With Camilla departed to NZ and my brother working all day it was now up to me to explore London all on my lonesome. Of course this was sort of great because I got to pick all the sights I wanted to see, but also difficult because London is just a ridiculous expanse with so much to do. I mean, how is one person supposed to choose from all the possibilities?! Luckily I had almost 2 weeks in London, and the cost of a lot of the tourist-y activities helped narrow things down. In the end I more or else decided to wander around various areas of London, just taking in as much as possible.
My second day out in London began with a stop at Trafalgar Square, and intentions to check out the two nearby art galleries. The last time I visited Trafalgar Square would have been some 9 years ago, so I don't have a particularly strong recollection. What I do remember was the massive crowds. Not crowds of people that is (although I'm sure there were plenty), but masses of pigeons, everywhere. As most people know I don't really mesh well with wildlife, so I was pleased to discover that this was no longer the case. When I was there the Square was actually more or less empty (probably to do with the poor weather), so I had, on the whole, quite a relaxing crowd-free, bird-free morning.
I would also like to add that I was really pleased just to find a place to sit. One of the struggles I've had in London is wanting to take a break. There are apparently no benches anywhere, and if you pause for even a second on the street you suddenly find yourself in the way of 50 businessmen all trying to get to work. All I'm asking for is the chance to rest my feet or check google maps for the 25th time that morning. The struggle is real.
My next stop was the National Portrait Gallery, just around the corner. This pretty much provides what it says on the label, with 3 floors of portraits (mostly paintings, plus a few sculptures and photos) from the Tudors through to modern day. I tried to see a range of paintings from different eras, while avoiding other people as much as possible. I like my quiet time, but unfortunately museums and galleries are a magnet for school field trips, so I generally chose sections of the gallery with the minimum number of squealing children. I did enjoy my visit, and particularly enjoyed the more recent portraits, as I knew more about the subjects, but I definitely prefer the more complex scenes and landscapes found in the National Gallery.
I actually have quite fond memories of the National Gallery from my previous stay in London, which was unusual given my general disdain for art galleries as a 12 year old. In any case, my return to the gallery was just as good. On the whole I much prefer older paintings to modern art, because I like to be able to see what I'm looking at, rather than having to figure it out. I don't like to work for my art, apparently. I also like that these paintings give us a view of different eras, what people were wearing, how they behaved, what the landscape looked like, and all that jazz. My other favourite thing about exploring these galleries is the buildings themselves, which often seem to be a work of art in their own right. If you're interested in my personal favourites, I would have to say Thomas Gainsborough, along with Van Gogh and Monet. I remember loving Gainsborough's unfinished paintings when I was younger, because I liked the mystery of not quite knowing what would have filled the spaces he left.
Having exhausted my capacity for galleries for the day I decided to check out another famous landmark, St Paul's cathedral. I was surprised to realise how easy it was to see St Paul's from all over London central. The dome is actually very distinctive in the London skyline, which is great because it's both attractive and easy to find. When I arrived it was pouring with rain, and there were no birds to feed (disappointed Mary Poppins fan alert), so I took a quick glance of the inside before deciding not to pay the exorbitant entry fee. That is another thing to note about London, while the museums and galleries are mostly free, which is great, the rest of the tourist attractions are mad expensive, so I simply enjoyed them from the outside.
I followed a similar theme the next couple of days of just wandering around London, seeing particular landmarks that took my fancy. I got the chance to check out the Tower of London and Tower Bridge up close. This was very cool, although I do think Tower Bridge actually benefits from being seen at a distance. Standing on London Bridge and looking out to it you get to see the full bridge, which is really the iconic image. I also like to think that I'm beginning to master the sly photo capture using my phone. This way I can pretend to text while really taking photos and avoid looking like a tourist (although I'm not sure standing on a bridge moving my phone to the perfect angle is actually that subtle).
