London Town - day 2

originally written - Feb 3, 2010

It might be because I have barely eaten in the last 24 hours or because my body is in shock from traveling still – but I'm completely knackered!! I just sat down for the first time and it's almost 5pm. I spent all of today walking around bits of London. This city is so riddled with history, there's simply too much to see! The weather is just like yesterday, almost always sort of raining. It's very cold, but it's a nice change from the dry cold in Canada.

I began by taking a bus across Vauxhall Bridge and getting off near Victoria Station. I walked up Buckingham Palace Road until I came to the palace itself. The palace is very impressive and I had a great time watching the guards walk to and fro. I left the palace and walked through St. James's Park towards the Churchill Museum. I took lots of pictures of the birds – some I haven't seen before, others I have like the white swan and then there were the Canadian geese and pigeons. As I walked along I couldn't help but sing, “Feed The Birds.” The music from Mary Poppins is dominating my stay here in London.

I walked down to Parliament Square and admired Westminster Abbey and a beautiful church right beside it (the name escapes me) with sundials on it's steeple. It's touted “the church of the House of Commons” - I'm assuming it's not Catholic! Just there is also the Houses of Parliament and “Big Ben” the famous clock tower. Exhausted with walking by now I hopped on the the underground train and got off a few stops to the North. Here was Trafalgar Square! Right beside the square is the National Galleries and so I decided to have a look. The galleries are jammed-full of amazing paintings and exhibits – I can't believe it's all free!

Now I'm filling up on latte and soup of the day in an Italian restaurant so I can see maybe one or two more things before heading back to my couch surfing host's house tonight. I've brought homemade (by mom!) pancake mix and Canadian maple syrup and so we're going to have a feast for dinner! The hosts I've got are great! They brought me across the city to their friend's house last night and though I was tired, it was good to get out on my first night here. After one more good sleep I'll be back to normal.