A Report on Walks Through London

So a summary of my walks experience: My three favorites were Westminster and St. James, Lambeth and Southwark, and Central Parks.  I loved Westminster and St. James because I got to see London's biggest attractions (Westminster Abbey, Houses of Parliament, and the London Eye) all lit up at night and it was beautiful.  It finally hit me that I'm really here...seven weeks later.  I also did this walk alone, and half of it without a map.  Lambeth and Southwark was a fun walk because it was a beautiful day to walk along the Thames and see the Eye up close and all the street performers and booths.  The pier was so full of life, and the views were incredible.  Central Parks was wonderful too, because we live so close to these magical and historical parks, and it was amazing to walk through them on a late sunny Sunday morning.  Families were meandering, roller bladers skating by, and ducks and swans swimming lazily along the Serpentine.  It was a classic London experience.  And of course, the company on these walks can make all the difference in the world.  I'm grateful for these walk assignments because they forced me to get out and experience parts of London that I didn't know of or was too scared to investigate on my own.

It's been real, London, and I'm going to miss you!

My Last Walk! Soho to Trafalgar

Trafalgar Square!!

So this is London’s red light district.  Unaware of this, I was going to go by myself on a Friday night… Well, I’m glad I didn’t go.  I went this evening by myself.  But it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.  I actually found it funny – I came across drag queens mostly.  But I didn’t want to give myself away as a blatant tourist, so I didn’t take any pictures of that part of the walk.  I waited until I got to Trafalgar Square, where I felt of the majority.  Apparently most everybody had already hit the bars because the square was pretty empty.  Empty enough that I couldn’t find anyone to take a picture of me.  So I just took several without me.  They’re better that way anyway. :) 

Westminster and St. James

  I LOVED this walk.  I went by myself after I did the City walk, just as it was getting dark.  I am familiar with the major buildings around that area already, but it was breathtaking seeing them at night.  Big Ben and Parliament are just iconic and beautiful.  The London Eye was a contrasting kind of beauty, but that was fun to see too.  Westminster was pretty too, especially the back side.  Actually, I loved this whole walk.  St. James was beautiful.  In addition to the route assigned, I went through the park on my loop around the back side of Parliament, and it was deserted.  The sun was down, but it wasn’t quite dark yet.  Late twilight, I’d say.  The pond was so peaceful with the swans and ducks swimming lazily through the algae-covered water. Everything was a luscious green. Ah! I loved it.  And because no one was around, I may have sung aloud with my iPod… I ended the walk with a stroll on Westminster Bridge to watch the beautiful lights reflect on the Thames and the dark clouds pass through a darkening, deep purple sky.  I didn’t want to go home.  

The City (east)

  I did this walk with Alison Roybol yesterday in the rain…It was a delightful experience. Not.  We took a wrong turn right out of Tower Hill station, but we didn’t figure it out until we had already walked for 10 minutes. So we just kept going until we caught up with the route again.  We saw lots of the financial district, and where the Great Fire of 1666 was started.  That was cool to see the epicenter of that awful and historical event. My other favorite part of the walk was all the banks facing each other. And it’s cool to see a bunch of old, old churches tucked in alongside very modern and postmodern buildings.  We went on a Friday evening, so all the workers were already hitting the bars, and the city was cleared out for the weekend. 

Southwark and Bankside

I have actually walked this route several times when I’ve gone to the Shakespeare Globe Theatre: once for “As You Like It”, once for the tour of the old theatres, and once for “Much Ado About Nothing”.  After “Much Ado”, there was a suicide jumper on the Millennial Bridge, so we had to figure out a new way to get home. I have also walked to the Tate Modern several times.  So I was very familiar with the area, except the part by the Tower of London, and we went there as a group today.  I really liked it, except for the sudden rain clouds that down poured on us wherever we went.  I also enjoyed crossing the Thames on London Bridge; that was something you just have to do when you’re in London. Once over the river, (Bri was with me) we walked through the financial district, which was full of really cool buildings and lots of people in really nice, intimidating suits. I also really liked the London Bridge tube station.  It’s the oldest station in London, and I thought it was pretty cool. I really enjoyed this walk.
(and from the pic, you can see I am finally experiencing London authentically -- in the rain.) :)