On the Thursday evening I also had the chance to go to a Stand-Up Comedy night with my brother and friends. Beforehand we went to a pub near Chinatown which I would thoroughly recommend for the building alone. It was all old-fashioned decor, and the bar itself was set up over a whole range of levels, like a maze. Very cool, and deceptively big. The comedy event itself was just a small thing at a bar near Leicester Square with mostly unkown acts, but still very funny. I would definitely suggest getting along to one of these, as it's a great laugh, especially if you love the British sense of humour. And you never know, one of those acts might make it big and you'll get to lord it over other people that you discovered them first.
My last day in London before heading to my Uncle's for the weekend I visited the British Museum. This museum is so ridiculously large with so many different artefacts from all over the world, so one has to be a bit picky with what to see. On the plus side I had a whole morning, and there wasn't anything particular I desperately wanted to see, so I just wandered around different exhibits as I felt like it. I'm always impressed by the huge artefacts from Egypt, and Greece, it's just hard to believe people could build and sculpture such large things, and that they managed to get them inside a museum. I particularly like the objects with a good story, so I decided to tag along to a tour in one of the European rooms. I particularly enjoyed the explanations for a series of wall tiles detailing stories of Jesus from the Biblical apocrypha. Apparently the apocrypha were more interested in detailing historical stories than converting people, so they often contained the less charming details of Jesus's life, particularly the teenage years. These seemed to consist mostly of a youthful Jesus getting mad at his peers and smiting them dead before begrudgingly resurrecting them at the insistence of his mother. Trust me, these were some quality tiles.
I'm heading to Nottingham University in just a couple of days so I may be too stressed/excited to write anything more for a while, but I promise that there will be details of my trip to Saffron Walden/Cambridge, plus a whole nother week in London. Just you wait.
Byeeeee!
(PS the British Museum building was totally rad)
So this is it. I'm in London and it's time to fill you in on the first day(s) of my trip.
One of the most significant things that exchange students are typically forewarned about is culture shock. The sudden disorientation upon experiencing an unfamiliar culture in a foreign country. To the contrary, so far I have had the strange sensation of feeling like I'm not really in a new country at all. Of course I've certainly noticed I'm in London, as the Underground, double-decker busses and Big Ben are a bit of a giveaway, but I still feel very much familiar with my surroundings. This is probably thanks to the apparent ubiquity of Kiwis in the UK.
I do have to say however, that the one significant difference I found quite disconcerting was upon entering the country at Heathrow. Anyone who has ever gone through customs in NZ will know the intense drilling you get about the kind of food you're attempting to bring into the country, and whether you went for a walk in a forest 2 weeks ago, and whether you've cleaned your shoes thoroughly because if not well just look out buddy. So here I was, sheepishly approaching the "items to declare" customs desk to admit that there was fruit in my bag, prepared to have it whisked away from me and destroyed at any moment. Instead I was greeted with a laugh and ushered into the country, biosecurity be damned apparently.
In Heathrow I was greeted by my big brother Max, who I'm staying with in London.We took the Tube back to his flat, an appropriate way to be inducted into London life I feel. As to be expected following 25 hours of flying, the rest of the afternoon was pretty uneventful and involved a lot of resting. I took what may well be one of the deepest naps known to man. It took my brother several attempts to wake me, and upon waking I sat up, reached over to my phone to check the time, instead grabbing a block of chocolate and spending several confused minutes trying to figure out why it wouldn't turn on. Needless to say it took me some time to become a functioning human being again, as anyone who has ever flown halfway across the world can attest. I also got to spend my first night in the UK with my friend Camilla, who was spending her last night in the UK (poetic much?). With familiar faces, and familiar kiwi accents, having not spoken to anyone with an English accent since border patrol, it was hard to believe I had really left NZ at all.
Tuesday was my first chance to explore London, and I was lucky enough to be joined by Camilla, a seasoned traveller. This definitely turned out to be a good thing as I couldn't even remember which direction to take out the front door, let alone navigate a whole new city (although in actual fact, with the busses and Underground, London is a pretty easy city to get around). Our first stop was King's Cross Station for that quintessential British icon, Harry Potter. We got to see Platform 9 and 3/4, complete with disappearing trolley, and spent some time in the delightfully overpriced Platform 9 and 3/4 'Shoppe'.
