London Calling

I went to London the other day, just for the day, to visit a friend from college (Betsy) who just moved there. She was sweet enough to meet me at the train station at what was insanely early in London. In fact, we had to walk a while before anything opened just to grab a coffee/tea. I had no real idea what I wanted to do for the day and she was new in town so she whipped out two guide books each equipped with some very useful maps and we were on our way!

First stop though, Betsy found a flat, yay! So we met up with her new roomie, who we no doubt woke up to sort out some paper work. While the letting company was not much help, we did have a pleasant walk through the neighborhood and Victoria Park. A bit more walking and sme tube hopping and we fund ourselves in the Saturday morning Borough Market where vendors were selling everything from fresh fruits and veggies to poem recitations. One orator had a particularly large selection of Yeats, but not many takers. We made our way through the market and had lunch at sunfilled sandwich/pizza place I can't remember the name of, it kind of reminded me of Panera.

After lunch it was on to the Tate museum to check out some art. We got the audio guides, which helped us navigate the spaces efficiently but found the most curious pieces lacked any commentary, leaving us to contemplate things like why is a 30+ foot piece of rope on the floor considered art? Then it was out to walk the Thames before hitting up Parliament and Big Ben. We tried to go by 10 Downing Street only to find it crowded and roped off. Westminster Abbey was absolutely beautiful and a perfect stop for a refreshing ice cream.

Buckingham Palace was next, and though we missed the changing of the guard they two on duty did give us a little bit of action. The "real" guard dressed in military garb, with the automatic rifle seemed annoyed that this was his post...It was quite the sunny day in London so alot of my pics ended up being a bit back-lit; I guess we just walked right into the sun without realizing it, but it turned into a really nice day. Warning: London mornings are a bit frigid.

It was back to St. Pancras train station via St. James park, which was brimming with wildlife (ducks, geese, squirrels, etc).It reminded me alot of Central Park and made for a relaxing end of day stroll. At the station Betsy and I grabbed a pint before boarding our respective trains and when I returned to my flat in Paris I just crashed. Great day, great company-thanks Betsy!