Day 1, April 25th: Jolly Old England
Location
London, England
Summary A jam-packed day of sightseeing that included the Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, St. James Park, the Horse Guard, Covent Gardens, Trafalgar Square, and my namesake Big Ben Highlight Tower Bridge illuminated at night Lowlight Sleepwalking home due to no sleep whatsoever on plane Accommodations Whole living room containing big bed and sofas to ourselves; I took the big bed and had a good night's sleep Word du jour Zebra crossing ~ crosswalk Porter Ass**** Meter (PAM)
0
We landed in London at around noon. Since I got barely a wink of sleep during the flight, I was slightly fatigued but alert for the time being. Now, they say that on any european backpacking trip you should start with England because you will suffer the least culture shock. While that's true for the language and the culture, it ain't true for the whole "driving on the left" thing. On top of driving on the left, you usually walk on the left too at escalators and corridors. That was the first little adjustment that I tried to make upon arrival but failed to make. Throughout our stay, I couldn't figure out which way to look when crossing the street and I kept thinking to myself that the cars were driving themselves.
After dropping off our stuff at a friend's place, we hit the city. With Porter, who's practically a Londoner, at the helm, we zigzagged from place to place. We covered quite a bit in just that first day. I really liked London. Mixed in with all the modern buildings were stately and elegant monuments from the past. It was impressive. The London Underground, the tube, is also pretty impressive. It covers a large swath of London, it is on time, and it is clean.
Memorable Moment: At the Horse Guard where the Queen's stables are located, Porter encouraged me to stand next to one of the guards for a picture. As I approached him, he started waving his sword at me. Not hearing him too well, I mistook his waving for an invitation to get closer. As i did, he waved his sword even more violently and repeated "step away from here!" I fled.
Dinner consisted of something the British shouldn't be proud of, fish & chips. After dinner, we walked along The Thames towards where my friend Ronny lives. I don't remember much of the walk because I was sleepwalking. All I remember is seeing the Tower Bridge illuminated. It was a very beautiful sight.
London, England
Summary A jam-packed day of sightseeing that included the Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, St. James Park, the Horse Guard, Covent Gardens, Trafalgar Square, and my namesake Big Ben Highlight Tower Bridge illuminated at night Lowlight Sleepwalking home due to no sleep whatsoever on plane Accommodations Whole living room containing big bed and sofas to ourselves; I took the big bed and had a good night's sleep Word du jour Zebra crossing ~ crosswalk Porter Ass**** Meter (PAM)
0
We landed in London at around noon. Since I got barely a wink of sleep during the flight, I was slightly fatigued but alert for the time being. Now, they say that on any european backpacking trip you should start with England because you will suffer the least culture shock. While that's true for the language and the culture, it ain't true for the whole "driving on the left" thing. On top of driving on the left, you usually walk on the left too at escalators and corridors. That was the first little adjustment that I tried to make upon arrival but failed to make. Throughout our stay, I couldn't figure out which way to look when crossing the street and I kept thinking to myself that the cars were driving themselves.
After dropping off our stuff at a friend's place, we hit the city. With Porter, who's practically a Londoner, at the helm, we zigzagged from place to place. We covered quite a bit in just that first day. I really liked London. Mixed in with all the modern buildings were stately and elegant monuments from the past. It was impressive. The London Underground, the tube, is also pretty impressive. It covers a large swath of London, it is on time, and it is clean.
Memorable Moment: At the Horse Guard where the Queen's stables are located, Porter encouraged me to stand next to one of the guards for a picture. As I approached him, he started waving his sword at me. Not hearing him too well, I mistook his waving for an invitation to get closer. As i did, he waved his sword even more violently and repeated "step away from here!" I fled.
Dinner consisted of something the British shouldn't be proud of, fish & chips. After dinner, we walked along The Thames towards where my friend Ronny lives. I don't remember much of the walk because I was sleepwalking. All I remember is seeing the Tower Bridge illuminated. It was a very beautiful sight.