Tower of London and Southwark/Bankside Walk

Millennial Bridge and Tate Modern

Shakespeare's Globe Theatre

I have actually walked this route several times when I’ve gone to the Shakespeare Globe Theatre: once for “As You Like It”, once for the tour of the old theatres, and once for “Much Ado About Nothing”.  After “Much Ado”, there was a suicide jumper on the Millennial Bridge, so we had to figure out a new way to get home. I have also walked to the Tate Modern several times.  So I was very familiar with the area, except the part by the Tower of London, and we went there as a group today.  I really liked it, except for the sudden rain clouds that down poured on us wherever we went.  I also enjoyed crossing the Thames on London Bridge; that was something you just have to do when you’re in London. Once over the river, (Bri was with me) we walked through the financial district, which was full of really cool buildings and lots of people in really nice, intimidating suits. I also really liked the London Bridge tube station.  It’s the oldest station in London, and I thought it was pretty cool. I really enjoyed this walk. 

Lambeth Walk: The London Eye and the Thames

On Saturday, May 28^th, Bri led Alison and I through Lambeth.  We got a little turned around coming out of Waterloo station (which is where part of “The Bourne Ultimatum” was filmed…no big deal…) but after we went all the way around through the sketchy part of town, we popped out right along the Thames, right where we needed to be.  It was a beautiful day, and my favorite part of the walk was strolling along the river, passing the London Eye and crossing over Waterloo Bridge and walking through Somerset House.  I took some great pictures of the river and of the Somerset courtyard’s Chinese zodiac garden…you know, Year of the Monkey stuff, etc.  It was great. 

Inns of Court Walk

 Saturday, May 21^st, Alison led this walk until we got lost, at which point she “relinquished her power”, gave me the book and map, and I led the rest of the walk.  But in her defense, it was really hard to follow the map because we weren’t following the directions exactly because we didn’t realize the Inns were closed on weekends.  So we went the roundabout way.  And we still saw all the stops along the way.  The Staple Inn was probably my favorite because it is one of the last timber buildings to survive the Great Fire of 1666.  It is quintessential: white-washed walls and dark vertical timber, crooked walls, thatched roof, etc. Then we ended down by the Royal Court House and a bunch of fancy financial buildings… I have never seen so many CCTV cameras; I didn’t know how to feel – either safe or uneasy – because I was being watched so closely! 

Busy, busy, busy + no internet= no blog updates...

Sorry! I have been doing so much everyday, and with internet that is never reliable, I haven't been able to keep up my blog.  But my assignments are done for the mean time, and I will be a blogging machine.  Sadly, I have only 6 more days left in this wonderful city.  The time has flown by!  I'm ready to go home and enjoy the comforts of being in the USA, but as soon as I'm settled in back in Montana, I know I'll miss traveling.  I miss London already.  So many things left to do and see in so little time... It's sad. :( But it's been a great run, London.  Coming up on the blog: walks around London, Scotland and northern England, Germany, and more!

Bloomsbury Walk With the Frenchmen

I led this walk with Bri, Alison R., and Taylor.  We left the tube station and walk down Montague Place (which I thought was such a fun street name – I love Romeo and Juliet). We were all hungry, so we stopped at Pret A Manger and got sandwiches. We decided to eat in a mini park along the way.  Then as we were leaving, two guys approached us and asked us if we knew of park where they could eat.  They were two French guys doing property managing internships in London for a few months and really seemed harmless.  We were going to walk by another park according to the map, so we told them where to go but they just started following us. They were very talkative and friendly, but something seemed off.  We finished the walk, took a picture with them, and when they asked us to keep in touch and go out for a drink, we told them we aren’t allowed to give out any of that information, we don’t have phones, and we don’t drink (to which they replied “neither do we”… haha) While we were walking, we came across places that inspired Oliver Twist, saw an old royal hospital, and a really nice hotel, but overall, it wasn’t my favorite part of London…

A Brief Stay in the English Countryside

Well, it's been quite the week.  We took off Tuesday morning on a coach bus to Bristol.  I had my first hostel experience (it was a good one, overall), tried and loved South African food, took over 500 pictures, hiked over 12 miles, and survived with no wifi for four days.

After about an hour and a half of driving, we came over this hill, and BAM! There was Stonehenge. The sun was beaming through the clouds onto the luscious green grass.  It was quite a magnificent sight.  There isn't so much to see -- you just walk around the stones in a 50 foot perimeter.  They are big, but not huge.  Fascinating and impressive.  And a good photo op. :) I took many...

