My flight from Kathmandu to London was just perfect! Everything was
on time and the Delhi airport was really nice (despite was some people
had led me to believe!). Walking through Heathrow I heard some English
ladies complaining about the state of the bathrooms in the airport and I
thought "ladies, you should have seen the bathrooms where I just
came from!" I bought a map at the info desk and had the man explain the
oyster pass to me (used for buses and the underground), then I was off
to my hostel, Palmer's Swiss Cottage (which was SO NICE! As it should
be, for the price you pay, lol).
I spent the next three days in London and crammed in as much as humanly possible. On the Thursday I started at Kensington Gardens and spent a good hour just wandering through the park (so quiet after Thamel!). In the Italian Gardens I found a statue of Jenner (creator of the smallpox vaccine), which made me giddy with excitement. Next I saw the Albert Memorial and Royal Albert Hall (aaaaahhhhh!!!!). I walked to the Natural History Museum after that; I had read about it in a Short History of Nearly Everything so it was exciting to actually be there (the dinosaurs were my favourite, as they always are). I walked by Buckingham Palace which, sorry London, was boring. I probably should have timed it so I could have been there for the changing of the guards, but oh well. Then it was Westminster Abbey and the Parliament Houses, which were beautiful and probably one of my favourite things. I resolved that I would come back to a church service at Westminster Abbey so I didn't have to pay the $32 admission (yes, I know! $32 to see the inside of a church?!). There were roadblocks all around the Parliament Houses, which I later learned was because the Queen was there, lol. Not too far away was Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery. Normally I'm not all about art museums, but I was told I needed to come here. I got to see Van Gogh's "Sunflowers," but mostly art is lost on me, lol. My last stop was Piccadilly Circus, which was not a circus at all! (did you already know that?). And that was the end of day one. Are you exhausted just reading about it? I was SO tired!
Natural History Museum
Westminster Abbey
The first line of my journal entry for day two reads "Oooooh, I am so out of shape!" And this was because after another 11 hour day of walking I was essentially a cripple. I took the tube from the hostel to St. Paul's Cathedral in the morning, again noting the crazy admission fee they wanted me to pay. Instead I snuck in with a high school group, ha ha! The cathedral was so gorgeous, not $30 gorgeous, but still very nice :) From here I crossed the Millenium Bridge to the Tate Modern, which I enjoyed. Of course, I didn't understand anything, and there was a lot of "I could have thrown some towels in a heap too," but mostly I really like modern art museums for exactly that reason. After the Tate Modern I followed the River Thames to Southwark Cathedral and then the Borough Market. The Markets turned out to be my favourite thing in London. The Borough Market is a large food market that's open Thur-Sat, and they even had a gluten-free vendor, so that day I had brambley apple cake! I crossed over the Tower Bridge to the Tower of London, but again, didn't go inside (this one was $40 admission. Very pretty from the outside though!). I took the tube to the British Library but got kicked out for napping on the benches (what kind of a library doesn't allow napping?!). Down the street was the Wellcome Collection (a museum), which has permanent exhibits about medicine, genomes and the human body. Favourites included fur and sheep from Dolly (the world's first successfully cloned animal, a sheep), and a bookshelf full of binders containing all the code from the human genome (I almost peed myself with excitement). The special exhibit they had on in May was about the brain, and that was neat too. I was all excited to see the slice of Albert Einstein's brain... until I got there and realized it was on loan from the Mutter Museum in Philadelphia, which I have been to! I spent the rest of the night wandering on Oxford street and through Regent's Park (and by "wandering" I really mean "getting lost"). By the time I got back to the hostel I passed out.
