Londone.

For Aslan!

Day 7 - Jan 8:

National Gallery and Merwoman - Trafalgar Square

Our last day in Edinburgh was spent in a relaxing fashion. We ate breakfast and read the paper and then went to a Starbucks to wait for our train. We had two train changes and even though one of our trains was 20 minutes late, we got to Nottingham safely.

The entrance to the mall.

Taking a train along the Scottish coastline was incredible. There was one point where Hannah and I interrupted our movie (In Bruges) on my computer just to see what city we had arrived in. The view from our bridge was of other bridges and the river weaving through the buildings to the sea (I wish I had gotten my camera out). There was free wifi and electricity on the train which felt like the future (I am still not entirely sure how the internet worked). We made it back to the flat and chilled out until some of Hannah's flatmates arrived and then we went to the Program Director's house for tea and cake (British much?)

Awesome dancing rabbits in the mall.

Day 8 - Jan 9:

Statues outside Buckingham Palace

We basically hung out in the flat the whole next day. It was great talking to everyone about their experiences during their month long travels and seeing their pictures. In the evening, Hannah, Lauren, and I went to the Lion and sampled a few local brews that were written on a chalkboard (They change quite often). It was a lot of fun and I almost felt like a non-tourist for the first time in a while.

Poor guy didn't feel well.

Day 9 - Jan 10:
I woke up and had some scrambled eggs and walked to the tram to the train station. Having met Hannah as soon as I arrived in Dublin, it was immediately weird to be alone. The train ended up being way more expensive than I expected because I didn't buy my ticket ahead of time. I am not sure why this happened, as it hasn't happened to the Nottingham folks.

Buckingham Palace

When I arrived in London, I decided to walk to my hostel to save some money. However, I accidentally thought it was in Euston Square instead of Russell Square (At least the mistake didn't cost me money and was only a few blocks off). It wasn't too far of a walk and I found the street quite quickly. Unfortunately, the outside of the hostel is not very clearly marked. This meant that I walked about 5~ blocks down and back the length of the street with 50~ pounds of weight in my bags (multiple times). I resorted to asking a bigger hotel where it was and they told me it was a few minutes walk down and on the left. So I went down and back one more time without success. I returned to the hotel and asked to use the internet (Google Maps is the best) and he told me it was about 100 meters from the hotel (which isn't a few minutes walk by my standards). I discovered the hidden hostel and checked in. It felt amazing to take the weight off of my shoulders (mentally as well).

I love Goooold.

I grabbed pizza at a cafe for lunch and bought a 48hr. pass to a Big Bus tour. It was a double decker with an open top (somewhat chilly) and I rode the whole tour which was about 2.5-3 hours (Bus tours are a great way to see more of the city while learning sweet history tidbits). However, the tour didn't do a complete circle from where I got on and so I had to take a different bus back to the hostel. I grabbed groceries (PB&J's for the win), made dinner, and relaxed for the rest of the night.

There was a stone unicorn on another section of this wall.

Day 10 - Jan 11:
The next morning I took the same bus to get downtown (My pass got me to Trafalgar Square each morning for free). The entire day ended up being a gigantic photo expedition through London. Unfortunately it was incredibly overcast and dreary, which led to entirely white skies (bummer). I started out by wandering around Trafalgar Square (excellent statues and mermen/maids in the fountains) and then headed through an enormous gate to the mall which led to Buckingham Palace. I discovered a pair of guards with ridiculously big machine guns that had hunting knives attached to the barrels. They kept yelling and stomping a lot while I chuckled and took pictures (I'm mature). Sometimes I forget that I am in a different country with traditions and customs connected to a unique history. The plaza in front of Buckingham was packed with other tourists and had shiny golden fences. The statues were pretty sweet and a procession of soldiers with swords on horseback came through (I wonder how skilled at sword fighting they actually were).

It's all about the Big Benjamins.

Next, I strolled through St. James Park along the mall and encountered squirrels that were as friendly as the ones at Luther. I would have taken pictures of them, (They came within a foot of me) but my battery was already halfway gone and wanted it to last (it was only 10am). Westminster Palace (Big Ben and Parliament) was gorgeous and I took many many pictures.

