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Trip recap part 2:
Glasgow/Edinburgh and London!
GLASGOW:
Saturday 5/18 continued: The boat landed in Cairnryan. I got on a bus to Ayr, where I got on a vile-smelling uncomfortable train to Glasgow. Once I got to the hostel and checked in, I dropped my stuff off and went to a lovely dinner, then came back to plan for the next few days and go to bed early.
Sunday 5/19: I walked down to the Queen Street Station and took a much nicer train to Edinburgh. Once I got there, I took a bus tour (touristy or not, they're a great way to get a notion of what's interesting!) and then went up to Edinburgh Castle. I went through a couple of the little museums inside, including one about prisoners of war and one about the Royal Scots Dragoon. I tasted some lovely cream whisky, looked at the Great Hall and the Scottish National War Memorial, then went in to see the Crown Jewels and the royal apartments. After the castle, I bought a wee Hieland coo and went to the National Museum of Scotland, which would have been far more interesting if the upper floors weren't all balconies, rendering me pretty much incapable of walking out onto them. When I saw what I could see there, I hopped the train back to Glasgow and went to see The Fast and the Furious 6, which was fun and silly and ridiculous and ended with a potential shark-jumping, then walked back to my hostel and went to bed.
Monday 5/20: I went to the Glasgow Science Centre, which was alright, and then the Riverside Museum, which was fantastic (think the Henry Ford Museum), and then a Tall Ship, which was neat. Then I did a poke of shopping and went to see The Great Gatsby, which ... was definitely a Baz Luhrman movie. Good grief. After the movie, I went back and packed up and chatted with roommates and the whole crew went to bed early because most of us were leaving on Tuesday.
Tuesday 5/21: I took the underground to the city centre, then rode the red bus sightseeing tour all the way around and got on the shuttle bus to the airport. As soon as they let me check in, I'm off to ...
LONDON:
Tuesday 5/21 continued: Landed at Heathrow, retrieved my bag, and took the tube to the hostel. Met Jakie, yay! We went out for a bite and a pint, then walked on, and saw Elizabeth Tower (formerly known as Big Ben) and Westminster Abbey and the London Eye, then moseyed back toward the hostel. Bed.
Wednesday 5/22: Met Jakie for breakfast and we planned. First we rode the red sightseeing bus from Piccadilly Circle down to the Tower of London, where we paused for a snack at the cafe where the guy did not want to believe that I didn't want coffee or that my 20£ note was real. Then we went into the Tower and had a lovely tour with Peter the Beefeater. (Ordering pizzas or washing machines is a trial for the warders.) After the tour, we finished exploring the towers and saw the Crown Jewels and the medieval palace in St Thomas's Tower. Then we took a boat back down the Thames to the London Eye, where I took a gulp and rode a 400+ foot tall Ferris wheel. After the Eye, we popped over to Mayfair and went to the original Hard Rock Cafe for dinner. Eventually we made our way back to the hostel for bed.
Thursday 5/23: We went to the British Museum, which should be called "place where we keep all the crap we stole from everyone else, especially Ancient Greece and Egypt." Then we went up to King's Cross station to take our pictures at Platform 9 3/4, and were not overly enthralled by the camera lady or the scarf-flipping dude. We took the tube down to the Natural History Museum and met Dippy, then the Science Museum with exhibits on Alan Turing and the history of medicine. But we didn't get all the way through the medicine exhibit before we had to leave to go over to Victoria to grab some dinner and then enjoy an amazing performance of Wicked. Afters, we went back to the hostel and I organized myself for Friday.
Friday 5/24: I had morning moms with Jakie, said goodbye over breakfast chocolate, and met Dani and Jen at the National Gallery. We realized about 30 minutes in that we weren't actually looking at anything, just chatting, so we went over to the cafe in the crypt at St. Martin in the Field for lunch. When we came out, we walked over to Covent Garden and the Freemason's Hall in Drury Lane, then it was pouring buckets so we stopped into the Freemason's Arms for a pint. After a bit more chatting, we took the tube back to Jen's place (picking up Jeanette along the way) and spent the evening chatting and eating pizza. I stayed over to see Dani and Jen off on their fundraising walk Saturday morning instead of going back to the hostel.
Saturday 5/25: Had lovely potatoes and sausage breakfast, rode the tube out to Richmond to see Dani and Jen off on their walk, then tubed back into London. Which was full of boisterous Germans all excited about the big final football match (I think). I went to Westminster Abbey, the clothing display at the Victoria and Albert, and the rest of the history of medicine exhibit at the Science Museum. Then I popped into Harrods for a bit of chocolate. After all that, I returned to the hostel (stopping at Tesco on the way to grab some supper) and did laundry, ate supper, read for a bit, drank a pint. Now to bed, because in the morning I am off.
Sunday 5/26: Woke up, had some breakfast, took the tube down to St. Pancras to take the CHUNNEL TRAIN to Paris!
