Reflections of London: Getting my bearings

What can I say? I tend to procrastinate. Even with this trip journal it certainly seems that excuses amount and stuff gets in the way. (But really I know that it’s just me needing to manage my time better). I stare at the computer screen glaring blankly into the emptiness of the interwebz and think to myself, don’t let these fresh memories of a once in a life time trip fade with each passing day. And maybe that is a struggle I have. Not wanting to admit it’s over in some way. Realizing that I feel more at home – more comfortable – more myself when I’m traveling and seeing the world. When I recollect and write about it this urge in me to romanticize is obviously evident, and forgive me, but I want it to sound romantic in some way. Even if it’s just for myself and my amusement – my memories, I’m writing this not to have some cheeseball “Eat, Pray, Love” travel ballad with the ironic yet unquenchable zeal of Kenny G serenading a puppy on it’s birthday as she opens her next present of pre-fitted doggy wear specially manufactured in sweatshops by 8 year old Guatemalan children making 5 cents a week, and by the time it gets to our great land it has a Diesel logo stitched on to it. Ah the fakeness and conformity of modern Americana. The purposeful ignorance that we are, including all the flaws and scars, a privileged people with imperial denial, stressed out and worked to death dreaming of a day when that 2 week vacation you’ve been saving up for 3 years finally pays off in a payout when you get fired from that accounts receivable job that admittedly you stumbled ass backwards into anyway. Yes I’m a cynical ass, but I feel in some ways I’m not alone. I believe it’s a generational thing, but alas those thoughts are for another time. For now, I must pick up where I left off. Back from Scotland, on to London in all its glory – and oh how glorious it was.

I remember waking up early the following morning, as I so often do and ate some Wheatabix and coffee while waiting for Christina and my adventure ahead. Both of us were still recovering from our whirlwind weekend and wanted to ease into Monday without rushing into anything. Christina mentioned that she needed to set aside time to tend to her studies and visit her boyfriend. So with a litany of recommendations of what to do in the city, I conceded to invest in one of those double decker Big Bus tour thingys, which YES does sound cheesy, but I have to admit was a good investment.

After breakfast Christina and I walked down to essentially the market area of Peckham Rye. First stop was to purchase a charger and sim card for the prepaid cell phone Christina was letting me borrow. The second stop was to purchase an Oyster Card for public transit. The Oyster Card works like this, you buy the card for 3 pounds, top it up with however much you feel you need to put on there (I put on 20 pounds initially) and then use the card for all public transit. Trains, Light Rail, Underground, Bus, etc. The Oyster card, in my opinion, is a must for anyone staying in London for more than a couple days. It makes getting around the city that much easier, and it’s actually cheaper than paying as you go every time. After this Christina than took me to two different stores for groceries. First was kind of a 99 cent store-esque shop called Iceland, and the second was a proper grocery store called Morrisons. We went in there and I grabbed some additional food for the time I was there. London on a budget!

So now I was set. I had food, a working cell phone, my Oyster card, the London A to Z travel map, keys to Christina’s place – I was ready to hit the town!


To tell you the truth, that first day of actually traveling around the city I had no plan outside, taking the Big Bus tour. Christina recommended that I take the Underground to Charing Cross and then hoof it over to Trafalgar Square and catch the bus there. Truth be told, there are Big Bus tour stops everywhere, but this seemed like the perfect place to start my journey. And so I did just that. Took the train from Peckham Rye to London Victoria – took the Underground from London Victoria to Charing Cross. When I finally got to Trafalgar and looked around it immediately brought me back to when I was 20 and walking around here. I remember our Vienna Studies group from OC got in to London from Dallas in the morning on a nonstop flight. Tired but excited with a second wind of amazement and awe, we went over to our Hotel near Piccadilly Circus and then immediately were ‘forced’ to go on a mini-walking tour of that central London area: Piccadilly, Trafalgar, etc, so as to not fall asleep too early and mess up our sleep schedule. But alas this was not the case with my current adventure.

I get to Trafalgar, and after snapping a few photos, look on my map to find the nearest Big Bus tour stop. I found it. I paid the girl an additional 5 pounds to upgrade to a 48 hour pass, where by I could get off and on the bus at any point in my journey in a 48 hour period if a certain site caught my fancy. The tour, while in some ways cheesy and touristy by nature, was cool. The guide I had was nice sweet little old British chap who would actually bust out in song occasionally while pointing out certain idiosyncratic fun facts of London history. (Sure he did it for the tourists, but you know what, I was a tourist and I was amused.)

