London is such a liar.
First of all, we were told that London
was a rainy city. Like, really rainy. More rainy than we’ve already
experienced, if that’s even possible. It didn’t rain one drop, today. Not that
I’m complaining, or anything, but that’s the first example of London’s lies.
The second example is later. And that
one, unfortunately, is not so fortuitous as the first.
We started off our first day in England
at the London Eye—a huge Ferris wheel, the biggest, I believe, in the world.
Also, as I’ve heard, it is very expensive. Grandma had bought our tickets in
advance, so we only waited shortly in line for us to retrieve them, and we were
sent off to the 4D theatre. There was an introductory film where the audience “soared”
over the Eye and other parts of London—Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, Tower
Bridge… Then, we went back in a line, where they looked through our bags and
asked us if we had any pocketknives. Our answer, as I’m sure you’ve expected,
was no. Finally, we boarded the wheel.
I was later told by Will that it
never, ever stops turning, so we were boarded quickly into the moving pod.
After the doors closed, we began elevating, higher and higher. Then, we found
the view. It was beautiful. We could see a full 360º around. I think my
favorite sight was Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. There was just
something about the golden edifices that kept drawing my eye back. We also
spent a while trying to find Cleopatra’s Needle—the oldest thing in London,
gifted from Egypt—which we later saw on our boat tour.
Anyways, I was very sad when we had to
leave. Luckily, though, we took lots of pictures. After we were off, we checked
out the gift shop, and I bought two pins for myself; one with the Union Jack on
it, and a pink one with a crown on it, saying “Keep calm and eat a cupcake.” I
thought it was just too funny, I could resist buying it. They were only 1£, so…
Next, we crossed the Thames
(pronounced Tems, for those who didn’t
know), and took a closer look at Parliament. Then, we went to scrutinize
Westminster Abbey. Unfortunately, we didn’t go in, since the price was so high.
We didn’t think it was worth it. It’s really too bad, though, because I was
really excited about seeing Poet’s Corner and Isaac Newton’s tomb. Oh, well. We
saw cooler things, later.
We went to the docks, and, after
having paid 50p for the “loo,” for Grandma, waited for our river cruise.
Boarding, we listened intently to the guide explaining little facts and
pointing out landmarks, such as the well-awaited for Cleopatra’s Needle. It was
pretty small, actually. Maybe that was why I couldn’t see it from the London
Eye… Finally being pointed out the Tower
of London, we arrived to the Tower Bridge, the “most famous bridge in the
world,” according to the commentator. Leaving the boat, we were trying to
decide what to do for lunch… when we fell upon this nice little Fish &
Chips cart. I hadn’t had that since Fisherman’s Wharf, on Vancouver Island. Well,
now we can say that we’ve had French food in France, and English food in
England. After lunch, we retraced our steps for about half an hour, and finally
came to…
The Globe.
That’s right, Shakespeare’s Globe. Pretty much the only reason I ever came to
London. Okay, I’m kidding, but I was still pretty excited. And this is where we
come to our second instance of London Lying.
All eager about taking the tour, which
the pamphlet and posters clearly stated
was offered daily, as in every day.
When we walked in, the receptionist was telling another couple that they were
only offered in the morning, before midday, however. It was 1 o’clock. I was
so, so disappointed. I’m sure I could’ve cried, although I didn’t. Sniff… We
left. Pffft. London lied. Again. Pfffffffffffffft.
Anyways, re-retracing our steps back
to Tower Bridge, we once again boarded the river cruise, and this time headed
for Greenwich. You know, the “W” isn’t pronounced. Why? I don’t know. Weird. It
took us about half an hour to get there, which felt pretty long. We were on a
bigger boat, however; it was very comfortable, and most importantly, indoors. Extremely tired, we didn’t
really feel like staying long, because although Greenwich sounded like a nice place
to have dinner, we were already engaged for the night. We stayed approximately
15 minutes in the neighborhood, checking out the market. It was actually pretty
cool; indoors, and full of little stands selling just about everything, from
food to clothing to little toy soldiers. Then, we left on exactly the same boat
on which we had come.
After the long train ride back to the
house, we left for dinner with Briana and the boys, for Indian food. Mm… Butter
chicken. I realized that I hadn’t had butter chicken for a year or so now,
since Grandma is the one who often makes it, and I have been living in
Washington. I’ll have to remind her to make it when I get back… Anyways, it was
a wonderful meal, and after a bit of homework and reading, I went to bed.
So, day 1 in the UK complete. Only one
more day to go…
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