I decided that I was done leaving London and I wanted to see some other good spots in London. My friend at work told me that our company actually was sponsoring a showing of the new Harry Potter movie and he had an extra ticket. I thought this would be a perfect way to start the weekend of more London sightseeing. I, however, am an idiot and got dragged into a pretty heavy night of drinking at Dizzy's on Friday night. As always, I didn't eat any dinner (other than the half bag of Doritos I inhaled after I got home) and this night everyone was big on Sambuca shots. This all lead to a very bad sugar and processed cheese induced hangover and me almost sleeping through the movie. Thankfully I somehow woke up on my own 30 minutes before I needed meet my coworkers at the theater. I somehow got my life together, got on the tube, and made it to Leicester Square just in time. My friend was there with his girlfriend and her two sisters, so I had to try and hide that fact that I was in terrible shape. I did almost throw up after I got into the theater (there were also a ton of families all around us as well), but thankfully they had free waters for us and I was able to keep it all down. The movie was good and I actually felt much better after a solid two hours of sipping on water and turning my brain off to watch the movie.
It of course was raining when we got out of the movie, but I wanted to go see a few of the weekend markets London is known for. I've been to Borough Market a few times for lunch, but I had never really looked around too much. Since it was close to where I live, I figured this would be a good place to go because I could get home easily to go be more hungover. I think I can honestly say Borough Market will be the thing I miss most about London. It has amazing lunches, great fruits and vegetables, and some delicious cheeses. I hadn't eaten yet and I decided to get this duck roll that I had been eyeing for a few weeks. Oh my it was delicious. In previous trips I've had chicken burgers, chicken wraps and fish and chips, all of which were good, but this duck roll was by far the best yet. After walking around some more, I also bought a baguette along with a hunk of a brie-like cheese and some blue cheese to snack on later. The rain was still coming down hard and since I still didn't feel perfect, I decided to call it a day. I later went out for some sushi at a place I say while at Borough. It was ok, just nothing like what we have back in SF.
Today I decided to go to a different market up in Camden. This market is much dirtier and sells mostly knock-off clothing, but it's still a very fun area. The shops are all in these packed alleys and there are literally people everywhere you look. I took about two hours just walking around and looking for hidden gems amongst all of the shops. I did find this one amazing Argentinian steak sandwich stand. This thing was stacked with some of the best beef I've had. If there is anything this weekend has shown me is that London does actually have some good food, but you just need to know where to find it. I think it's known cuisine is terrible (mushy peas, meat pies, etc.), but there are some great places for a good meal. They have way too much of chain stuff like KFC, Pizza Express and Pret A Manger (sandwich place on literally every block in the city), but some of the small little niche places are quite good.
After the sandwich and some more wandering through the rain soaked market, I ended up getting on the tube and going to Wimbledon of all places. Wimbledon is at the end of the line and about 30 minutes outside of London. Even though the tournament was done, I still really wanted to see it for some reason. I'm happy I did because they have a very cool museum there showing all of famous matches and even shows the men's and women's singles trophies. In addition, I was able to latch onto a tour that got to go see Center Court. I thought this was really cool because not too many people get to see this court. We weren't allowed on the grass or anything, but it felt special just to be in the building. Lots of sports history there and I couldn't get enough of it. The whole complex though was pretty dead and no tennis was being played. It would have been cool to see that, even if it was two nobodies playing.
And that pretty much takes me to now. I just watched the US women lose to Japan in the World Cup, and I have to say the US should have won with all their chances, but they still played pretty crappy on defense. In case you were wondering, I've got another 3 days here before I leave and I have a feeling it's going to be mostly working and goodbye drinks. I'll hopefully post one more time with some last good stories. For now, I'll say goodnight.
Smuggle a duck roll through customs for me.
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to have you back on our side of the pond.
-Erin