Day 1 – August 20th, Wednesday
Once I finally arrived at London I realized I had no idea how to use the Underground. I knew where I was, and where I need to be, but idea how to get there. After a few minutes of staring at signs, I finally found someone to ask for directions who pointed me to the correct “tube” enterance. When I got down the stairs I realized that while I was at the correct platform, I still had no idea what to do. I asked another station employee how I would know which train to take, and he basically said “You’ll know” and then walked away. Well, I didn’t know and I watched 4-5 trains come and go before finally taking a chance and getting on a train. Somehow I figured out that I needed to change trains and eventually made it to my stop at London Bridge. From there it was a 10 minute walk to the hostel. Which wouldn’t have been bad at all, were not it not for the luggage, and the fact that I was alone, in yet another new city, with only a vague idea where I was going, at night. But, I made it to the hostel, got checked in, and was very happy that the hostel was on top of a bar.
Of course the bar didn’t serve food, so after getting checked in I set out in search of something to eat. Being as late as it was though, there were very few choices that interested me, so I ended up getting a sandwich at Subway (I really do not like Subway) and going back to the hostel to eat and have a few drinks.
The hostel itself was nice with very comfortable beds. Each bed also had a privacy curtain which was a very nice added bonus. There were only two bathrooms, however it never seemed to be a problem considering how many beds there were in the hostel. The worst part was that the showers were very poorly designed with stairs leading in to the shower itself and the shower stalls were very small. But the staff was great, the atmosphere was good and overall, it was a good experience.
Day 2 – August 21st, Thursday
The next morning I got up found some band-aids for a blister that was forming on my toe and made my way back to London Bridge for a Doctor Who walking tour of London. Honestly though, the tour wasn’t that good as it focused more on older classic Doctor Who. The upside was that it was a nice way to see the city in an organized way. But I think it ended up hurting more in the ended as I probably could have seen a lot of the stuff on my own, cut out a lot of the fluff, and saved time to see other things in more detail.
But on the plus side I did get to see (walk past really) Shakespeare’s Globe Theater, walk across the Millennium Bridge, see St. Paul’s Cathedral and ride in a double decker bus. The tour did point out the door used in a lot of TV shows and movies to represent 10 Downing Street (which is actually on John Adams Street). On the negative side, I probably missed a few sights, like Trafalgar Square that would have nice to see.
After gratiously leaving the tour, I made my way back to the Westminster area to see all the touristy landmarks. I did also try to see the real Downing Street, but it was locked down with police officers and an iron gate. Afterwards, I made the mile walk to Buckingham Palace and was lucky enough to be able to watch a changing of the guard. I didn’t have time to take a tour (if they even offer them) but was happy with my pictures.
Once the guard was changed I made the mile walk back to Westminster Abbey for a few pictures (no tour) and then walked (just over) a mile to the MI6 building seen in the recent James Bond movies. Incidentally, it is actually the MI6 building in real life. So I’m sure I’m on record somewhere in their database as having stopped to take pictures. I’m just glad I didn’t end up on a “No Fly” list and was able to make it home.
From MI6 I walked to Pimlico Station and took the underground to Tower Hill. Walking the almost 4 miles was not an option. Mostly due to time constraints, but also because I was getting pretty tired of walking. From Tower Hill station was able to walk past (again no tour) the Tower of London, walk across Tower Bridge and see “The Gherkin” building.
From Tower Bridge I walked back to the London Eye which took about 45 minutes. I walked around a little, bought a few souvenirs, and decided to take a ride on the Eye. I somehow managed to have a relatively short line, and was there for the perfect time of day. As I rode around the gigantic wheel the sun was setting and I was able to see the city light start to come alive.
Unfortunately I couldn’t stay out and enjoy the city nightlife. I didn’t get to go bar hopping or see any shows. What I did do was head back to the hostel and have a drink before heading to bed early.