St. Paul's Cathedral
Day 3 of London started out not so great, because I woke up with massively swollen lymph nodes. Nepal attacks again!!!!! As a result, I didn't get as much done as I would have liked. I started out with the British Museum (but only floor one, because I couldn't find the stairs to the second floor and was too exhausted to look, LOL). The Egyptian exhibit was the best, especially seeing the Rosetta Stone. I went to Covent Gardens and the Jubilee market next, then found the Waterloo station to buy my ticket for tomorrow. I took the tube to the London Bridge, back to the Borough Market for a Victoria Sandwich cake (white cake with strawberry filling). Next was the Science Museum, which was not my cup of tea (despite the name!), too much Industrial Revolution and not enough bookshelves with the human genome. I walked along Hyde Park and Green Park before admitting I was exhausted, heading back to the hostel and watching Headhunters at the Cineplex down the street (GREAT movie, btw).
Victoria Sandwich Cake
On May 12th I took the train to Alton to meet my friend Kay. If you head back in my blog posts you can find the ~3 weeks Kay and I spent together as volunteers in Pokhara! I was looking for cheap flights home and found two super cheap ones on Air Transat out of London and Barcelona. When I told Kay she said "well you have to come to England then!" And so, fastforward a few months and now I'm staying at her place in Hampshire for a week (sometimes life is funny). Her daughter Sarah came over on the Sunday for dinner and we all had a great time. Well, that is until I was struck by the fever and chills! Nepal was back full force. The next day Kay drove me to the NHS hospital in Winchester, and so begins my love affair with England. I mean, I was already hooked with the Jenner statue and gluten-free cakes, but the healthcare system just sealed the deal. Not only did I not have to pay for my visit, but I discovered that ALL prescriptions are one price... every time... for everyone... not matter what it is. AND! I was in and out of the ER in less than 3 hours. They didn't even ask for my health card. England, I love you. After picking up my second round of antibiotics we headed to Winchester Cathedral and generally wandered through some charity shops for the rest of the day.
The next day we started off at Stonehenge and had the most beautiful weather! I was very lucky that I managed to get student admission for most attractions this week, even though the picture on my student card is clearly super old, lol. Anyway, I mention the admission because I remember at Stonehenge they claimed that your entry fee goes towards "maintenance" of the sight. Oh come on! How exactly are you maintaining the stones? Yeah, that's what I thought. Regardless, I can now say that I've seen it! Next we drove to Bath, possibly one of the loveliest cities I've ever seen. We of course went to the Roman Baths which have a really cool history. We even got to drink the bath water! (I think I'll stick with my tap water). We got super lost trying to get out of the city, but on the upshot it means I got to see more of Bath :)
Stonehenge
Roman Baths, Bath
Later in the week we did Jane Austen's house, which has been turned into a neat little museum. I didn't know that she died of a rare form of tuberculosis! That was my favourite part. Well, that and the black cat with polydactylism (extra digits) that we found in the garden. We also did a trip to Brighton to visit Kay's other daughter, Emma. In Brighton we went to the Pavillion, a former residence of the Prince of Wales. I wish we could have taken pictures of the inside, because it was so cool! For brunch Emma took us to this vegetarian buffet called Iydea. There were lots of vegan and gluten-free choices too, so it was perfect. We finished off the day wandering around the town and eventually out to the pier, where Kay had her ice cream cone stolen by the biggest seagull I have ever seen. If you ever go to Brighton, you must go to the pier! There are all sorts of neat food shops built along it, and there's even a carnival (yes, on the pier, including rides). And of course, what trip to England would be complete without a castle?! That day Kay and I also spent a few hours at Arundel castle. It was built in the 11th century, but most of it had to be rebuilt in the 18th and 19th centuries. It was a truly spectacular building, and the grounds surrounding it were gorgeous too (I wonder how much they pay their gardeners?). Notable experiences include embarrassing myself by having such squeaky shoes in the deadly quiet cathedral and the gluten-free flapjack I had at the cafe (gluten-free everything clearly abounds in England).
