I think I have finally recovered from however many hours I went without sleep Tuesday and Wednesday. I think.
After writing the first entry to this blog on Thursday, I took the tube to Oxford Circus and wandered around there, stopping to have a late lunch where I was disappointed that the popular Christmas side dish pigs in blankets were unavailable thus causing me to settle once again for fish & chips as nothing else was catching my eye.
The streets are still adorned with their Christmas decorations, and it made the walk back to hotel through Piccadilly Circus feel quite magical, especially as the sun faded in the mid-afternoon — the sunset that day was 3:59!
After walking out of Whole Foods where I acquired an incredibly way too expensive bottle of shampoo (not because shampoo is overpriced here; this would be an expensive bottle anywhere… I simply had grown tired of looking after two stops), I stumbled upon a gathering crowd next to the Shaftesbury Memorial. I joined in to see what the fuss was all about, and much to my delight we were treated to a performance by a group of street performers, showing off some incredible dance moves.
My walk back carried me along the east boundary of St. James’s Park past the Horse Guards Parade and where I caught what I thought was a beautiful sky behind the Guards Memorial.
This memorial honors Guardsmen who died in World War I, and those statues — which are life-size — were forged from guns that were captured during the fighting. After being in the middle of the large crowds that I expected (and didn’t see really only my first day), it was nice to be able to stand here and reflect in relative solitude.
My third day here in London started off on a bit of a nerve-racking note.
After breakfast, I returned to my room to get ready for the day, but my stomach was nearly instantly unsettled. Feeling like everything was catching up to me, I decided to take a nap to see if I would feel up for my scheduled booking at the British Museum in the early afternoon. This is where I have to give massive kudos to anyone who is able to take that flight, hit the ground running, and carry on the rest of their trip with no problem.
I woke up and still felt not great, but I needed to at least get out to get some drinks and crackers (I decided I wasn’t going to attempt to eat much of anything the rest of the day). I don’t think the first train I took could have possibly been bumpier, and there were a couple moments where I was concerned about what might happen on the next bump.
But I survived.
I am not lying when I say that I could just hang out in the Underground for large periods of the day and be perfectly content. It’s great people watching, and there are so many aspects that are to me quite visually appealing.
The line to get into the museum was long and wrapped around the block, but it moved quickly. Honestly, I wish it had moved more slowly and that they permitted fewer folks inside at one time, because it was quite overwhelming attempting to check out the first couple rooms with such a massive crowd. So when they tell you to go to places first thing in the morning, listen to them.
That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy myself, but I didn’t stay nearly as long as I would have liked and will try to go back earlier on another day.
By far my favorite thing at the museum that I saw was in a room just before the exit. It was empty but also colorful so I obviously stepped in to check it out.
In the center of the room stands a statue of the young Egyptian leader that dates back to around 1330 BC, while the walls in the room are decorated by street art painted by 26-year-old graffiti artist Nofal O. The juxtaposition of the ancient and the modern presented so simply melded together wonderfully. It made dealing with the significant crowds so worthwhile.
I alluded to this earlier, but I’m not going to lie. By the time I walked out of the museum and headed for the grocery, I was done. It all just caught up to me, and if I could have sat down and taken a nap on the sidewalk, I think I would have. So I went to the store, grabbed the items I needed, and came back to the hotel where I just stayed in bed for the rest of the day.
I certainly notice a difference this morning, which is a good thing because obviously I’m not going to be in London on New Year’s Eve and just be in my hotel room at midnight. While the official celebration at the London Eye is ticketed and has long been sold out, the cordoned off area comes right up to the street the hotel is on, so I figure if nothing else, I should surely be able to see some of the fireworks from here.
Regardless, I’ll let you folks back home know what 2023 is like since I’ll be there way before you.
Rails to Ride 