Next edition: Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam.
Glasgow/Edinburgh and London!
GLASGOW:
Saturday 5/18 continued: The boat landed in Cairnryan. I got on a bus to Ayr, where I got on a vile-smelling uncomfortable train to Glasgow. Once I got to the hostel and checked in, I dropped my stuff off and went to a lovely dinner, then came back to plan for the next few days and go to bed early.
Sunday 5/19: I walked down to the Queen Street Station and took a much nicer train to Edinburgh. Once I got there, I took a bus tour (touristy or not, they're a great way to get a notion of what's interesting!) and then went up to Edinburgh Castle. I went through a couple of the little museums inside, including one about prisoners of war and one about the Royal Scots Dragoon. I tasted some lovely cream whisky, looked at the Great Hall and the Scottish National War Memorial, then went in to see the Crown Jewels and the royal apartments. After the castle, I bought a wee Hieland coo and went to the National Museum of Scotland, which would have been far more interesting if the upper floors weren't all balconies, rendering me pretty much incapable of walking out onto them. When I saw what I could see there, I hopped the train back to Glasgow and went to see The Fast and the Furious 6, which was fun and silly and ridiculous and ended with a potential shark-jumping, then walked back to my hostel and went to bed.
Monday 5/20: I went to the Glasgow Science Centre, which was alright, and then the Riverside Museum, which was fantastic (think the Henry Ford Museum), and then a Tall Ship, which was neat. Then I did a poke of shopping and went to see The Great Gatsby, which ... was definitely a Baz Luhrman movie. Good grief. After the movie, I went back and packed up and chatted with roommates and the whole crew went to bed early because most of us were leaving on Tuesday.
Tuesday 5/21: I took the underground to the city centre, then rode the red bus sightseeing tour all the way around and got on the shuttle bus to the airport. As soon as they let me check in, I'm off to ...
LONDON:
Tuesday 5/21 continued: Landed at Heathrow, retrieved my bag, and took the tube to the hostel. Met Jakie, yay! We went out for a bite and a pint, then walked on, and saw Elizabeth Tower (formerly known as Big Ben) and Westminster Abbey and the London Eye, then moseyed back toward the hostel. Bed.
Wednesday 5/22: Met Jakie for breakfast and we planned. First we rode the red sightseeing bus from Piccadilly Circle down to the Tower of London, where we paused for a snack at the cafe where the guy did not want to believe that I didn't want coffee or that my 20£ note was real. Then we went into the Tower and had a lovely tour with Peter the Beefeater. (Ordering pizzas or washing machines is a trial for the warders.) After the tour, we finished exploring the towers and saw the Crown Jewels and the medieval palace in St Thomas's Tower. Then we took a boat back down the Thames to the London Eye, where I took a gulp and rode a 400+ foot tall Ferris wheel. After the Eye, we popped over to Mayfair and went to the original Hard Rock Cafe for dinner. Eventually we made our way back to the hostel for bed.
Thursday 5/23: We went to the British Museum, which should be called "place where we keep all the crap we stole from everyone else, especially Ancient Greece and Egypt." Then we went up to King's Cross station to take our pictures at Platform 9 3/4, and were not overly enthralled by the camera lady or the scarf-flipping dude. We took the tube down to the Natural History Museum and met Dippy, then the Science Museum with exhibits on Alan Turing and the history of medicine. But we didn't get all the way through the medicine exhibit before we had to leave to go over to Victoria to grab some dinner and then enjoy an amazing performance of Wicked. Afters, we went back to the hostel and I organized myself for Friday.
Friday 5/24: I had morning moms with Jakie, said goodbye over breakfast chocolate, and met Dani and Jen at the National Gallery. We realized about 30 minutes in that we weren't actually looking at anything, just chatting, so we went over to the cafe in the crypt at St. Martin in the Field for lunch. When we came out, we walked over to Covent Garden and the Freemason's Hall in Drury Lane, then it was pouring buckets so we stopped into the Freemason's Arms for a pint. After a bit more chatting, we took the tube back to Jen's place (picking up Jeanette along the way) and spent the evening chatting and eating pizza. I stayed over to see Dani and Jen off on their fundraising walk Saturday morning instead of going back to the hostel.
Saturday 5/25: Had lovely potatoes and sausage breakfast, rode the tube out to Richmond to see Dani and Jen off on their walk, then tubed back into London. Which was full of boisterous Germans all excited about the big final football match (I think). I went to Westminster Abbey, the clothing display at the Victoria and Albert, and the rest of the history of medicine exhibit at the Science Museum. Then I popped into Harrods for a bit of chocolate. After all that, I returned to the hostel (stopping at Tesco on the way to grab some supper) and did laundry, ate supper, read for a bit, drank a pint. Now to bed, because in the morning I am off.
Sunday 5/26: Woke up, had some breakfast, took the tube down to St. Pancras to take the CHUNNEL TRAIN to Paris!
Next edition: Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam.