Hello everyone! These past few days in London have been draining but they were some of the most eye-popping and exciting days I've ever had. There are quite a few pictures in these blogs because we did back to back walks through London proper on Thursday and Friday. This is Thursday's walk. Our Professor, Peter Buckroyd, lead us through London on foot. I have no idea how a man his age can keep the pace that he did. Each and everyone one of us felt the pain on some level or another but we pulled through and the sites we saw in the end were definitely worth it.
I was taking notes the entire time with a little owl notebook I brought on the walks (compliments of my home-stay mom). In my other hand I was snapping shots of the main sites whenever possible. I literally had to lag behind after the note taking for some pictures, and then run to catch up. I think taking my inhaler for the future walks would be wise.
The pictures and comments below are a mix of my own comments, notes, our eccentric professor's twist on things, as well as historical facts. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
This is me just outside our homestay house (the complex on the left)! I was going more for comfort and warmth over color coordination ;)
You know the red London buses you always see in TV? We're on the top back of one of them here riding to class. We had to take our own pictures so don't expect any professional portrait shots.
One of the first places we visited is here. This amazing looking thing is the Russel Hotel, standing smack-dab in the middle of Russel Square, one of the biggest squares in all of London. The hotel dates back to the mid 18 hundreds. The building dates back to the Victorian Period when trade and commerce attracted quite a large and sudden explosion of business men and meetings. The result was a grand hotel. There are so many different types of decorative features that it's hard to gauge just what the builders had in mind. 
Our professor called it this a "ridiculous extravaganza" haha, and told us to come again some day, march in like we know what we're doing, and walk into the off-limits ballrooms to have our brains mashed by grandeur.
My impression: I'll have to borrow the intellect of Charlie Sheen to properly describe this. The builders of this hotel make modern hotel builders "look like a bunch of droopy-eyed armless children."
The Hotel looks over this park that is also part of Russel Square. According to our prof. this place was shared by all of the residents in 1840.
Over the years it was transformed into a hub for "gay-cruising." I know what that means in a nut-shell so I won't spell it out for you guys. This went on for 160 (gasp!) years until the tall bushes completely encircling the park were torn down so the manly giggles and previously hidden frolics were cut to an abrupt end. It's now used as a public park open to everyone.
As we walked through the park on to the other side we were shown where T.S. Elliot worked in the 1920's. At the time London was so infested with wild cats that you were just as likely to see one of them as you were pigeons. These very cats were the inspiration for the musical "Cats."
This is one of the two lions guarding the back entrance to the British Museum, founded in 1753. Among many of the alluring facts is that Karl Marx did much of his writing at this site. Our professor's advice concerning the Museum: "It's utter madness to come here for a whole day. What you should all do is come for an hour several times throughout your stay."
The roof inside of the museum was designed by Normal Foster.
Professor Buckroyd's take on things: "What Great Britain did was send ships all over the world to gather crap that was lying around." The front entrance to the building is a monstrous example of the Britain's power at the time. it was designed not as a tribute to God, or the god's, but rather to England's economic might and power. Their theory was that if the entrance is magnificent, then anyone walking by will immediately assume the things inside are magnificent as well. The funny thing is is that the Victorians (the period term for the people at the time) had no concept of foreign tourists. They were just building this in case a foreign representative or power ever stopped by. Peter's input: "The world is lucky, really. Britain took it upon themselves to take things from the silly natives who had no idea how valuable they were. Things like the Rosetta Stone and such."
These are the buildings directly opposite the main entrance to the British museum made in the style of Mansion Flats on the bottom right of that complex (it's hidden by the wall) is a Starbucks. Who's
The colorful row of buildings to the right is a great example of the Victorians' never-ending struggle to outdo each other. What they are is basically "A row of brick-houses with a bunch of $%!# thrown on top." Professor's words, not mine. He also called them "absolutely disgusting." They do look as if a giant toddler ate sherbet ice cream on a hot day. And then... un-ate it all over the walls.
That's me! I had to sneak a picture of myself because we never stop walking! If we do I'm busy scribbling notes and taking pictures of famous stuff.
This amazing scene is from Trafalgar Square. That single column in the middle bears the indelible visage of Admiral Trafalgar in statue form. He is responsible for winning the "Battle of Trafalgar" that took place on this site. 
Below are pictures of a massive boat built in a bottle. I could easily fit 3 Peter Buckroyds in the bottle. More of Trafalgar Square:
The Brits have started a countdown until the London Olympics. 491 days, 3 hours, 57 minutes and 12 seconds.
Admiralty Arch: directly opposite Buckingham Palace a mile down the lane.
These king of sights in the distance gave me hope when my heart of hearts was praying for invincible Peter to be struck by lightning so we could have one.....single....break from the breakneck trek through London.
Here we are standing in the middle of the White Palace, not to be mistaken with the other white palace-like building above. This dirt square is the sight of the White Palace that burnt down in the 17th century. The Court was once held there, now it's in Buckingham Palace.
Of course having a palace burnt down is no reason not to guard it. Thanks to Peter's omniscience we arrived just in time to see the Guard change at 4pm sharp.
The London Eye was peering at us between buildings as we marched by...
And this is.... drum roll please...
St. Steven's Tower! Big Ben is the name of the bell held inside. The rest of the building is the House of Parliament
I was surprised to find a statue of Abraham Lincoln standing in London. I guess the Brits have gotten over the lickin we gave em in the Revolutionary War, eh mates?
West Minster Abbey. Anyone read "The Pillars of the Earth"? This is it.
I hate to admit it but these signs have saved my dumb-American life several times.
The Abbey traces back to the 13 hundreds. Through the centuries it's been expanded, added on to, remodeled, revamped, and reposted on blogs everywhere. It's still quite lovely though.
We walked past the Abbey and onwards to directly under Big Ben (my die-hard American...ness won't allow m to call it St. Steven's Tower even with my improved abroad self)
The London eye really is wonderful. Peter told us a story about a pair of girls a few years back on the program who tried getting on with Pepper spray tucked in their bags. Pepper spray is a common enough item for women in the States but in London it's considered an offensive weapon and a criminal offense. The security guard apologized to the girls and told them that they would have to notify the Police, but they were welcome to ride the Eye until they showed up! They did, and watched as the police pooled at the bottom. Result: the girls were allowed to go rather than be deported which was more likely.
We ended our walk with a short break on the lawn facing the Thames. Peter wasn't struck by lightning but he was nice enough to spare the rest of us shin-splints and crushed dreams. We stopped, and had a pleasant talk. The legs and feet are mine :)
After we hoisted the old diamond-geezer back up we finished our tour with a grand view of London.
That's all for now! To everyone back home I love and miss you. Until next time!
1 comments:
Ha I just noticed the background picture at the bottom right of this blog is the same guard and horse we saw changed at 4pm further up!
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