The Last Days in London
Trip Start
Mar 08, 2009
1
5
Trip End
Mar 14, 2009
London, England, United Kingdom
Friday, March 13, 2009
I arrived at Covent Garden, and after about ten minutes, I ran into my dad. We decided to have lunch together at a French restaurant. (So much for that alone thing.) After lunch, I decided that I'd spent enough time on this trip in Covent Garden, so I took the underground to Oxford Street. I spent a lot of time in Topshop, and I also went to a couple Zaras. I really loved Topshop! I made a few purchases there. Unfortunately, even midday on a Thursday the store is pretty crowded. I wandered around Oxford Street and some of its side streets for awhile longer. Oxford Street was a bit more touristy than I had expected, but it seemed to be frequented by locals, too.
Later, I met my family back at the hotel, and we went out of some fish and chips. Another good fish and chips experience. After dinner, we decided that we would continue our individual adventures the next day. Unfortunately, I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do. I asked my dad if he would be interested in taking a tour down to Stonehenge and a couple other small towns, but he didn't want to. I wasn't so disappointed about not being able to see Stonehenge, but I was a little sad that I had no plans for my last full day in London.
Today, I woke up still unsure about what I wanted to do with my day. I asked my parents and sister what their plans were. My mom was going to do more shopping, and my sister was going to continue with her bike riding. My dad was still undecided. He told me to call the concierge and ask if there were any afternoon tours to Stonehenge... there weren't, as the man on the phone told me so rudely. Thanks Dad...
Anyway, it was still fairly early so I had a lot of time. I decided I would begin my day at Buckingham Palace. I wanted to see it when it wasn't infiltrated by tourists. I took the Tube there. I snapped a couple pictures and admired the huge palace. I was approached by a man here. He looked to be about 30 and of Middle Eastern or Arab descent. However, the man told me he was British; not only did he not look British, but even moreover, he didn't sound one bit British. He asked me if I wanted a picture of myself in front of the palace. I said no, really only because I just didn't want a picture of myself standing in front of a palace. The man kept talking to me. He was friendly at first, and he asked things like if I was Australian or American. I began to feel a little uneasy, though, when he asked where I was staying. I began with the most broad answer, "a hotel." He asked which one. I figured it would be okay to tell him "a Hilton," because I knew there were a couple dozen Hiltons in London. The man also wanted to know where my parents were. I turned towards a large sort of crowd of people nearby and went on my tip toes and pointed. "Oh, there they are, over there," I said. He seemed less interested in me after that... I began walking towards the crowd of people and then when I couldn't see him anymore I began briskly walking to the Tube station. I'll never know what that man's true intent was, whether he was really just a friendly man, or if he wanted to snatch my camera, or my purse... or me...
I was a little shaken after that, but I told myself it was probably nothing. I decided to take the Tube over to Oxford Street again. This time I went to some of the department stores like Selfridges, Debenhams, and House of Fraser. I bought a couple of new make-up items. I also went to Primark, because I had seen a lot of people on the underground with stuffed bags of clothing from there. I figured either I was running into a lot of really wealthy people, or that store had some really low-priced items. I suppose it could have been both, but the latter is definitely true. Everything in there was super cheap! Unfortunately, it was so crowded, I could hardly look around, so I didn't buy anything (The line to check out seemed infinitely long, anyway.) There didn't seem to be many restaurants around the area besides McDonald's, so I ate a Belgian waffle from a small waffle stand. It was absolutely delicious!
I only had about an hour and a half left before I had to meet my parents at the hotel. I decided I'd like to go have one last look at Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, and Westminster Abbey. I took the Tube, and once I arrived, I decided I'd like to go in the abbey. The entrance fee was a little pricey, but I was hoping it'd be worth it. I suppose it was. There were a couple signs that said no photography, but I had taken (sorry if this offends anyone, really...) "secret pictures" in cathedrals and what not before (like St. Paul's earlier in the week and Toledo, Spain's the year before.) I figured, what the heck, I'll give it a go. I was doing so well but I guess I got a little carried away and wasn't paying attention. I accidently let the green light on my camera show one time, and a man working simply said, "No." (I'm guessing he didn't know what language I spoke; thank goodness! I don't want the Americans to have a reputation of taking secret pictures!) However, the picture I got caught taking was probably the best one of all of them! I finished in the cathedral and went back to the hotel.
I'm pretty sad that we are leaving tomorrow. Thankfully I feel like we did have enough time here. It is always unfortunate to travel somewhere far away only to be rushed the entire trip. I liked London a lot, but I'd have to say I prefer Paris to London. However, London's underground beats the Paris metro by a mile (or perhaps, a couple kilometres...)! It's much cleaner, and it is a bit easier to ride. It also feels safer. Actually, London in general feels like a really safe place to be. But I must say, in the "niceness" category, the French win. This may be surprising to some, but I found the Brits to be very impatient and rude compared to the French. Overall, what a wonderful trip!