Avebury was our next stop, about 30 minutes from Stonehenge.  It's a similar attraction: really old rocks. Big rocks. Older rocks. More rocks. You get the idea.  But we had a great tour guide named Pam whose favorite word was "fab".  I loved her.  She made us say Avebury is infinitely better than Stonehenge. And in some respects, it was.  We could touch the stones...

After Avebury we stopped in Caen to look at the locks along the canal there.  I'm not going to lie, I wasn't excited about it.  But once we got walking along the canal, I fell in love with it all: I loved the canal, the walk, the countryside, the wildflowers, the opportunity to think in peace... By the end of the walk (which ended up being several miles) I had thoroughly enjoyed myself and picked a lovely bouquet of wildflowers that I left on someone's doorstep.

We arrived at the youth hostel in Bristol in time to find dinner on our own, so we looked around the college town for a while and settled on Nando's, a South African grill. It was yummy.  And...I stumbled upon my favorite piece of graffiti yet.  The hostel rooms had two bunk beds, a toilet, sink, and a shower; that's better accommodations than we have at the center. Except my feet hung off the edge of the bed, and I woke up sore from the extremely firm mattress...But other than that, no complaints at all.

Wednesday morning we headed to Bath to explore the ancient Roman baths and the rest of the little city. I really loved Bath.  The buildings are almost all identical in shape, color, size, and design, and there's nothing too remarkable about any of them (except the cathedral, of course), but how they are arranged is stunning.  Structures like the Royal Circus and the Royal Crescent  are so elegant.     We had some down time, and after we ventured through an overgrown cemetery and the quaint residential districts, I climbed up on a ledge overlooking a nice little park and the river to read Pride and Prejudice.  It was lovely.

Thursday we drove to Wales and visited Tintern Abbey.  When we first rounded the corner, I literally could not breathe, the sight was so beautiful.  I have never seen such green grass, beautiful stone, and blue skies with perfect, fluffy white clouds.  It was unbelievable; no wonder it has inspired so many writers and artists.  The best part was climbing it.  It was quite a sight to see 40 young adults climbing all over an abandoned, disintegrated, historical 12th century abbey like it was a playground with monkey bars and a slide! Little did we know we weren't supposed to be climbing on it, and some mean lady told us to get down, but not before we got pictures!

After Tintern Abbey, of which I was sad to leave, we returned to England to visit the cutest little town of Chipping and Campden.  This is the most adorable, picture-perfect, from-a-movie town I've ever seen.  I also happened to forget my camera on the bus during this outing...but believe me, it was cute.  Then we went on another beautiful hike through the Cotswold hills/mountains. The English countryside is the best!


The Friday: Wells Cathedral and Durdle Door.  Wells Cathedral was cool, but after some of the cathedrals we've seen, nothing too distinct except for the owl shaped in the double arch above the altar... But Wells was a cute little town too.  Durdle Door, however, was incredibly fantastic.  We were driving (and you've got to understand driving on a huge bus on little, windy roads... is quite an experience), and suddenly I gasp and yell "I see the ocean!". Sadly, it's been a while since I've been to the coast, and I was so excited to be near the ocean again.  After I hiked up the small mountain along the coast and descended to the beach at  the Durdle Door arch (a natural arch formed in the rocks by erosion) I marveled at the sight, sound, smell, and feel of the beach and ocean.  As you can see, I continued with my new-found love of hiking, listening to music, and picking wildflower bouquets while taking a bajillion pictures. :)

Well, what I lucky girl I am! I had a wonderful week.  The UK is really spoiling me... And I'm loving it!

Making Lemonade

So I have one more post about a walk that I have to do, but this is a non-academic post.  Last night was a crazy night, with two papers due (one was on Utopia, which I was only half-way done reading) and three blog posts and pictures to upload (which is quite a feat because the internet is ridiculously slow here) AND people to Skype. The problem was, everyone was on the internet, and half of them were Skyping their significant others and their mothers, so the connection was terrible.  I was slightly stressed and sleep deprived last night.  But the procrastination was mostly my fault, as I went to Wicked on Friday night, Keira Knightley's play The Children's Hour and Phantom of the Opera on Saturday afternoon and evening.  So I was busy having fun -- sophisticated, culturally enhancing fun -- but fun nonetheless.  The thing about having a spring term in London is all the coursework is geared towards getting out and experiencing history and art through the museums.  When I think about it, it really is incredible all that I'm able to do in a day.  I get to walk on streets that have been around for hundreds of years, and some of the street designs are from when the Romans were here.  I get to  see art painted by the hands of Da Vinci. I get to hear world renowned musicians, see famous actors and actresses perform live.  I get to eat food from all over the world.  And I get to hear all sorts of languages and accents all day.  I get to see where famous authors received their inspirations. I see beautiful parks where movies are filmed.  And I get to grow as a person from all these lemons and melons life in London is sending my way.