Some fun facts I discovered on the tour: The statue of Charles I in front of Trafalgar Square and Nelson’s Column is in actuality the exact geographic center of London proper. You can go 1000 miles outside of London and you would literally be 1000 miles away from that specific point. The former location of Sweeny Todd’s infamous barbershop is now a Christian bookstore. Irony! The architect and scientist Christopher Wren is responsible for essentially rebuilding the architectural image of London after the Great Fire. So many churches and buildings are ones he had a hand in building including the famous St. Paul’s. All the Royal Parks (i.e. Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, Greenwich Park, etc) have black painted fences, which was a product of Queen Victoria’s mourning of the passing of Prince Albert. Also another fun fact about London – everything (with the exception of national museums) costs money. Yes, London is an expensive city. So when you decide to come here, make sure to sock away a LOT of spending money.



I rode the entire length of the bus tour, which lasted a few hours. We saw all the sites. Went by Westminster Hall and Big Ben. Westminster Abbey (yes the Royal Wedding was mentioned), The Strand, Camden, went by Notting Hill (hate that movie by the way) around Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, London Bridge, Tower Bridge, Tower of London and a litany of monuments, memorials or just pieces of city history.


The most telling of the memorials that really says something about the history and character of this city is the Christopher Wren column that is a remembrance of the Great Fire. The Blitz (the bombing of Britain by the Nazis) is an often remembered and very important time in British history that is memorialized all over London. Whether it’s monuments or war scarred building that are fully operational, but have purposely kept those scars as a reminder of that horrid time in their history. This is a moment in history that we Americans don’t really delve into much, at least that was my experience. We entered WWII late in the game and Britain had already suffered greatly by the time we got there. America has Pearl Harbor, D-Day, and Guadalcanal as big moments of our involvement. London, and Britain as a whole, were collectively bombed for 76 nights. Unbelievable.

At any rate, I’m still on the bus tour and there was one point toward the end of my first day on it, where we switched tour guides which was then shortly followed by a switching of buses altogether for mechanical reasons. Yeah I heard arrogant tourists, American yes, complain and complain about that – I just tried to tune them out. They say stereotypes, while universally unfair when applied with a broad brush and out of context, come from somewhere. The stereotype for Americans in the UK is one of arrogance and gluttony I surmised. And no not everyone thinks that way, but I did hear the quip about Americans being fat and lazy more than once while out there. In fact I remember I was talking to this one bartender, this was a week later, and he was dumbfounded that some Americans never even leave the place they’ve lived all their lives. I’m sure you can find similarities in small English hamlets, but these are some of the stereotypes. I never hid that I was American; in fact I liked talking to people when given the opportunity. For the most part, when you get past the stereotypes et al, many natives, I find, would love to visit America if they hadn’t already. I tell them I’m from Los Angeles, and they’re even more awed about this exotic land far far away that I’m from. A reaction that may mirror my own initial reaction when I first got to London. Oh the pleasure of getting to know the differences of each other in different countries and by proxy different cultures.

I rode the bus tour all around until I got back to where I started: Trafalgar Square. The tour guide pointed out before I exited, that feeding the pigeons in Trafalgar Square is actually a 500 pound fine! I gather since it’s a big public square they certainly don’t want to encourage more pigeons descending on an expected meal amidst a sea of people.



When I got off the bus I was a picture maniac. I took so many pictures of Trafalgar. Caught every angle of everything, including the countdown to the 2012 Olympics marquee that’s right in the center of it all.


When I was satisfied with all the pictures I had taken, I zipped up to the National Portrait Gallery, which is right next to Trafalgar Square. Now inside my first museum in London I was walking around looking at different beautiful portraits of people I didn’t know. At this point I was tired and maybe after a half hour inside I decided to head back to Peckham Rye to call it a night.




When I get back Christina still isn’t back from her boyfriend’s. I fix some dinner, chat with Daniella, Christina’s roommate and really lovely woman, grabbed a couple beers out of the fridge and relaxed for the rest of the evening. Christina finally came home a little later, and we chatted for a bit until we both decided to call it a night. Tomorrow Christina was to visit University College because she had a scheduled appointment with a professor, and I was going to go with her and hopefully tour the campus. Day two in London already had a starting point, but now I needed sleep.

I woke up early the next day and ate what was to be, for the most part, my daily breakfast for the rest of the trip: Oatmeal, Toast, Banana, and Coffee. The day started relatively early as we took a morning bus all the way to Kings Cross station and walked over to Bloomsbury, the town where University College is. Now the plan was, Christina needed to go to the library, then meet with her professor in the English Department, then head back home to do more studying. My plan was to follow her to UCL (University College London) hang out, tour the campus, then hit up the British Museum which was just around the corner from the school, if I had time trot over to the British Library, and then hop on the Big Bus tour for my Day 2 excursion. I wanted to visit the Tower of London, take a Thames river boat tour to Westminster, and then see what I can do in Westminster before heading back to Peckham Rye.


