Zone 1

Check the time stamp at the bottom of this entry. It's about 6 p.m. and I just got back home from an entire day of traveling... ON FOOT. I had promised a few of my new friends here in London that I'd take a trip to Big Ben. Having got home at 4 a.m. last night I was tempted to sleep in and just forget about it. I'm only in London once. I woke up just as I promised and 6 of us headed for the streets. Matt from Ohio, my roommate Chris from UF, Candy and Jesse from Oswego NY and Shane from Southern New Hampshire. We set off to the streets just hoping to get a glimpse of Big Ben.

London (the city itself) is divided up into 6 zones. The main attractions are primariy found within Zone 1 the bullseye of the target. Fortunately, my school is in Zone 1 and a brisk walk away from all the sights. We headed out on foot just intending to see the bronze tower that London is so famously known for. We made our way down Gower Street and passed a ton of little specialty shops, pubs, restaurants and weaved our way through allies. It was exactly like you would imagine it to be if you walked down an old english town. A few of the buildings looked like cottages, old style with a mix of modern, contemporary structures. I took a few pictures of the some of the streets so you can get a feel for what they were like.

As we traveled down the streets that aren't laid out in a easy to understand manner we happened along Trafalgar Square where a Russian festival was going on. It was packed with people and the music they were blasting made the sidewake shake with the poppy beats of Aqua's "Barbie Girl". Pretty funny.

Just down from Trafalgar Square we could see the gold station that adorns the front of Buckingham Palace. The changing of the guard happens every even day (for example on the 16th, 18th, 20th etc.) at what we thought was 1p.m. We decided to head towards the palace and the half a mile or so stretch to reach it builds the anticipation. To the left is St. James' Park (similar to Central Park) you walk down a dirt road and red road provides a means for cars to travel. As you walk towards the palace it seems surreal that you are standing just feet away. I mean you read and hear about Buckingham palace in school, on t.v. and in history but you never thinkt hat you'd be walk to it, taking pictures of it and seeing it with your on eyes.

As we approached the palace you anticipate this grandesque palace, but in reality it looks more like a commercial shopping center... well sort of. There were crowds of people outside from everywhere taking pictures. It happened that we arrived just the changing of the guards was taking place. Something not many get a chance to see, but I may get a few opportunities. It was like a parade of platoons of men in gray wool marching and drumming around the square and down the roads. It was pretty interesting to see and exciting to watch. You look up at the palace and it's hard to believe the Queen could actually live there. It seems a little too hoaky for me, but whatever.

We made our way around St. James' Park towards Westminister Abbey (a huge church and great photo opportunity). It's this amazing cathedral with goth inspired architecture. We asked if Abbey Road ( THE ABBEY ROAD on the BEATLES ALBUM) was near by but that's somewhere in the country.

We then made our way towards Big Ben which in person isn't all that big. It's this bronze, yellow, copper tone tower attaching to Parliament. You can pay to go in and watch the debate and apparently through shit at eachother. We crossed the Waterloo Bridge over the famous Thames River that splits London in half over to the southbank and walked along the river. We passed the world reknowned London Eye (the large ferris wheel) that's architecturally impressive and looks completely faulty. You ride in these pill like capsules and pay £10 ($20) for a 20-30 minute ferris wheel ride. The capsules are made of glass so the views are said to be outstanding. I'm saving that trip for when Laura comes.

We walked along the river and found Gabriel's Warf a little strip of shops, bakeries, bars and restaurants. We went a little further into the suburb to Duchy Street (haha Dooky) and ate at Youngin's. We met two Australian bar tenders who were incredibly friendly and I was shocked because I've only been faced with snotty Brits since I've arrived. They really made a great impression on me and I may just travel to Australia next time. Haha.

We continued along the Thames till we reached the Millenium Bridge. Another impressive piece of architecture. It's a thin steel bridge that seems like it's hovering over the Thames. We took the bridge over to the Northbank of the river and walked towards Tower Bridge another half a mile hike. By now our feet are exhausted, it's freezing outside and there's alight drizzle falling. A typical day in London apparently, but it was the first sign of rain since I've been here.

As we approached Tower Bridge we stopped of all places Starbucks to get something to warm up and wake us up. It had been a long day and it was freezing out. If you stay in the cold long enough, even if it's 40 degrees outside it gets to you. We made our way to Tower Bridge. Another impressive piece of construction around of centuries. Two Towers adorn the bridge sustained by aqua wires and poles or so they seem. According to history (because I read a lot about this bridge in travel books) I believe they use to display the heads of people who were executed atop these towers back in the day. There were points when several heads at once were found on top of the bridge. Pretty morbid and nasty.

After crossing the bridge we came upon Tower of London. A fortress of sorts that's survived for 900 years. It has been an arsenal, prison, torture chamber, execution sight, palace, and fort among other things I'm sure. By now we've managed to walk a large part of Zone 1 within what they call "The City". We decide to make our way back home to Russell Square but make a pit stop at St. Paul's Cathedral. A protestant church where Princess Diana was married. The wedding was televised on television. Above all else it's the largest church in Europe and pretty well known.

We entered the church in hopes of seeing tombs and the impresive art, architecture and rich history. What we found was the Crypt Cafe (sounds tempting) and a closed museum that charges £8 to go to the top of the dome. As we were leaving fortunately for us a EveningSong precession was about to take place. We decide to take a look and enter the cathedral. We weren't allowed to take pictures or film inside the church out of respect for the people praying. I could honestly do this church no justice by describing it on this blog. St. Paul's is one of those places that leaves you speechless. As you make your way through the revolving door monuments, marble statues and iron crypts line the marble floor. You make your way to the center of the church and it hits you. The place is unbelieveable. There are paintings one the ceilings, gold encrusted all over, an incredible alter and it's just too hard to describe. We heard the young boys choir singing and it sort of gives you chills the place is so amazing. You look up and the place is just this canvas! I wish I could descirbe it better, but it's just incredible. You leave the church in awe. I'll leave it at that.

By now it's 5 p.m. and we have quite a hefty trek back to our residence. The weather outside is colder and the drizzle begins to fall a little more frequently. We pass more pubs, specialty shops, restaurants and church's on the way home.

Today, I can say I found my feet. I saw all the places people come here and spend 3 days doing. While I didn't spend much time at each of my stops, it was enough for me to gain a better appreciation for the city I'm living in. There is so much history and rich architecture here. You'd never believe places like this existed or that these have been around for so many years (of course they've been renovated to keep with the times, but what hasn't these days). Today's taken a lot out of me both physically and mentally. There was so much to take in and there was so much I wanted to hold on to. I took a ton of pictures when my camera wasn't acting up. It was an amazing day, spent with some really great people. We took our time, weren't afraid to get lost and no one complained-- the perfect attitude for traveling.

After being here for 6 days I can already see that the people I've met here will all impact my time here each in their own profound way. I can see myself walking away from this with some really great friends. Hell, I've already been invited to go skiing in New Hampshire this winter. I'm beat!