Day 2 - First Day in London - 13/9/16

Day 2 - London day 1.

A day to get immersed in the history and the hourly burly of the city. 

It was the lady I met on the plane who suggested the tourist bus around the city. So after surviving the spiralling queue through customs, I managed to find the Visitors centre at the underground station and bought a two day London Pass that cost £56 but it proved well worth it. 

The bus trip through the city was crazy - such small streets

Things I learnt about the Underground.

1.  It's not all under ground but even when it's not all you seem to be able see out the windows are brick walls and overgrown bushes

2. There are many different ways to get to the same place. Trying to work out how to get places is just as challenging and as much fun as The Underground game we played as children and again more recently when Lily's friends had brought it back from UK. 

3. The lines are all running different ways at the change over stations so it's not as simple as the Melbourne loop where the platforms are parallel and merely different levels. Sometimes you have to walk a long way down Alice in Wonderland tunnels to get to your platform. 

4. If the train stops in a place other than a platform, the driver will quickly make an announcement to all passengers about the cause if the delay, even if it is only for 15 seconds or so. Eg. "We have come to a stop because we have found ourselves at a red signal". It sure does relieve a lot of stress for passengers. They already are sweating quite a lot anyway. 

5. Carriages are small. Not much personal space. Not much consideration given to tourists travelling with one large and a small backpack travelling from the airport during peak hour. 

6. When a sign says: catch the lift to the street level right next to the start of a spiral staircase - as it does at Russell Square -  it is actually good helpful advice - not a sarcastic challenge. The announcement that the spiral staircase is actually the equivalent of a six storey building and should not be taken on lightly is too made too late when backpackers are already half way up. 

Already too long an entry however I am enjoying writing it in the pub part of the hostel as I recharge the phone's battery. For the sake of any potential readers out there though I'll try to be brief. 

I started my time in the centre of town residing myself to the fact I was actually a tourist in a strange town - yes I was surprised myself that that was a revelation to me. Once I pushed my way to the front of the top deck "hop on and off again" tourist bus around the city, things became very interesting. The sites around the city that were only names to me before suddenly became real. Trafalgar Square. What a cool place. The Strand. Before just a cheap red spot on the Monopoly board was now an impossibly thin street with ancient buildings and a two thoroughfare where basses hurling along missing each other by centimetres. Bridges, pubs where Dickens wrote some of his books, Piccadilly Circus not just a yellow property but a place with huge Neon advertisements in a confined space and lit up like a Christmas tree every night apparently. The driver with his witty comments and endless name dropping spoke as he weaves his way around the confined spaces as we held our brief like on a scarey show ride. 

Though I had a prime spot, I had to get of at the Tower of London close up and not just see it in passing. So glad I did. 



Much more than Paddington bear ever described. Beefeaters, sure, and old buildings granted - but it was the history that slowly but surely seeped in as I walked around the wall and climbed up the corner towers. The dates on the buildings. 1100s, 1300s - mind lowing when compared to Australian White man history - the armour of kings from long ago, stories of kings and governments, laws and rebellion, zoos and armour. And the ravens. I came around the corner of he wall and there were two on the wall railing. Perfectly still, like more statues ... and then they blinked. Wow!
After I was the tower I took advantage of a free cruise up the Thames- courtesy of the London Card. That was great - relaxing. Once again an amusing guide ... Who claimed he wasn't a guide- curious. 
 I got off the cruise near Big Ben - named after a short fat person who was somewhat inched in its construction - "five foot tall and the same wide ", said the guide, " he looked like the bell" that gives the building it's name. I decided to walk back to Victoria station where my backpack was being (expensively) looked  after- like a dog kennel - but as I walked past Westminister Abbey, 

I decide to use the card again and get free admittance and a free personal tour by none other than Jeremy Irons. Well it was on a speaker phone and everyone had one - intriguing info and a good way to keep the hordes quiet and respectful around the magnificent building. No photos allowed but I came across one youngady with an art book open and sketching part of the interesting lines and angles within one if the many crypts. A clever way of getting around the photography ban I suggested. She told me she had been doing it for weeks on end! Ther was a lot to see in there I agree. But weeks!

Finished my tour early as  I was starting to crash ... And my phone/ camera was almost out of battery life. found my hostel and after one beer started to drop off. Slept for two hours - after a long overdue shower - and after chatting to one American guy in my dorm who was invited me on a pub crawl. I declined but after spending a quiet tea b myself at a restaurant over the road spent the rest writing this on my phone. It's time for me to hit the hay again and although I'm expecting a dorm to myself and a late night invasion later on, I'm hoping I'll be able to catch up on some shut eye. Looking forward to more exploring tomorrow.