When Christina and I got to the school (after a brief pit stop at the student union for a cup of tea) there were many students and faculty who were “on strike” as it were. From what Christina had told me, the powers that be at the University and the UK government made it so that students actually had to pay some money for their school. The faculty, on the other end, where getting their pension cut. See school, and even higher learning institutions like UCL, are traditionally subsidized for UK residents by the government. People like my friend Christina, foreigners studying abroad, have to pay full boat for college education in the UK. Even with scholarships and grants it can still be way more expensive than what UK residents are now required to pay, which before this was nothing. When I talked to Christina about this in more depth later on, she essentially had little sympathy for the students protesting because there is this sense of entitlement that education is free out there. Christina had to work hard to get where she is, being in debt like many of us, and now she has fellow students that are whining about actually paying for school. Needless to say this subject alone could merit an entire post in and of itself. But I bring this all up because, many of the offices were closed when we got to the campus including the general information office where I would go to get the self-guided tour. So, basically because of this, and because it just didn’t seem like the right time to tour the campus, even though we had to cross picket lines to go anywhere on campus for the most part (which I initially felt kind of weird about), I hung out while Christina was in the library, then went with her to the English Department which she kind of showed me around a little bit. When it was time for her meeting with the professor, we parted ways for the day.

So as to follow my master plan, I walked from UCL to the British Museum. This brief trek found me cutting through the main student quad of UCL passing by even more protesters and people on strike. In the quad itself it seemed that a healthy amount of focus was on the Socialist Workers party. When I walked through the quad I ended up striking a conversation with one of these socialist worker guys. He told me that that coming Saturday (March 26th) there was going to be a huge march/ protest/demonstration/rally all through central London ending in Hyde Park. He was telling me that this was going to be the biggest protest/ gathering of people London has seen in a while. Over 100,000 people were expected to show he says. I gave the guy a pound and purchased a copy of the Socialist Worker newspaper and went on my way. I thought to myself, maybe I should go to that rally thing on Saturday. Right place, right time?? I was thinking it through admittedly.

I finally get to the British Museum and immediately head over to Rosetta Stone, the Egyptian and Assyrian exhibits, and finally the Elgin marbles (i.e. the pieces from the Parthenon that are permanently housed at the British Museum). They are marvels to look at and experience. Pieces of history. Important relics that show the evolution of our species and the progression of thought. 13 years before when I was here I saw all this before, but admittedly being in my 30s now, I obviously experience it differently, like everything.


Of course I also realize that all of this and much more at the British Museum were really imperial spoils of war that Britain still clings on to. Of course they argue that they were able to preserve these specimens, specifically something like the Elgin marbles, that otherwise would’ve become the victim of thieves and looters who would not have preserved it as well as they did.

This, of course, is an argument that is still up for debate. I know if the Greek government had their way they would snag the Elgin marbles ASAP, but that’s never EVER going to happen.




So after spending a couple hours in the British Museum, I decided to forgo the British Library and head straight to the bus. Since it was already after 2pm, my goal now was to get to the Tower of London and do the West End stuff before things close. And so I did just that. I get off at the tower, and since I neglected to pack a lunch of some sort, I actually grabbed a hot dog from a local vendor hovering right outside the place. Eating and walking, I get to the Tower and basically stumble onto a guided tour. Now while the tower is something that you can spend many hours at, I on the other hand, had a limited time span.

So I went on the guided tour, which was rather short actually. (By the way, the tower dates back to the time of William the Conqueror. It’s been added to over the centuries, but the original fortified garrison was constructed by the Norman invader himself.)It is still an active royal castle, and all the guides are royal military veterans, in good standing, and they actually who live there too. After the tour I went to see the crown jewels which I could go into detail about, but since there were no cameras allowed in there I’ll just say that – you know… it was the crown jewels.


I saw the biggest and second biggest diamond in the world. Lot of gold, lot of…. Yeah… it’s cool in sort of an abstract way for me, and I’m glad I saw it, but all that stuff dates back to a time where having that shit actually mattered.

Just like the Honors of Scotland at Edinburgh Castle, which are the Scottish crown jewels, the way I see it, the only thing that matters now about any of this, is the tradition it upholds in the eye of the citizenry.

So after viewing the crown jewels and snapping a few more photos around the tower I run over to, and barely make, the last Thames river tour for the day. By the way, I should point out that the Tower of London ticket I purchased through Big Bus tour, and the Thames tour was actually included in my bus fare. Again, I thought it was worth the investment.

The Thames tour itself was short. Probably a half hour, but I caught it as the sun was starting to edge its way over the horizon. Very beautiful and serene to say the least. We pass under the Waterloo Bridge, the London Bridge, the Millennium Bridge – pass by many historical focal points along the path to Westminster most notably the HMS Belfast a retired naval vessel which fought in WWII.
All of this was cool, but honestly I was just glad to get off my feet and relax on a boat for a bit. When we docked at Westminster, the sky was getting darker still and I figured this was going to be the last location of my journey today.