Day 3 – August 22nd, Friday
Waking up bright and early is not one of my strong suits. Especially when “bright” means before the sun comes up. Even more so when it means the sun won’t be up for hours after I’m supposed to be up and mobile. But I managed to get up, get dressed, and make it to the bus stop by 4:20am. And I’ll be honest, I was surprised at how many people were at the streets that early in the morning, but was also a little wierded out by how quiet the walk was to the bus stop. I met a few of my fellow tourists while waiting on the bus, a nice, recently married couple from the U.S., and a mother and daughter, also from the U.S. Though once the bus arrived, and we were comfortably in our seats, I promptly went back to sleep and only vaguely remember stopping to pick up the rest of the tour group at their stops. The next thing I remember was looking out at farmland lit by the early morning sun.
After another 45 minutes or so of riding in the bus we finally arrived at our destination. The air was chilly and the sky was covered in clouds. My light rain jacket that had been perfect 3 weeks prior in Ireland was quickly becoming inadequate. A long-sleeved shirt would have been nice to help keep the shivers under control. Unfortunately all I had were a couple undershirts and a few polos and no room for more clothes. But the excitement quickly took my mind off the temperature.
It was a little bit of a walk from the bus to the Visitor Centre and everyone was glad to see restrooms. We were given a quick orientation and some ground rules by our guide. Simple things like don’t touch anything and leave any trash behind. I managed to follow the second rule. After our talk we hopped on a small “tram” and were on our way. Though it did take about 10 minutes to get there.
When we finally arrived they were doing a lot of construction in the area. So we had to walk a little bit and seeing the stones rise up as we crested the small hill was awesome. I was excited to finally be visiting Stonehenge. We were the only group there and after another brief talk from the tour guide we were free to walk around the through the site. Guards were patrolling the area (they are always on duty) so I had to be a little sneaky, but I was able to touch the stones. I didn’t get any magical powers or feel any electric jolt, but it was still amazing.
After the tour we went back to the Visitor Centre which was finally open. We bought souvenirs, grabbed a couple snacks and then were back on the bus. The next stop wasn’t nearly as magical for me, but it was still beautiful. The architecture of everything I had seen on the trip was amazing and Salisbury Cathedral was no exception. We were able to see the world’s oldest working clock (though not a clock like you are accustomed to seeing), and an original copy of the Magna Carta. After the self-guided tour of the Cathedral, and a quick lunch I wandered a little through Salisbury.
By this point in the trip I was starting to feel a little sick. I’m not sure it was allergies, a small cold, weather changes or something else, but it was definitely catching up to me. Trying to plan ahead I went in search of some cold medicine but this ended up being a difficult task. They apparently do not sell Mucinex (or an equivalent generic) in England. So I bought the closest thing I could find and made my way back to the bus.
Once we made it back to London I went back the hostel to drop off my purchases and then went back out to do a little more site seeing. I hopped the tube to Earl’s Court Station to find the Tardis and from there made my way to Baker Street. I didn’t do the tour for 221B Baker Street (the wait was about an hour) but did check out the gimmicky gift shop. From Baker Street took the tube up to St. John’s Wood Station and from there it was a quick walk down to Abbey Road. I didn’t want to be that guy so I didn’t actually cross the road. But I watched as jerk-faced tourists blocked traffic to get their “iconic” pictures. Had it been a different time of day, with less traffic, I probably would have done it too, just to say I did.
After watching The Beatle’s fans for a few minutes I made my way back to the underground and made it to Upton Park (about an hour’s ride). I walked a few blocks through what appeared to be ‘Little India’ to The Who Shop in search of Doctor Who souvenirs. Unfortunately the didn’t have what I wanted, which was probably for the best since I was running out of room in my souvenir bag. Though it was fun to look through the shop and see all of the old and new Who memorabilia.
On my way back to the hostel, I stopped at McDonald’s again for dinner. I wish there had been more time to find something better to eat, but I was tired and still not feeling the best. I managed to stop briefly in the hostel bar and met a local and had an interesting discussion about random things. Then I made my way upstairs, got a shower and packed up my bags. I took my newly purchased medicine and went to bed. Unfortunately I woke up about an hour later, got horribly sick and then went back to sleep. Apparently my stomach did not like the English cold meds. Although maybe they did what they were supposed to do because for the rest of the trip I actually felt much better.
Last stop: Scotland!