Hey remember that time when I would only smoke Parliaments?

I headed to Westminster Abbey and spent the rest of the late morning there (Student discounts are awesome and add up quickly). The interior blew my mind. It was so incredibly beautiful and filled with so much history. It is where English kings and queens are crowned and contains the tombs of royalty and many others. I felt myself flashing back to my European History class as I looked at the tombs of Queen Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots. Interestingly, Charles Darwin and Sir Issac Newton are both buried there as well (In a science corner of sorts). It was surreal to stand near the graves of two minds that have had such an influence in the world of academics.

Westminster Abbey.

Afterwords I walked along the Thames and avoided two scammers who were trying to put things on me and then make me pay for them (I politely declined the leaf and "friendship" bracelet). Otherwise, the walk was great and after lunch I ended up at St. Paul's Cathedral. It was also magnificent and a bit cheaper due to upper level viewing areas being closed (due to weather). My budget didn't mind the lower price and I got to see the tomb of Admiral Nelson and the Duke of Wellington along with the Dome's beautiful artwork. The Millennium Bridge was close by and has a pretty neat design (It was featured in the beginning flying scene of Harry Potter 6).

It's named after Sir Benjamin Hall who oversaw its construction and was most likely big.

Next, I headed to Tower Bridge, which is iconic and used to require about 90 men to function (Now it is primary operated by computer). My tour bus pass included a boat ride on the Thames from the Tower of London (which is actually a castle), so I grabbed that and enjoyed the view as I headed back to Westminster. Fun Fact: The city of London is primarily the economic area by St. Paul's whereas Big Ben and Parliament are actually in the city of Westminster. I went over to the Parliament building, where a bobby (which are named after Sir Robert Peel who started Scotland Yard) told me that I could sit in on a debate in the House of Commons. I headed through security and got to listen to a discussion over the creation of a mandatory registry for home schooled students. It was really interesting to read the pamphlet and compare their system to our government (particularly the role of royal assent which has unelected control over bills passed). I also learned that there are two red lines that run through the chamber on each side which the members are not allowed to cross. These originated as an attempt to stop rivals from cutting each other down with their swords during debate. Interestingly, powdered wigs are still worn by officials in certain positions in government. Afterwords, I headed outside and took some night pictures and rode the bus back to the hostel.

St. Paul's Cathedral

Day 11 - Jan 12:

It is fairly large.

My last day in London, I grabbed my favorite "free" bus ride to Trafalgar and started out by visiting the National Portrait Gallery. It begins with paintings of royalty and progressed to photography exhibits which were pretty awesome. There were some photographs that were crazy beautiful and emotion-evoking. It made me wish that I had more subjects for practicing portraiture.

The color choice surprised me at first.

Next I ate lunch and headed to the much bigger National Gallery (Both are free). I spent the better part of my day in there and saw an amazing amount of paintings (I couldn't help thinking about their combined worth). I have found that I am a bigger fan of artwork from the more recent centuries when it becomes less than 100% religious (exaggeration). I particularly loved Van Gogh's Sunflowers and A Wheatfield, with Cypresses. They both have incredible textures from the paint and the Wheatfield was particularly eye-catching. I also happened upon a 35 minute presentation on Seurat's Bathers at Asnieres. It is a huge beautiful painting and was basically his first big work (Before his invention of pointillism). It was interesting to learn that the painting was essentially a flop until much later. I really enjoyed learning more about it's symbolism and connection to his A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte (It is the other side of the same river, where more bourgeois people hung out).

It still opens up for ships, but I didn't get to see.

After my brain was filled to the brim with paintings, I walked up to Piccadilly Circus where I found far fewer elephants and tightrope walkers than I expected. It is actually London's version of Times Square and has huge electronic billboards and theatres everywhere. I took the bus back a bit earlier and am currently sitting in the hostel and planning for my flight to Madrid tomorrow. London was pretty awesome, especially in terms of history and I would enjoy visiting when it is a bit warmer. However, I cannot wait to get to Spain and to start using Spanish and experiencing their culture.

One more of Benny and the Jets... for good measure.