The Start
Day One and Two of Thirty.
Expecting things to not align, I was shocked that not only did my bus arrive early, but so did Darryl's flight. Things aligned quite well indeed as I stood at the gate to see Darryl enter the country at around 10:30am.
Our first duty was to find a place to sit and have a coffee to get ourselves on the same page. It was nearly 1:00pm when we boarded the train for London Victoria Station. Darryl was a bit shocked by the trains whipping by in the opposite directions but before long we were in the Big Smoke, just in time for the spitting rain.
We first hit Buckingham Palace before heading through St. James's Park toward the Houses of Parliament. Back up the road in Trafalgar Square, a large group of Liverpool football fans created a sea of red shirts and banners. Their big game with Chelsea (in which they were defeated) was later that evening. The square was also, curiously enough, covered in thousands of mugs. Nothing mixes like rowdy football fans and delicate porcelain. We found out later that the cups were part of a Channel 4 program on the British human footprint displaying the number of cups of tea consumed by the average Brit in his/her lifetime. There were some 27,000 cups. If only we knew what it was about at the time.
Darryl and I stopped to relax a bit at Canada House, and then headed back out into the now sunnier London day. After grabbing a quick bite, we headed up to Johan and Christine's flat in Kentish Town, where after brief hellos and introductions we dropped our bags and headed back out. It was nice to just stroll in London without any burden. We headed to Camden Town, which was much livelier than when I had stayed there in February, with all kinds of colourful shops spilling onto the streets.
That evening we saw Leicester Square, St. Paul's Cathedral, the Millennium Bridge and Piccadilly Circus. It was after 11:30pm when we got back to Kentish Town and nearly 1:30am by the time we got to bed. Darryl's jetlag would soon be sorted.
In the morning we hit a little local cafe for some bacon and eggs and coffee. That provided adequate fuel for a trek into a new portion of Camden Town Market that we had not seen the previous evening. Our hosts had mentioned it was worth checking out. It was indeed. Food, clothing, and all kinds of other wares to be seen.
By early afternoon we were in Primrose Hill and Regent's Park. The weather was shaping up nicely, though the humidity was making it hard to regulate our temperatures. We got to talking about art and decided to stop in at the National Gallery to see some paintings. We only spent an hour or so there, taking in the highlights. Outside, rain was starting to fall, so we headed back to Kentish Town for a rest.
In the evening we headed out again, using the wonderfully convenient (but sometimes swelteringly hot) London Underground. We headed east on the District Line to the Tower of London and Tower Bridge. Evening was falling and the lights were beginning to flicker on. The air was also getting much colder and the wind was picking up. From London Bridge we headed further east to Canary Wharf and Canada Square, which at that time of night is pretty inactive.
Back in Leicester Square we caught a bite and then headed back to our cozy accommodations to finish up our second day together. Tomorrow it will be off to Nottingham for a few days before really beginning the journey. From there the plans will come as they come. There is a general plan but the specifics have been purposely left unplanned so that we are free to not be tied to a schedule. Spontaneity shall be the key.
Be sure to check out Darryl's blog for YouTube videos of our first day. We will be uploading these as we go so you can watch a new episode every few days or so.
Cheers.
Expecting things to not align, I was shocked that not only did my bus arrive early, but so did Darryl's flight. Things aligned quite well indeed as I stood at the gate to see Darryl enter the country at around 10:30am.Our first duty was to find a place to sit and have a coffee to get ourselves on the same page. It was nearly 1:00pm when we boarded the train for London Victoria Station. Darryl was a bit shocked by the trains whipping by in the opposite directions but before long we were in the Big Smoke, just in time for the spitting rain.
We first hit Buckingham Palace before heading through St. James's Park toward the Houses of Parliament. Back up the road in Trafalgar Square, a large group of Liverpool football fans created a sea of red shirts and banners. Their big game with Chelsea (in which they were defeated) was later that evening. The square was also, curiously enough, covered in thousands of mugs. Nothing mixes like rowdy football fans and delicate porcelain. We found out later that the cups were part of a Channel 4 program on the British human footprint displaying the number of cups of tea consumed by the average Brit in his/her lifetime. There were some 27,000 cups. If only we knew what it was about at the time.
Darryl and I stopped to relax a bit at Canada House, and then headed back out into the now sunnier London day. After grabbing a quick bite, we headed up to Johan and Christine's flat in Kentish Town, where after brief hellos and introductions we dropped our bags and headed back out. It was nice to just stroll in London without any burden. We headed to Camden Town, which was much livelier than when I had stayed there in February, with all kinds of colourful shops spilling onto the streets.
That evening we saw Leicester Square, St. Paul's Cathedral, the Millennium Bridge and Piccadilly Circus. It was after 11:30pm when we got back to Kentish Town and nearly 1:30am by the time we got to bed. Darryl's jetlag would soon be sorted.
In the morning we hit a little local cafe for some bacon and eggs and coffee. That provided adequate fuel for a trek into a new portion of Camden Town Market that we had not seen the previous evening. Our hosts had mentioned it was worth checking out. It was indeed. Food, clothing, and all kinds of other wares to be seen.
By early afternoon we were in Primrose Hill and Regent's Park. The weather was shaping up nicely, though the humidity was making it hard to regulate our temperatures. We got to talking about art and decided to stop in at the National Gallery to see some paintings. We only spent an hour or so there, taking in the highlights. Outside, rain was starting to fall, so we headed back to Kentish Town for a rest.
In the evening we headed out again, using the wonderfully convenient (but sometimes swelteringly hot) London Underground. We headed east on the District Line to the Tower of London and Tower Bridge. Evening was falling and the lights were beginning to flicker on. The air was also getting much colder and the wind was picking up. From London Bridge we headed further east to Canary Wharf and Canada Square, which at that time of night is pretty inactive.
Back in Leicester Square we caught a bite and then headed back to our cozy accommodations to finish up our second day together. Tomorrow it will be off to Nottingham for a few days before really beginning the journey. From there the plans will come as they come. There is a general plan but the specifics have been purposely left unplanned so that we are free to not be tied to a schedule. Spontaneity shall be the key.
Be sure to check out Darryl's blog for YouTube videos of our first day. We will be uploading these as we go so you can watch a new episode every few days or so.
Cheers.
posted by Mark Bauche at 11:50 PM
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