They say home is where the heart is, but that’s not where mine lives. ~ TS
Monday, June 26
What can I say about a city many of you have already visited? Nothing new. Don’t @ me, but I was underwhelmed. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but people rave about this city like it’s the greatest in the world and I just don’t agree. I did love it there, but felt it didn’t measure up to the hype. Like when a movie is talked up so much that I have great expectations, but end up disappointed once I actually watch it. I would love to be challenged on this. Please prove me wrong.
We took a nonstop overnight flight to Heathrow, then took the tube and a bus to our above-pub hotel in Wandsworth–Spread Eagle. What a charming place! Because of its location outside of Central London, the price was reasonable. It was clean and well decorated, recently redone, the noise level was low, and the employees were kind and accommodating.
After getting situated, we took a double decker, a train, and the tube to Westminster. Came up the stairs and BAM! There was Big Ben. You know how some things feel so familiar that you have a hard time feeling astonished?
We stood on Westminster Bridge for a while, soaking it all in. Loads of cars and people passing. A saxophonist playing “I’m Yours” by Jason Mraz. Someone selling red balloons. The London Eye rotating slowly. Tourist boats below us on the Thames. Then Big Ben sounded his 6:00 peal.
We walked along Great George St and stumbled upon this photo hot spot. Can you get any more quintessentially London than this??
We continued on through St. James’s Park. My goodness, what a slice of heaven! Definitely my favorite part of London. It reminded me a lot of DC. We sat and watched the ducks, geese, swans, and pelicans before walking along the lake and under the willows toward Buckingham Palace. This is what my garden in heaven looks like. Throw in a rope swing, a book, and giggling children and I couldn’t be happier.
Walked down The Mall, past Trafalgar Square, past these beauties (I’m really wanting hanging flower baskets after seeing them everywhere here; I think I’ve avoided them because they remind me of my laborious teenage years working the greenhouses haha).
We wandered down Great Scotland Yard (aka the entrance to the Ministry of Magic) and headed back to the hotel. Fell asleep on the bus ride. Was smart enough to set an alarm first (I once missed my stop on a train out of NYC and woke up waaay at the end of the line, oops). Had a delicious serving of comfort food back at the pub beneath the hotel before calling it a night.
Tuesday, June 27
After a sleepless night, I went by myself back into central London. I took the bus, train, and tube to…
Tried these fish and chips bc they claimed they were the best. Meh. Drank some green juice to wash the grease down. It was fun to meander around the market.
I wandered around Bankside, crossed Millennium Bridge, and headed towards the Sky Garden (aka the walkie talkie–apropos once you see it in the top right corner of the skyline photo below). Passed several must-sees like Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre and St. Paul’s Cathedral, and explored quiet side streets. I love how London blends the old in with the new. Like these walls of Winchester Palace ruins (photo on left) merging with what I believe is a school on its left.
The area within and around Leadenhall Market had lots of alleyways. It was fun to get lost in there. Then I went up to the Sky Garden. Incredible views for free!
Rented (or “hired” as they call it here) a Santander bike (aka Boris bike) and rode it around central London. I realized it was great practice for driving on the other side of the road (which I’d be doing the next day)! This was probably my favorite part of my time in London. I covered a lot of ground and cycling always makes me happy.
In Covent Garden, I ended up in a little nook called Neal’s Yard. This was not accidental. I had heard it was very picturesque. It did not disappoint.
What was accidental was happening upon Neal’s Yard Remedies. I believe in the power of healing through touch and I was really struggling emotionally before and during this trip. I knew a massage was just what I needed and I felt a prompting to see if I could get one. They were able to fit me in as a walk-in a bit later so I rode my bike to a place in Soho where I could dock it and walked back. Such a beautiful part of London. Again with the hanging baskets! 😍 And that plant wall!
