London: Day 3

LI have to say, I am incredibly allergic to this city. I've been trying to type up this post for the past ten minutes and can't stop sneezing. I bought some allergy medicine, so I'll be taking that later on. It must be something in bloom which I'm not used to. 

Anyway, today I headed for the Tate Britain first thing in the morning. The day was absolutely glorious today, cold and sunny. The way to the Tate is a bit of a long stroll from Westminster station, so I was very glad the weather wasn't as manic-depressive as yesterday. 

I thought this was very pretty on the way to the museum.

As was this. The museum itself was even better, I felt, than the National Gallery. They have some great selections at the Tate, with one in particular that  was dying to see: The Lady of Shalott by Waterhouse.  I have a print of it hanging in my room back home so I wanted to see the real thing. It truly doesn't disappoint. 

There were also some great Francis Bacon works which, as always, border on the frightening, and a number of Singer Sergent paintings, as well. 

Three hours later, I was back out of the museum and heading to St. James' Park. Now, fair warning ahead: I took a lot of pictures of birds and water fowl. 

One of my very aggressive obsessions is birds, especially the corvids, which include crows, ravens, and some other species. So what could I do when I saw this?

Walk right up to the raven, of course, and offer him the only bit of food I had on me which was a cherry flavored lifesaver. Which he then proceeded to bury by putting a leaf on top of it.

There were so many ravens. I've never seen one in real life, since we only have crows in Miami, so their size amazed me, as well as how rambunctious they are. They fly at all speeds, scream their heads off, and hop around like they own the place.

There was also one moody swan resting and staring at all of us with an "yeah, and what?" expression. 

Just look at him.

There were also geese with their goslings which the mother was very anxious to keep away from the ravens.

The father was patrolling the area non-stop. And I really mean patrolling. He charged at anything that came near. 

The swan doesn't seem too concerned, though.

Look at this. This is my heaven. Ravns flying all around, grabbing food that people threw at them. I had to, of course, find a stall that sold cakes and muffins because it would have been blasphemy to stand around without feeding these animals.

It's really a good thing I don't live in London because I would do nothing but sit at the park feeding ravens. 

These two ducks didn't even look up when I got close. 

This park is unbelievable. 

I'm going to ask my sister what the bird on the left is because I don't know. They were soo cute, though. You can see the babies behind the mom, who was also makng sure the raven didn't fly away with one of them.

Just look at her. Look at her feet. She wasn't afraid at all to get close to humans. On the contrary, she would look up at us to see who had food. Then she'd take whatever she could get and she'd run right to the babies to feed them. 

The babies would sit and flap their wings asking for food.

Running back for more lemon pound cake.

This little dude was hilarious. He was quacking away at everything, coming up to us and begging with so much swagger.

Most of the ducks were sleeping in the sun like those two in the middle.

Behind the gull you can see the nest of one of those strange birds. There were six or seven babies coming in and out of there.

Lots of swans, too, making so much noise. 

I bought another two small pound cakes and you can see the expectation in their faces. This is where I became, as my sister called it, "the crazy bird lady". I fed the ravens and then I felt something heavy land on my head: one of the pigeons, who decided it was as good a landing place as any. When the other pigeons saw that I made no effort to remove the bird from my head (with all the birds I have at home, "avian landing pad" is practically my middle name) they decided to join their buddy. Two of them landed on my left shoulder, vying for pieces of cake from my hands. Other ones flapped right onto the hand holding the food and started pecking away, completely fearless. They would look up at me and then go right back to eating. A bunch of people started taking pictures of me covered in pigeons. I should have asked for a few quid like the other street performers do all over the city. Even when the food was gone, the pigeons stayed where they were for a while. I actually had to lower the one perched on my wrist because he or she showed no intetion of getting down. So, not only am I the crazy bird lady in Miami who feeds all the ducks and a set of crows by my home, but I have made the cross-over, as well. 

I wish I'd gotten some of the pictures those people took, but I had my hands, literally, full.

The plants were also lovely. I'm glad I got to see the park in the spring.

So much color. 

Another duck waiting for food. I'd run out by this time, though. 

