Tower Bridge Tour and Thames Walk

My original plan for posting was to wait for a good amount of things to happen and then summarize it. But here it is Tuesday, and the only day "worth" writing about is Sunday.

On the weekends, the cafeteria at the Richmond Kensington campus is closed, so we're all forced to improvise in the most expensive neighborhood in one of the most expensive cities in the world. The cheapest thing you can buy is an unsatisfying and bland sandwich for three pounds ($6). And a decent take away lunch will set you back about 8 pounds ($16). So needless to say, when you hear about two pound fifty fish and chips across town, the half hour trip is actually worth it. And that is exactly what my friend Tim and I did on Sunday. We took the Tube across central London from Gloucester Road to the Tower, and walked about a mile, for a five dollar meal. After we ate two servings of fish and chips (mind you, it was the only thing we were going to eat all day), we headed off for the Tower Bridge. I've been in London for two weeks, I've been to Westminster Abbey, The British Museum, The V&A, The Imperial War Museum, and The Natural History Museum, and I haven't paid a pence for any of it. So it was hard, but Tim coaxed me into spending six pounds for the Tower Bridge exhibition and tour - and it was money well spent. We took an elevator to the top of the bridge and got to walk back and forth on the walkways, the view of the Thames and the London skyline was captivating and surreal - I'll be honest, it still hasn't sunk in that I'm actually here.

So after two hours of video presentations and placards, Tim and I walked along the south bank of the Thames. We accidentally stumbled into an enormous "Oyster and Seafood Festival" (I always thought oysters were included in the seafood category) where thousands of people were carrying around plates piled with odorous, but delicious-looking shrimp, prawns, clams, and oysters. So after fighting through the crowds and horrible cover bands we made it onto a street where we could actually breathe. We then walked about two miles along the Thames (which is clogged with debris, visible pollution, and disgusting seawater) to the Tate Modern, and there we crossed the Millennium Bridge to St. Paul's Cathedral. Then after hiking the mile to the Tube station we were finally on our way home. As with all of my other London experiences thus far, it was exhausting, yet very rewarding.

Let's see, what else? Oh, last night I went to a fantastic traditional pub, the Queen's Arms, with a few of my Boston University friends. And from there we headed to a ridiculously swanky and trendy bar on Queen's Gate Terrace. It was one of those places where the pints cost eight pounds, but luckily my mate John bought the round. It was quite nice, I actually got to know a few British people (as opposed to Americans for a change) pretty well and had them judge my accent, I don't know if they were just being nice, but I think I passed (at least it's near impossible to being as bad as Dick Van Dyke's cockney accent in Mary Poppins).

So that's about it for the last three days. These last few days have mainly revolved around class and the like, but the next two days will be far more eventful - although I probably won't be able to update until Sunday. Tomorrow I will be splitting up four hours of "class time" in the London Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), which should be interesting. And then the next day I will be boarding the train for my four-day solo trip to Bath, which, from what I hear, should be delighting in the least and enchanting at its height. Expect plenty of pictures and maybe a good story or two. This is where I sign off. Cheers!