Brighton Pier
Arundel Castle
On my last day in Hampshire with Kay we drove to Portsmouth, a seaside city where the Solent joins the English Channel. There we went up Spinnaker tower, where I was still unable to walk on their glass floor (fear of heights, not quite conquered). We also walked along the historic dockyards and saw the HMS Warrior and HMS Victory (which I am told are quite famous, lol). We ended the day with a nice dinner at this restaurant called The Swan with some of Kay's old work colleagues. I had a tuna nicoise salad, which was amazing. The next morning Kay drove me back to the train station and I left for London again! After dumping my stuff at the hostel I walked through Green Park, along Piccadilly and to the Jubilee market (crafts on the weekend!). Afterwards I headed to Leicester Square and saw "The Lucky One" at the theatre. I had just finished reading the book about a week ago, so it was interesting to see the movie. I had a gluten-free, vegan flapjack at Beatroot and then headed back to the hostel after shopping along Oxford street. I got tripped by a blind man and found a family of goats chilling out in a park along the way (it actually happened).
Spinnaker Tower
For my last day in London I started off by going to a church service at Westminster Abbey (I said I would!). Surprisingly it was only 30 minutes and I did get to see the inside of the church. After this I went back to the British Museum to do the second floor, lol. Now let me rave about my lunch. I had googled this vegan buffet in Soho called Vantra, so that was a must-do for my last day. This place was awesome! Not only was it gluten-free, but there were even lots of raw stuff, like sprouts and sprouted bread. I finished it off with a raw chocolate cake with pistachio crust and almond cream. The last place I went to were the Camden Markets, which were so great. They sell just about everything and there is a massive food section. I happened upon a stall advertising "gluten-free vegan cookies," and I knew I had found heaven (London was so worth the 10 pounds I gained). Such a great final day!
The next morning I got up early, caught my train to Gatwick, almost got put on another flight to Montreal because of overbooking, but ultimately ended up in Pearson only 45 minutes late. Mom and Khalid were there to meet me. After lots of hugging I re-took possession of my engagement ring and we headed to Whitby where there was lots of family waiting!
This trip has truly been incredible, and I'm so thankful to everyone who sent me updates about their life and words of encouragement. Being home has been amazing, though I don't know where to start when people ask how the trip was! I am so, so glad that I took this 6 months for me and did something I've been wanting to do ever since Cambodia. To add to that, I am so, so glad to be home! Highlights of my week back include seeing my new apartment in Guelph for the first time, church on Sunday, Transformers bedtime stories, snuggling with my kitties and spending time with people that I love.
I took 2177 photos and read 52 books, saw 6 countries and made lots of friends. There may be posts to come in the future, but let me end this one off with the quote that is written on the first page of my journal:
Love from Canada,
Vicki
I spent the next three days in London and crammed in as much as humanly possible. On the Thursday I started at Kensington Gardens and spent a good hour just wandering through the park (so quiet after Thamel!). In the Italian Gardens I found a statue of Jenner (creator of the smallpox vaccine), which made me giddy with excitement. Next I saw the Albert Memorial and Royal Albert Hall (aaaaahhhhh!!!!). I walked to the Natural History Museum after that; I had read about it in a Short History of Nearly Everything so it was exciting to actually be there (the dinosaurs were my favourite, as they always are). I walked by Buckingham Palace which, sorry London, was boring. I probably should have timed it so I could have been there for the changing of the guards, but oh well. Then it was Westminster Abbey and the Parliament Houses, which were beautiful and probably one of my favourite things. I resolved that I would come back to a church service at Westminster Abbey so I didn't have to pay the $32 admission (yes, I know! $32 to see the inside of a church?!). There were roadblocks all around the Parliament Houses, which I later learned was because the Queen was there, lol. Not too far away was Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery. Normally I'm not all about art museums, but I was told I needed to come here. I got to see Van Gogh's "Sunflowers," but mostly art is lost on me, lol. My last stop was Piccadilly Circus, which was not a circus at all! (did you already know that?). And that was the end of day one. Are you exhausted just reading about it? I was SO tired!
