A Sunny Spring Day in London

 

| The Houses of Parliament from the Eye |

2015 England Trip Travel Journal Entry

Thursday, March 12

Logistics: 

1. The Tube from Stockwell Station to Moorgate Station on the Northern Line
2. The Tube home from St. Paul's Station to Oxford Circus Station on the Central Line
3. The Tube [continuing] home from Oxford Circus Station to Brixton Station on the Victoria Line

Our first time on the Eye!

The day started with ham and cheese croissants, which Mom invented because we'd run out of eggs and we were in a slight rush to get on the London Eye. We made it in good time, and had no trouble picking up our tickets, since they could simply type in my confirmation number from my email that I'd taken a screenshot of on my phone. It was precisely the bright and glorious day we'd hoped for! I didn't put on a coat until lunch ended. Back to getting our tickets: a smartphone is a marvelous tool for the traveler, making practically everything available at your finger tips. I couldn't travel without one now!

We hopped into line and hopped almost all the way through it, it went so fast. There were seven people in our pod with us - happily, nice and quiet ones. :) And what a ride! Spectacular views from every angle and in every place on the wheel. I think I got at least twenty pictures of the Houses of Parliament, between the camera and phone.

 

On our way up.

The north bank with the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben.

Looking east down the Thames.

Further down the Thames with a view of St. Paul's Cathedral.

 A view to the south west down the Thames on this glorious day!

London County Hall, which also houses an aquarium.

Our first ride on the Eye was simply lovely!

The only downside to a sunny day is one's reflection in the glass... especially if one is wearing red and white stripes. I know from personal experience.

Having lunch under the Eye.

We had such a pleasant lunch by the river just under the Eye! I had grabbed some cheese and bread at the last minute before we left the flat, in hopes of finding a grocery store with fruit and meat of some sort. And we did! A dinky little place a quarter of a mile away. The guy in there almost charged us nine pounds for an apple, a pear and salami, but he caught himself. He made sure Mom didn't forget her glasses on the counter, but he joked that if she had left them he would sell them with his other glasses. :)

We sat on the stone wall edging Jubilee Gardens to begin feeding our bodies with food and our fancies with people watching. My favorites to see and hear are the kids out with their parents or on a school field trip. We saw a couple of classes walking in disordered lines or gazing over the bankside railing in their uniforms and neon reflector vests. They're so sweet! There were also lots of older, less adorable, kids in large groups, and we were serenaded by a French bunch behind us.

Relaxing by the Thames.

Ice cream! If it's a sunny day in England, it's time for ice cream.

London + ice cream = a definite win.

Westminster Bridge, and the first of many pictures...

It was just what a sunny March day in England should be, with a carousel, kids playing in the park and us eating Magnum ice cream bars - vanilla ice cream covered with creamy chocolate! We wandered across Westminster Bridge to the Tube station and at last arrived at Holborn, our old stomping grounds during our first trip. It was like going back in time to walk around Bloomsbury Square and look down Bedford Place to see the Lancaster Hotel, our first abode in London six years ago. 

The British Museum - I have to say it - has not lost its charm. :) We took a picture in front for and of a family that was from Canada. They had just arrived that morning on their first trip to London, so they asked if we had any recommendations - which means that immediately at least a dozen things come to mind, which in turn silences us because we can't decide which to share first. 

Back at the British Museum!

The unforgettable entrance court at the British Museum. It never gets old.

The world-changing Rosetta Stone.

We decided to look more at Egypt this time, as it's ruins are in the great corridor that houses the Rosetta Stone. My favorite of that lot is actually the Assyrian winged creatures. Those massive things give me the feeling of being dropped back into Biblical history. One Egyptian room had more fragile objects like shoes made of woven reeds and artists' tools, including a palette with some dried paint still in it! That makes the past seem so real. 

Assyrian gates... It's like Biblical history coming to life before my eyes!

Ancient Egyptian artist's tools.

