London part deux

Slept well, woke up in good ol’ Chiswick (pronounced Chisick, no W)

We stopped at a market on the way to the metro for our breakfast. The little markets here are considerably better quality than the ones back home, you can actually get a decent meal that doesn’t leave you slightly queasy! I picked up some little pasties called “chelseas” and some juice. The chelseas were like little pastries shaped liked cinnamon rolls with currants instead of cinnamon. I like the pastries in Europe waaay better than America because they’re not all sweet. No nasty frosting, just a little glaze and some fruit, usually. Or a little butter. Mmmmm…..

Being Sunday morning, we decided to do what any good little Mormon kids would do and go to church. Only we decided to do it Europe style and attend the morning service at Westminster Abbey.

We went to a Matins service that involved a lot of singing from the choir, a sermon and some good ol’ fashioned creed recitations. The Abbey is beautiful, the sermon was quite good and it really was nice all around. The cathedrals were built to draw your eyes and thoughts to heaven
and they fulfill their role quite well. You end up looking up and pondering a lot.

Westminster Abbey is beautiful. I love the architecture here in Europe. I’ve realized that I prefer architecture to many of the other forms of art (painting, etc.) In fact, painting is probably my leats favorite. I enjoy sketches, sculptures and other things more than paintings. But back to the point, I prefer just wandering around London looking at the buildings and seeing the city to going to crowded museums and taking tours. Maybe that’s just me.

After the service we walked to Trafalgar Square, taking in the sights along the way. Big Ben, Parliament, countless churches and old government buildings went before our eyes. Interestingly, one almost becomes immune to magnificent spectacles. I caught myself several times dismissing absolutely beautiful buildings as “Oh, there’s another one”. You almost expect grandeur on every corner. And you’re rarely disappointed.

In Trafalgar we hopped on a red double-decker bus for a “hop-on hop-off” tour that would basically allow us to roam around London, grabbing a bus whenever we felt so moved. That worked out well, as we didn’t have to follow any certain schedule but could enjoy whatever we wanted for as long as we wanted. Again, more sights. St. Paul’s Cathedral, London Bridge, Tower Bridge, Tower of London.

Our guide, a little English gal with a thick London accent and a very poor grasp on humor explained them all in a passing manner as if they were just buildings. She spent more time gossiping about English celebrities like Diana, David Beckham and Prince Henry or whoever than talking about the actual city (Maybe I need to read more tabloids?)

One of the girls in our group was desperately looking for a book by one of her favorite authors that is only published in England and that led us on a tour of London’s finest book establishments. Interestingly, there is one road through town that houses nearly all of the bookstores. You have the regulars like Borders and Barnes & Nobles in addition to countless cramped little used bookstores. I loved going through these little trashy stores and seeing what they had, although I was disappointed in their sections on Philosophy. Who woulda thought that obscure philosophy books aren’t a hot item for used bookstores to carry? Hahahahahaha…

We wandered into an area of town called Covent Garden, known for its gardens and dining options. We were looking for somewhere to get some “authentic” English cuisine. What better place than a pub? We found a suitably seedy looking establishment full of English chaps getting smashed and roaring at a football game going on. We were planning on getting fish and chips (the classic) but when the menu came I saw an item I couldn’t resist:

Toad-in-the-hole.

Wow. Can it get ANY more English than that? Let me tell you! When I got my food, it was a large scone thing with limp veggies, mashed potatoes and a curled beef sausage in it. Oh, and the whole thing was absolutely DROWNING in gravy. I was floored. Anyhow, a picture is attached.

It tasted EXACTLY like you’re imagining right now. Doused in gravy.

After dinner we jumped back on the Tube (which we had completely mastered by this point) and headed back to Chiswick. We decided to go out and search down an internet place so we could tell out parents and friends we were alive. We found one, a little joint operated by two middle-eastern gentlemen that was closing just as we arrived. We gave them out best poor-students-in-dire-need-of-an-internet-fix routine and they allowed us 10 minutes to do our stuff. We all fired off really short letters (much to the ire of our parents) and hurried out so they could close.

Oh, did I mention the weather? This whole time it had been raining. Not any kind of downpour, mind you, but seattle drizzly rain. It actually made sightseeing quite pleasant as it wasn’t too hot and kept the lines down. We never really had to wear a coat so we weren’t held back at all by the water. And, frankly, I think drizzly is a much more fitting backdrop for London than sunny and warm.

Back to the hotel, crawled into bed and prepared for a big day. Off to Paris in the morning!