The first line of my journal entry for day two reads "Oooooh, I am so out of shape!" And this was because after another 11 hour day of walking I was essentially a cripple. I took the tube from the hostel to St. Paul's Cathedral in the morning, again noting the crazy admission fee they wanted me to pay. Instead I snuck in with a high school group, ha ha! The cathedral was so gorgeous, not $30 gorgeous, but still very nice :) From here I crossed the Millenium Bridge to the Tate Modern, which I enjoyed. Of course, I didn't understand anything, and there was a lot of "I could have thrown some towels in a heap too," but mostly I really like modern art museums for exactly that reason. After the Tate Modern I followed the River Thames to Southwark Cathedral and then the Borough Market. The Markets turned out to be my favourite thing in London. The Borough Market is a large food market that's open Thur-Sat, and they even had a gluten-free vendor, so that day I had brambley apple cake! I crossed over the Tower Bridge to the Tower of London, but again, didn't go inside (this one was $40 admission. Very pretty from the outside though!). I took the tube to the British Library but got kicked out for napping on the benches (what kind of a library doesn't allow napping?!). Down the street was the Wellcome Collection (a museum), which has permanent exhibits about medicine, genomes and the human body. Favourites included fur and sheep from Dolly (the world's first successfully cloned animal, a sheep), and a bookshelf full of binders containing all the code from the human genome (I almost peed myself with excitement). The special exhibit they had on in May was about the brain, and that was neat too. I was all excited to see the slice of Albert Einstein's brain... until I got there and realized it was on loan from the Mutter Museum in Philadelphia, which I have been to! I spent the rest of the night wandering on Oxford street and through Regent's Park (and by "wandering" I really mean "getting lost"). By the time I got back to the hostel I passed out.
Day 3 of London started out not so great, because I woke up with massively swollen lymph nodes. Nepal attacks again!!!!! As a result, I didn't get as much done as I would have liked. I started out with the British Museum (but only floor one, because I couldn't find the stairs to the second floor and was too exhausted to look, LOL). The Egyptian exhibit was the best, especially seeing the Rosetta Stone. I went to Covent Gardens and the Jubilee market next, then found the Waterloo station to buy my ticket for tomorrow. I took the tube to the London Bridge, back to the Borough Market for a Victoria Sandwich cake (white cake with strawberry filling). Next was the Science Museum, which was not my cup of tea (despite the name!), too much Industrial Revolution and not enough bookshelves with the human genome. I walked along Hyde Park and Green Park before admitting I was exhausted, heading back to the hostel and watching Headhunters at the Cineplex down the street (GREAT movie, btw).
On May 12th I took the train to Alton to meet my friend Kay. If you head back in my blog posts you can find the ~3 weeks Kay and I spent together as volunteers in Pokhara! I was looking for cheap flights home and found two super cheap ones on Air Transat out of London and Barcelona. When I told Kay she said "well you have to come to England then!" And so, fastforward a few months and now I'm staying at her place in Hampshire for a week (sometimes life is funny). Her daughter Sarah came over on the Sunday for dinner and we all had a great time. Well, that is until I was struck by the fever and chills! Nepal was back full force. The next day Kay drove me to the NHS hospital in Winchester, and so begins my love affair with England. I mean, I was already hooked with the Jenner statue and gluten-free cakes, but the healthcare system just sealed the deal. Not only did I not have to pay for my visit, but I discovered that ALL prescriptions are one price... every time... for everyone... not matter what it is. AND! I was in and out of the ER in less than 3 hours. They didn't even ask for my health card. England, I love you. After picking up my second round of antibiotics we headed to Winchester Cathedral and generally wandered through some charity shops for the rest of the day.