Fleet Street and St. Paul's Walk

This walk we did backwards so we could end at St. Paul’s Cathedral, our destination.  Emily S. led the walk (we like to call her Columbus, as in the 1492 explorer because she gets us where we need to go ASAP, but she points out the highlights and stops occasionally for pictures) and Lauren and PG were the entertainment for the rest of us (Amy, Kristen, and Anna).  We saw the Millennial Bridge (the one that collapses in Harry Potter 6, no big deal), lots of little “olde” churches, a wall of flowers, the College of Arms, and of course St. Paul’s Cathedral (where Mary Poppins feeds the birds…). The thing that really stuck out to me was how the old mixed with the new.  Here in downtown London, close to the Thames, ancient and modern structures are found side by side without a thought.  The contrast is startling and odd, but it’s quirky and I like it! We ended with St. Paul’s and it was incredible.  The crypts were really cool, but the best thing was the five hundred and eighty-something step climb to the top of the dome.  The view was stunning as the sun set over the Thames. I loved that view; I could have spent hours up there. Definitely a melons experience. :)

A Walk Through London's Central Parks on a Peaceful Sunday Morning

So on our way to church (in the Spanish Branch…), Laura, Jason, Catherine and I did the Central Parks walk through Hyde Park, Kensington gardens, and St. James Park on the way to Westminster.  I have already been through Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens multiple times, so St. James was really the only new sight; although because it was Sunday, the parks were less crowded, and the people who were there were with their families, lounging around and rollerblading.  It was a fun to see it so calm and lazy.  But St. James was really nice.  The stroll down the straightaway to St. James was beautiful. Once we got passed the craziness of Buckingham Palace, the rest of the park was lovely.  The government buildings down by Westminster were quite impressive too.  It was a beautiful walk on a Sunday morning on our way to church! 

Regents Park Walk

This is my first official "walk" through London: Regents Park.  The group left the Centre and walked to Paddington and then up Regents Canal past little Italy and the London Zoo.  It was absolutely beautiful.  The walk began at the TOP of Primrose Hill, which has a magnificent view of the city.  I just laid in the luscious, wild grass and watched the clouds go by before I descended Primrose Hill and headed to a tasty lunch at Camden markets. I loved the cultural diversity there: Spanish food, Chinese, Mexican, Thai, African, Turkish, Portuguese, Peruvian, and Indian...So many to choose from!  I settled on a delicious Turkish grilled chicken wrap. Yum!  After lunch I followed Bri as she led the walk around Regents Park with Lauren, Taylor, Kristen, Emily S., Amy S. Andrea, Lindsay, and Jessica .  I absolutely loved the canals and the upscale, calmer city life of Regents Park.  It was so much quieter and more peaceful than the city center, and I enjoyed the break from the hustle and bustle of city life.  We took it slow because of the amount of walking we had already done, and the pace was really nice.  The houses in Regents were so cute and colorful – they reminded me of a box or brightly colored crayons. If I were to live in London, judging by the places I’ve seen thus far, I would live by Regents Park.  I also think this is the park where Finding Neverland with Johnny Depp was filmed – and that’s another reason to love Regents Park.  Fun fact: London has more drinking fountains for pets than for humans... and we took a picture in front of one in Regents Park.  It was beautiful, but the guy we asked to take our picture thought we were crazy and weird for wanting a picture with the dog's water hole. I can't decide if that's a lemon or a melon... :)

 

Lemons and Melons

I had a friend that said "If life gives you melons, you might be dyslexic." And I thought that was hilarious for some reason.  Life in London is certainly interesting, full of all sorts of experiences.  This blog is partly an assignment and partly a way for me to record my time here and partly a way for my family to keep an eye on me... :) Lemons in London are things like having only one shower that works for 12 girls, the smelly tube stations, and not-so-good British food.  Melons in London are things like crazy good street performers, anciently beautiful buildings, ethnic markets, fun people, the Royal Wedding, Broadway musicals, and awesome photo opportunities. So here's to the whole experience, to all the lemons and melons London has to offer.