When I sat down for my massage consult, Lina asked what I needed work on. I asked her how attuned she was to the emotional side of massage rather than just the physical. “Very.” “Perfect.” I went on to explain where I felt things were stuck in my body that were ready to release. As someone who gets and gives massages regularly, I found a few things interesting:
- Effective draping is not important here like it is in the US. There were no sheets or blankets to cover up, only small towels. That definitely did not stay put haha.
- The therapist did not wear scrubs or yoga pants. She wore a beautiful dress, her hair was down and done, and she wore makeup. Like she was going to a fancy restaurant for a dinner date.
- She spent more time on my back in a transverse motion rather than longitudinal. That was a first for me.
I bawled my eyes out throughout the massage. She supplied me with a steady stream of tissues and would hold up the wastebasket for me every time I blew my nose. Of all the forms of therapy I’ve gotten to know, massage therapy continues to be my favorite. I am most comfortable during massage. Which may seem odd since one is unclothed for it. But the fact that no one can see my face helps me feel safe enough to just cry, cry, cry.
She worked on different parts of me in a way that was refreshingly different from what I was used to. She was Scottish and trained in Australia. She relayed some things she noticed that really struck home for me. And spoke to me with the familiarity of a best friend and the love of a mother. And gave me a tight, long hug when I left. I am so grateful for kind people who use their talents for good, wherever in the world they may be.
After the massage, it was getting late and I WAS TIRED. The massage and release of emotions mixed with sleeplessness had wiped me out and I wasn’t sure how I would get all the way back to the hotel when all I wanted was to just drop into a bed right then and there.
BUT I had one more thing I HAD to do. See the exhibits at the British Library. Since I was passing through Kings Cross anyway, I decided to see Platform 9 3/4. It’s not actually between platforms 9 and 10 haha. It’s out in a main corridor. I wasn’t expecting that. There was a looong line to take a picture. Pass.
Even though I was barely awake, I was determined to see the special exhibits at the British Library (literally their public library). Some of what I was excited to see was not on display when I was there. 🙁 But I did see some cool things like a Gutenberg Bible, the Diamond Sutra (oldest dated complete printed book in the world; commissioned in 868 AD), two versions of Magna Carta, Tyndale’s New Testament (he was burned at the stake for translating it into English; I use the King James Version which, I believe, includes a lot of Tyndale’s)—this copy belonged to Anne Boleyn; Shakespeare’s First Folio; original music sheets of Mozart and Handel; a 1410 version of The Canterbury Tales; a handwritten draft of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest; and original papers drawn on by Michelangelo and Da Vinci. It was definitely a geek out moment for me. So stinkin’ cool!!
I was dead at this point. Pulled up trusty Google Maps to find the nearest Greek restaurant (only a block away!). Because I’m always in the mood for Greek. I wasn’t super hungry though. Beet and feta salad and pita and hummus for the win!
What surprised me most about London was that, to me, it looked just like the cities of the United States. If you were to drop me out of the sky into London and then have me guess where I was (without the obvious markers like landmarks and road signs), I would’ve prob said NY, Philly, DC, Boston, SF, or Chicago depending on what part of the city I was in. It felt very, very familiar. Maybe because everything was in English? haha But also, I think, because London is a modern city and a lot of the “old” architecture of the US was built by people who came from here.
I made it back to the hotel and crashed. Cheerio, London!
Two public transportation tips:
- It’s cheaper (and faster) to just tap your electronic payment at the turnstiles rather than buy a ticket at a kiosk (you can also tap on the buses). They cap you for the day at an amount lower than what a daily pass costs at a kiosk. Which makes no sense, but I’m not complaining. Super easy peasy!
- The Citymapper app is aMAZing. It basically makes it impossible to get lost. We took buses, the tube, and trains and never had a problem. Disclaimer: I love maps. Like a lot. And I have a good sense of direction. But still, I am very impressed with the people who created this app. It gives options, times, platform numbers, live updates on your current location on your lock screen, the works. Incredible!