A Lot to Catch Up On Part III: London

On Halloween, I packed up my suitcase, said goodbye to Carmella and her apartment mates and flew to a city that I have always dreamed of visiting: London, England. 

It was my first visit to the United Kingdom, the 11th country I have ever been to. Landing in Heathrow, I could not contain my excitement. Even on the plane, I could hear the British accents echoing off the cabin walls, and I started hyperventilating. First of all, it had been two months since I had been in an Anglophone country. Second of all, I was going to just any English-speaking country, I was going to the Mother Country, the place where English was born. As an English studying, BBC watching, J.K. Rowling worshiping anglophile, going to London was about the coolest thing I could possibly do. Ever. 

Even better, I was going to see my mom there (or should I say my "mum"?), who had flown all the way from California just to spend a few days with me. We met up at Paddington Station, and we took the Underground back to our hotel, the Hilton London Tower Bridge Hotel. 

On my first full day in England, we actually left London for the countryside. We took a bus tour to Stonehenge, which is in the middle of nowhere on the Salisbury plain. It took us two hours to get there, but it was incredibly worth it.

I clearly have an obsession with ruins, what with my love of Rome, and my fondness for the Roman theaters in Lyon, so it was an unbelievable experience for me to see Stonehenge, which is even more ancient. When you visit Stonehenge, you can walk around its perimeter and even stand within 10 feet of the outermost stones. However, you can't walk through the stones. I understand why. The more people who trample through the ruins, the faster they will erode. Plus I can see the aesthetic advantage of keeping the sublime beauty of the ruins free of the blight of tourists crawling all over them. And, God, it was beautiful. Just the contrast of the grey, bluish stones set against the mild, green rolling hills of England, with the endless azure horizon on all sides- it was absolutely stunning! I was surprised by the sheer size of the stones. I knew they were going to be large, but they were even bigger than I had imagined, probably twice as tall as I am, at least. Of course, living in cities, I've seen much taller structures than this monument, but that's not the point. You have to put it in perspective and realize that, first of all, these stones were carted from miles away to this spot on the plain, and then erected, all without the use of any modern technology. And yet they have stood for thousands of years. Not only are they ancient and mysterious, but it's clear that they were not constructed haphazardly. Their specific alignments with the sun during the solstices has led people to speculate that they were intended for worship or for use as a calendar, or for both. Clearly, the people who built this circle of stones had a deep knowledge of their world. They were connected to the seasons and to nature in a way that we have lost in our modern society. 

My mom and I spent an hour at Stonehenge, basking in the ambience of the ruins, listening to historical and archaeological facts on our audioguide, and taking pictures. At the end of the hour, we headed back to London on the bus. Our day was not over yet.

That night, my mom and I wandered around downtown London. We saw the famous Trafalgar Square and we walked along Regent Street, a famous street for shopping, which was already lit up with Christmas decorations. Finally, we wandered around Soho, a very hip district in London. There we saw lots of interesting pubs and clubs, but by far the most interesting place we saw was a very unique hair salon, which doubled as a cafe. My mom and I were stunned that something like that could pass health codes. It was pretty bizarre.

The next day, we had a chance to really explore London, and for me, as an English major, it was like Christmas come early. Let's just say, London is literary heaven. Literally. Most of Britain's greatest writers are buried at Westminster Abbey, which we visited that day. 

Our first stop was the Globe Theatre. It's a reconstruction of Shakespeare's original Globe Theatre, to the extent of the knowledge they have about the first structure. It was built in the 90's after an American decided it would be a great idea to have a reconstruction of the theatre near its original site. Today it functions as a museum and a Shakespearean theater during the summer. The exhibit was pretty neat. It explained how different aspects of theater worked during Elizabethan times including special effects and costumes. Next, we took a tour of the actual theater. It was a very interesting tour because they pointed out the different aspects of it that made it different from modern theaters, and explained how plays would have been performed on stage in Shakespeare's day. 

After seeing the Globe, we headed to Westminster Abbey, where I saw the graves of Elizabeth I, Mary I, and Queen Mary of Scots, in addition to the graves of my favorite writers. In the poet's corner, they have the graves of many British literary giants, including Dickens, Shelley, Coleridge, and Austen. At times, it was hard to tell if the writer was actually buried there, or whether there was just a monument dedicated to them. For me, it didn't really matter. I was just swept up by an overwhelming mixture of awe and sadness at the sight of their names. Here they were, theses phantoms who still whisper to us through words although they have gone into the darkness. They existed, and they are no longer. I guess you often don't think about just how dead these writers really are, because they feel so present when you read their words. But they're buried, and here was the proof. It was a humbling feeling.

Tea and Scones at Westminster Abbey's Cellarium

After lunch in the Cellarium at the Abbey, we met up with my friend from high school, Mary, who is studying abroad in London this semester. This was my favorite part of the day. I had only had a chance to see Mary for one day last summer, so it was really fun to get to spend some time with her in this amazing city. First, we headed to the Sherlock Holmes museum, which is, in fact, located at 221B Baker Street!!! The museum is laid out according to Arthur Conan Doyle's description of the flat, complete with props lying around it, including magnifying glasses, hats, a violin, and whiskey glasses. The best part about the museum is that it's entirely interactive. You can sit on all of the furniture and take pictures with the props! It was really fun. On the upper levels, there were some ghastly wax figures reenacting scenes from the stories. It was pretty excellent.

Me as Holmes and Mary as Dr. Watson

After the museum, my mom, Mary, and I went to dinner at the Sherlock Holmes Pub, which is no way related to the museum (in fact it's in a completely different neighborhood). My mom tried fish and chips, while I had bangers and mash. Mary and I both tried Sherlock Holmes Ale, which was rather nasty. After dinner, we just walked along the Thames, wandering along, catching up on life. Sadly we had to part far too soon. 

The next day, my mom got us up early. She was on a very specific mission: we had to find Abbey Road, where the famous Beatles's album picture was taken. We found it and walked across it. It turns out there is a webcam pointed at it which broadcasts onto the internet, so you can try to find pictures of yourself there, but I never actually tried to look up the pictures from that day. 

After Abbey Road, we headed to Buckingham Palace and sat outside its gates. We were just in time to watch some sort of ceremony, which involves guard, some in kilts, marching out of the gates, playing bagpipes.

Mysterious ceremony outside the gates of Buckingham Palace

We took afternoon tea at Twining's teashop. There, we met up with my old friend from ballet, Rachel, who just finished graduate school in London. We caught up with her over a cup of tea.

Finally, our last stop was King's Cross Station. There, in a small corner, is a monument dedicated to Platform 9 3/4. Of course, we had to take pictures there. If only it were real. Can you imagine how cool it would be to visit Hogwarts? 

All too soon, it was time to leave London. I really didn't want to say goodbye to this wonderful city that I was only just beginning to discover, or to my mom. But I headed back to France, back to classes and commuting and language barriers, but also back to friends and places I've grown to love.

 Now, it's December, and in only three weeks, I have to say goodbye to Lyon. I'm not ready yet.