When I left the docks of Westminster I immediately made a B line toward Westminster Hall. The idea I had was maybe do a parliament tour like I did in Scotland just a few days before. After snapping a few pictures and looking around the area to get my bearings again (found the nearest underground station – woo!) I literally just walked up to the security booth to see if I could enter and they gave me a visitor’s pass. I stood in line for a few minutes before going through security, through your standard airport style metal detector, and off into the bowels of British democracy. I was just going with the flow, not knowing what to expect quite frankly. When I finally got to the info desk, I picked up a few brochures and looked around in awe at the magnificence of the interior of Westminster Hall itself. This centuries old gothic palace has lived many different lives. Another building dating back to William the conqueror. And while I couldn’t take any pictures inside I kept walking through following the signs that eventually guided me to the Parliament.

It’s when I get to the main lobby that I discover that while there may not be a tour per se I did have the opportunity to see the UK parliament in action. (I discovered later that they do have tours, but on the weekends and it costs 15 pounds!)

The House of Commons and the House of Lords were still in session debating issues and it was well after 6pm at this point. I went to the House of Commons first, walking through grand hallways and narrow staircases adorned with portraits of parliamentarians of old. I finally sit in the designated balcony area to view the House of Commons debate. And I was there for a half hour hearing them debate some economic issues. I leave there and essentially go back the way I came and then on to view the House of Lords walking past posher ambiance to I suppose symbolize that I am to view the ‘Upper House’ – the elder statesmen as it were. The chamber of the House of Lords is beyond luxurious. With that sort of old English piety to the traditions of the state, at the very back wall and central focus to me initially was the golden throne and its accompanying golden accoutrements. This was the royal throne. This is the throne that the Queen uses when she does the official state opening of parliament. (The Queen also has her own entrance to Parliament as well.) But statues of knights and saints with gold trim glaze this old chamber of democracy.

The House of Lords debate was interesting to me because it focused on EU or European Union issues. I found this fascinating because I had read up and heard before I even traveled to London, that the EU, Euro, and constant European integration is a huge hot button issue out there. There are some more conservative members of the UK government that would love to see the dissolution of the EU, or to essentially remove itself from it. I even heard that the Eurostar or Chunnel, the train that goes from London to Paris under the English Channel, was actually opposed by many conservatives back in the day (and probably still is) for isolatory, security and nationalistic reasons. The UK likes that it’s an island nation. (This was a conversation that I would have in more detail when Christina and I visited her boyfriend Frank for dinner two days later.) At any rate, after a half hour of hearing spirited and heated debates on this issue I felt it was time to go. I had been gone all day and aside from breakfast in the morning, all I had to eat that day was a crappy hot dog outside the Tower of London a few hours before.

When I exited Westminster Hall it was night. I walked around the gothic edifice with renewed awe at its historical significance. And of course it didn’t hurt that the entire place is beautifully illuminated at night. I passed by Cromwell Green, a small section on the grounds of Westminster Hall and looked up at the statue of Oliver Cromwell the father of the short-lived Commonwealth of England. A both controversial and revered figure. I found it interesting that a statue of him was actually located here honestly. Of course I found out later on that it was controversial at the time it was erected, but I guess to me, a foreigner observing, it seemed like a poignant yet important part of this country’s history, as well as a reminder to the monarchy about what could happen if they cross the line. Who knows?

I decide to leave Westminster Hall and cross over to Westminster Abbey. I know the church is closed, but I figured I would wander around and snap some photos and just take in the city at night. When I finally got to the West Entrance, I looked up over the gate to see the statues of 10 modern martyrs affixed above the Great West Door. Now martyrs on a church isn’t unusual I suppose, but this one had America’s own Martin Luther King, Jr. on it. Yes, a statue of MLK is literally on Westminster Abbey in London. The archbishop unveiled it in the late 90s and now it’s on display for the world to gaze upon. Though unreligious myself, I thought it was kind of cool.

When I left Westminster Abbey, I ended up just roaming the streets for a bit looking for Number 10 Downing Street, the Prime Ministers residence, but when I realized I had to cross over the Thames again to get to it, I called it a night. I went to the Underground, then to the train and then back the Peckham Rye. I get back to Christina’s, made some food, drank some beer, and shortly thereafter passed out. A lot of walking and roaming around the city was done in the last couple days. And it certainly wasn’t going to be the last of it, however I already knew what I wanted to do the next day. A nice relaxing jaunt down to Downe. The village and house where Charles Darwin lived and wrote ‘Origin of Species’. But alas that is for another post.

Thanks for reading…