From Kings Cross it was easy to get just about anywhere, so we took the next natural step and decided to visit a cafe which had been converted from a public urinal, a few blocks from Regent Park. The cafe, Attendant, still contained the original porcelain urinals, making for an interesting dining experience. It was also strange because the waitress was a Kiwi, the hot chocolate came with marshmallows (something I was warned would never occur outside of NZ) and Lorde was playing in the background. Once again I found myself questioning whether I'd been tricked and in fact our flight had simply turned around and come back home. Also because Wellington too seems to have an obsession with turning public bathrooms into food joints. As we left the cafe I asked if they had any bathrooms. Apparently not. The man behind us laughed and muttered "well that's ironic". Indeed.
From there it was a short walk to visit another classic British character, Sherlock Holmes, at 221B Baker Street. Shopowners had clearly caught on to the tourist attraction, so the street was filled with memorabilia shops. We perused a few, but found only the typical cheap and nasty souvenirs. We did manage to get a photo with a costumed Sherlock Holmes, and enjoyed the gift shop, complete with deerstalkers and pipes, but gave the museum a miss. On the whole so far I much preferred simply wandering the streets and observing London, rather than paying for the many attractions.
We then took a stroll through Regent Park, which was chocca full of wildlife. I rather enjoyed the walk, but my mother would not have, given the propensity for geese to wander across the footpath and honk menacingly. On the plus side I got my first sight in many years of squirrels. If you do not think that squirrels are the most adorable little guys, with their ridiculously fluffy tails, then you are wrong. I heard on QI the other day that someone conducted a study in which they showed participants pictures of cute animals and a large proportion of the subjects experienced feelings of aggression, not because they were mad but because they wanted to touch the animals and couldn't. This is basically how I felt.
Down by the river there was plenty of wildlife, but throughout the rest of the park it was pretty dead. It wasn't exactly picturesque to be wandering down a muddy footpath lined with trees but not a single leaf in sight. I imagine the gardens are much more beautiful when spring and summer roll around.
After our excursion it was time to farewell Camilla, and time for me to experience the terrifying excerise of trying to get on a train during peak commuter traffic. I managed to not have a panic attack while squashed against 30 strangers so I'd say it was a success. I also couldn't help but laugh at the clearly frustrated train controllers yelling "do not block the doorways, keep calm, there are another 2 trains literally right behind this one so yes you will get home in time if you just get out of the way". Well it was something along those lines anyway. Having survived the trip, my brother and I decided to go out to dinner, to Gourmet Burger Kitchen. Of course, I once again found myself surrounded by NZ, as this was a chain started by three Kiwis, complete with tomato shaped bottles, Kaitaia Fire, and L&P on the menu. Welcome to England!
In any case, I had a delightful first day out in London. Hopefully I will get around to writing about my next few days soon, as I'm thoroughly enjoying wandering around London and ticking off all the major sights along the way.
Byeeeee!
Hello!
If you are reading this, I can only assume one thing. You have realised the emptiness in your own life, and have chosen to fill the void by living vicariously through someone else's travels. Alternatively, you may simply be interested in seeing what I've been up to. Either way, you've come to the right place.
Retrospectively, I should have begun this before my departure, so I could fill you in on all my feelings of anticipation, nervousness and excitement about my impending trip. As it is, I have already arrived and (Spoiler Alert!) I'm loving it. I've already had the chance to explore London, but more on that in future posts because, as the title would suggest, this is really just an introduction.
For the next 6 months I will be spending most of my time at Nottingham University, in more or less the middle of England (at least I have been lead to believe this is the case but, as we will discover, my sense of direction is terrible). So far all I really know about Nottingham is its relation to Robin Hood, and that it is home to the (supposed) oldest pub in England which, let's be real, is all I actually need to know. Also the campus is apparently bee-yoo-ti-ful so expect photos. Aside from my studies, there should hopefully be plenty of travel in the UK and Europe, beginning with two weeks in London (and visits to nearby relatives) before uni starts.
You can expect to hear much more from me in the future (probably), as I embark on what I can only assume will be a great adventure.
Byeeee!
