My Trip to London, Through Pictures

This is Ed (picture courtesy of Ed's Facebook), the person who I contacted via couchsurfing (gotta love Couchsurfing!).
Once I got to the London Bridge train stop, I realized that my Turkcell coverage on my 30 Lira cell phone (aka cheap, used cell phone) only works in Turkey! That said, I tried calling Ed on a pay phone (they still exist in the UK, at least!), but the phone was always busy. Thus, I left a message saying where I was, and found myself a white chocolate chip cookie, to soothe my stomach as I waited to call him again. So there I was: disgruntled, excited, hungrily eating a gooey cookie while sitting on the ground of the train station. That's how Ed first saw me. He walked by, fumbling with his cell phone, and surreptitiously looking at me. I tried to give him a look that said, "Leave me alone to eat my cookie" (clearly, I have been in Istanbul for too long) until I realized that this might be Ed.
It was, and I was so embarrassed about being a white-chocolately, glaring mess, but we hit it off, as we are both interested in linguistics. He graciously took me on a walk around the Tower of London, St. Paul's Cathedral, and London Bridge, then we went to his apartment, where I soon fell asleep on his EXTREMELY comfy couch. That was the first time I couchsurfed by myself, and I gained a friend out of it: what more can you ask for?


The next day, I headed to the Victoria stop on the underground. I got excited upon seeing my first, genuine (the one in Rowe, MA doesn't count) British telephone booth, so I took a picture. Sadly, these days, with mankind's dependency on cell phones, they are not used so much to make phone calls. Rather, drunk sobs and bored teenagers use them as a water closet, and then people cover the inside with seedy pornographic advertisements, none of which I could have called art.


That day, the day of the premier of Michael Jackson's 'This is It,' I headed to my first London Hostel: St. Christopher's of Camden. I chose this hostel because I heard Camden town was THE place to be for young folks (did I just negate the emphasis on 'the' by saying something so clearly not 'hip' as 'young folks'? Yes, why yes I did.). Also, the movie theatre that was showing 'This is It' was located in this area. Well, all I can say about Camden town is that any Beloit student of the infamous 'art house' style would have gone nuts in the vintage, retro atmosphere of the markets, shops, etc. It was pretty groovy, as was 'This is It.'
The next day, I headed to the next hostel, chosen for its proximity to THE BRITISH MUSEUM in all of its glory. I have always wanted to go to the museum, and besides the fact that it was pretty packed (understandably so!), it was as glorious as I thought it would be. I reveled in the ancient Roman and Greek artifacts; marveled at the ancient Egyptian artifacts, about which I have little to no knowledge; and I was saddened that the ancient inscriptions section was closed.

The next part of my journey led me to THE BRITISH LIBRARY, where I have wanted to go to since I found out that it housed original Beatles lyrics. This place might have been my favorite place in London. As soon as you walk in, the section devoted to its treasures is right to the left. There, I was tickled to find some original work of Hardy, Austen, Carroll; original copies of 'I want to Hold Your Hand' and 'Help'; original manuscripts of Bach and Mozart; THE MAGNA CARTER, etc. Also, I was happy to see that the exhibition they were holding was all about T.S. Elliot, so I got to see a lot of his letters, including a letter to Lawrence Durrell (a new-found treasured author that I have recently come to love). Eeek! The pull to want to become a registered reader here is strong enough for me to want to move to London.

My next hostel, featured at left, Astor Hyde Park Hostel, was AMAZING. I felt like I was staying at a hotel, despite the fact that there were other people sharing my room. Directly across from said hostel is: Hyde Park! I had a gorgeous fall morning walking around this beautiful park, seeing the Peter Pan statue, the Princess Diana memorial, the Italian fountains, etc.

I eventually went to the famous Oxford Street, but really my main motivation was to see the BBC Broadcasting House. I saw it, and I also was privy to the commercialism that is absolutely rampant on this street of designer stores and boutiques. Bleh. I walked around for a while, though, as there was much people watching to be done!

So, of course, I crossed the River Thames and went to the Globe Theatre! After reluctantly handing over 15 pounds just to see the inside, I was told that they were not allowing pictures to be taken at that time. Anyway, it was just as circular ('Henry V', anyone?) as I would have thought. Really, I didn't feel that the atmosphere held the atmosphere of Shakespeare's times: it just felt a little too restored...I couldn't smell Elizabethan theatre, you know?
I just had to see the famous Christie's of London, so: here it is! I tried peeking into some windows, but all I saw were weirdly-shaped statues that were not at all appealing, to me. Ah well, they can't please everyone. For all I know, those statues were from the backyard of Woody Allen.
Well, I met up with Ed -- such a swell guy -- and we walked around what used to be London's red-light district: Covent Garden. He helped me find the Duchess Theatre, which was very nice of him as it turned out to be a slight ordeal. I had booked a ticket in advance to see 'Endgame,' one of my all-time favorite plays. I walked in only to be directed to the bar, where American Airlines (what? When did I land in an American airport? I am still confused about why they were apparently sponsoring this bar...) was serving drinks. After NOT paying three pounds for a program (thank you, America, for not demanding that money at most theatres), I watched the show, madly scribbling in the dark any crazy epiphanies that came my way; it's one thing to read a play, and it's another to see a play performed, but it's an entirel inspiring experience to read a play, really delving into it (thank you, Steve Wright) and to then see it performed. Wow. During the encore, the actor who played Hamm threw me a kiss (I was sitting in the fourth row!). Afterward, I got a chance to ask him some questions, which is when he congratulated me for GETTING the show, and laughing at all the right moments. I melted a little, I must say.

I could not have asked for a better way to end my all too brief trip to London. Of course, the next morning, the rails weren't working, and then I missed my flight and stayed an extra night without any pounds to my name, but let's just say I ended it on a chess play, and I want to become a British citizen.