We'd had enough of creepy mummies, so we turned into the temporary exhibit of propoganda prints from the war with Napoleon. The large bust of the Corsican general at the start of the exhibit is just arresting - I could hardly stop looking at it, there was something so romantic about it - yet at the same time it simply looked like a young man. It brought Bonaparte to life. Which brings me to my favorite moment of the exhibit: two young Frenchmen walking around a corner into the exhibit, realizing who it was about, and grandly saying, "Ah, Bonaparte!" It sounds so much more impressive in a French accent. :)

Dinner at Wagamama's.

The prints were typically Georgian, full of lampooning and often grotesque, but it brought Jane Austen's world more to life. The mugs with the prints on them were interesting - we both thought that was a more modern phenomena - especially the giant seven-inch mug in the collection! We ended the exhibit with some jewelry containing tiny piece of Napoleon's hair... Always gives me a strange feeling, that. Then we had just enough time to find and enjoy Wagamama's! We're getting much better at estimating how much time we need.

(6:25 PM) Now we're at Wagamama's - I should say back at Wagamama's, since that's what it feels like. This was the first place we ate in London in 2009, so it feels a bit like stepping back there. It was delicious! We chose to get yaki soba, a chow mein-type noodle with sprouts, peppers, onions, prawns and chicken, and tori kara age, which is chicken in teriyaki spices.

And now we're off to see (and especially hear) The High Kings! I'm a bit worried my expectations will be too high, so I'm trying to keep them low - but I can't really see us not at least overall enjoying ourselves. :)

(11:20 PM) And we did! I'll get the cons over so I can simply enjoy the memory. My fears of the surrounding were more or less realized by the noise being loud, the room being small and crowded, and us having no seats. But they sang all of my favorites - well, nearly all, for I have so many - starting with 'Rocky Road to Dublin,' then, in no particular order, 'The Fields of Athenry,' 'Marie's Wedding,' 'Rare Auld Times,' 'Joe Hill,' 'Step it Out Mary,' 'Leaving of Liverpool,' 'Star of the County Down,' 'Irish Pub Song,' and the first ending was 'Whiskey in the Jar,' but after some deafening chants of "One more song!" they re-emerged to sing 'Finnegan's Wake'! Definitely my highlight of the evening, for it was definitely more fun than listening to the recording.

The High Kings in concert! Possibly my favorite artists, ever.

I didn't enjoy listening to the others live more than I do on the CD because everyone in the audience was singing along very loudly, and not always exactly on key... But despite that the guys themselves seemed to enjoy it quite a lot. :) They said that after being on tour in Europe they enjoyed being one step closer to home and in a place where everyone could sing along. It all really, truly ended with 'The Irish Rover,' and then the entire audience rushed over to the other side of the room where they were to sign CDs. We made it with almost no difficulty, and there they were!

Finbarr still shook my hand, even though I didn't have a CD that I'd just bought. :) Then I went

Meeting the lads!

 around to the others to attempt getting a picture, but I couldn't make myself just go behind them, it felt too intrusive... Thankfully, Mom is rather more fearless when it comes to celebrities, so she asked Darren and Martin to make me come back there. Of course they very obligingly did so in a very friendly manner. :) Darren even put his arm around my shoulder! I can't wait to tell Hannah and Julie - being as great of fans as I am. Oh, I must add that as we finished getting a photo and I was about to walk away Darren said "Nice to meet you!" I know it's not much, but it was special enough to me to be worth remembering. :)

Darren Holden and Martin Furey, people. Oh, and me. :)

I loved watching them, especially Brian, who seems to just thrive on the performance. He was quite the ham of the group. :) Boy, could Darren play that accordion! As the night went on he seemed to play more and more enthusiastically. Finbarr had the greatest smile on his face as they were all gathered around the microphone singing 'The Auld Triangle.' He and Brian were even posing for the camera during the first song for someone right next to the stage. :) What a night! It was so special to sing along to the High Kings with the High Kings.

© 2015 Anna Morton