The next day we started off at Stonehenge and had the most beautiful weather! I was very lucky that I managed to get student admission for most attractions this week, even though the picture on my student card is clearly super old, lol. Anyway, I mention the admission because I remember at Stonehenge they claimed that your entry fee goes towards "maintenance" of the sight. Oh come on! How exactly are you maintaining the stones? Yeah, that's what I thought. Regardless, I can now say that I've seen it! Next we drove to Bath, possibly one of the loveliest cities I've ever seen. We of course went to the Roman Baths which have a really cool history. We even got to drink the bath water! (I think I'll stick with my tap water). We got super lost trying to get out of the city, but on the upshot it means I got to see more of Bath :)
Later in the week we did Jane Austen's house, which has been turned into a neat little museum. I didn't know that she died of a rare form of tuberculosis! That was my favourite part. Well, that and the black cat with polydactylism (extra digits) that we found in the garden. We also did a trip to Brighton to visit Kay's other daughter, Emma. In Brighton we went to the Pavillion, a former residence of the Prince of Wales. I wish we could have taken pictures of the inside, because it was so cool! For brunch Emma took us to this vegetarian buffet called Iydea. There were lots of vegan and gluten-free choices too, so it was perfect. We finished off the day wandering around the town and eventually out to the pier, where Kay had her ice cream cone stolen by the biggest seagull I have ever seen. If you ever go to Brighton, you must go to the pier! There are all sorts of neat food shops built along it, and there's even a carnival (yes, on the pier, including rides). And of course, what trip to England would be complete without a castle?! That day Kay and I also spent a few hours at Arundel castle. It was built in the 11th century, but most of it had to be rebuilt in the 18th and 19th centuries. It was a truly spectacular building, and the grounds surrounding it were gorgeous too (I wonder how much they pay their gardeners?). Notable experiences include embarrassing myself by having such squeaky shoes in the deadly quiet cathedral and the gluten-free flapjack I had at the cafe (gluten-free everything clearly abounds in England).
On my last day in Hampshire with Kay we drove to Portsmouth, a seaside city where the Solent joins the English Channel. There we went up Spinnaker tower, where I was still unable to walk on their glass floor (fear of heights, not quite conquered). We also walked along the historic dockyards and saw the HMS Warrior and HMS Victory (which I am told are quite famous, lol). We ended the day with a nice dinner at this restaurant called The Swan with some of Kay's old work colleagues. I had a tuna nicoise salad, which was amazing. The next morning Kay drove me back to the train station and I left for London again! After dumping my stuff at the hostel I walked through Green Park, along Piccadilly and to the Jubilee market (crafts on the weekend!). Afterwards I headed to Leicester Square and saw "The Lucky One" at the theatre. I had just finished reading the book about a week ago, so it was interesting to see the movie. I had a gluten-free, vegan flapjack at Beatroot and then headed back to the hostel after shopping along Oxford street. I got tripped by a blind man and found a family of goats chilling out in a park along the way (it actually happened).
For my last day in London I started off by going to a church service at Westminster Abbey (I said I would!). Surprisingly it was only 30 minutes and I did get to see the inside of the church. After this I went back to the British Museum to do the second floor, lol. Now let me rave about my lunch. I had googled this vegan buffet in Soho called Vantra, so that was a must-do for my last day. This place was awesome! Not only was it gluten-free, but there were even lots of raw stuff, like sprouts and sprouted bread. I finished it off with a raw chocolate cake with pistachio crust and almond cream. The last place I went to were the Camden Markets, which were so great. They sell just about everything and there is a massive food section. I happened upon a stall advertising "gluten-free vegan cookies," and I knew I had found heaven (London was so worth the 10 pounds I gained). Such a great final day!
The next morning I got up early, caught my train to Gatwick, almost got put on another flight to Montreal because of overbooking, but ultimately ended up in Pearson only 45 minutes late. Mom and Khalid were there to meet me. After lots of hugging I re-took possession of my engagement ring and we headed to Whitby where there was lots of family waiting!
This trip has truly been incredible, and I'm so thankful to everyone who sent me updates about their life and words of encouragement. Being home has been amazing, though I don't know where to start when people ask how the trip was! I am so, so glad that I took this 6 months for me and did something I've been wanting to do ever since Cambodia. To add to that, I am so, so glad to be home! Highlights of my week back include seeing my new apartment in Guelph for the first time, church on Sunday, Transformers bedtime stories, snuggling with my kitties and spending time with people that I love.
I took 2177 photos and read 52 books, saw 6 countries and made lots of friends. There may be posts to come in the future, but let me end this one off with the quote that is written on the first page of my journal:
"In twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the things you did do. So sail away from the safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover - Mark Twain"
Love from Canada,
Vicki
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