Confession time: I didn't like Buckingham Palace. To be fair most things would have paled in comparison to the birds in the park, but still, it was a bit anti-climactic as palaces go. 

Eh. Not that amazing. I much prefer Big Ben or what I saw of Westminster Abbey. 

There were pretty flowers, though.

The gate was a horror. Look how gaudy. Not my type of thing at all. I won't be seeing the Changing of the Guards, either, because there are too many wonderful things to see that don't involve ridiculous crowds and waiting around.

I maybe spent five minutes looking around the palace area, compared to the two and a half I spent at the park feeding birds and I have no regrets about it. 

I headed back down The Mall toward Trafalgar Square.

The Admiralty Arch is beautiful.

I love the stone work and all the small arches.

At Trafalgar Square, I seriously considered heading back into the National Gallery to see the Van Gogh again, but my legs were about to fall off, so I left it for another day. 

I did see Spiderman.

Which was as good a way as any to end the day.

London: Day 2

I wanted to head right for Westminster Abbey this morning. So I took the tube to Westminster, which as to have some of the most stunning and iconic sights in London.

This is what you see when you leave the station.

Not too shabby, is it? That is the London Eye, of course.

You can see how wet the pavement is becuase it rained the entire day. It was mostly a drizzle, but the kind that manages to find its way through your clothing no matter what you wear.

That's the Thames, which is as dirty as you imagine.

Dirty Thames or not, tell me that's not a beautiful sight.

And then...

Big Ben. Now, I've seen Big Ben in lots of movies and pictures so I didn't expect to be as jaw-on-the-floor astounded as I was. There's no comparison between see it in person. It feels almost alive and when it rings there are centuries behind the sound.

Seriously, I stood there sipping a cup of coffee for a good fifteen minutes, just staring like an idiot. I did manage to rip my gaze away and get going to the abbey...which was closed. Yeah. There was some big event going on inside and so everything but the shop and St. Margaret's church was closed.

Now, St. Margaret is pretty, as you can see

But it isn's what I wanted. At least I got some nice pictures of the Abbey's front.

I'm going to have to go back next week, because it's closed tomorrow as well and Saturday I want to go too Portobello Road for the fair.

I moved on to plan B, which was to visit Churchill's War Rooms. Now, okay, this might not sound like the most exciting place to visit because it is a bunker, but let me tell you I would have hated to miss it. The work that has been put to maintain the war rooms like they were during World War II is incredible. As much of a cliche as it may be, you really feel like you're there with Churchill and the multitude of people watching over England's (and the world's, actually) well being. 

There are even orginal gas masks on display, which look like props in a sci-fi movie because they were made to allow people to speak through them. 

I don't have any pictures of the bunker, but if you go to London, don't miss it!

After a quick lunch in the cafe they have at the war rooms, I headed over to Trafalgar Square. Another iconic image. Although it was gloomy, I loved it.

You can see the National Gallery back there.

One hell of a fountain.

With a solitary duck swimming in it. I couldn't help taking a picture of the duck. I've been without pets around me for three days which is something unheard of, so I'm pretty sure I'm going through some kind fo withdrawal. Pretty soon I'm going to start petting random dogs on the street.

He was really enjoying himself, though.

It's a really clean fountain. I was impressed by that. There's no moss or anything on it.

The National Gallery was where I spent the next three hours. I think I saw it all. There were lots of great painters in there, Vermeer, Goya, Monet, Seurat, Manet, Breughel, Velasquez, Michelangelo, Degas, etc. but, surprisingly, the paintings that I loved the most were the Van Goghs. I say surprisingly because I've never been a fan of his paintings. Or any painters of his style. I recognize that they are master painters and that their works are important, but they are not the type I like looking at. I saw lots of Van Gogh's contemporaries at the gallery and I still don't like them, but  changed my mind completely about Van Gogh. The sunflower painting is out of this world. Forget how pretty it looks in a book. It's like looking at the sun through dirty windows. You have to see this painting in person. It glows. I walked into the room where it hangs and there was no other painting that I needed or wanted to see. It's hard to explain, actually. It felt like the painting was alive, if that makes sense. It's also unbelievably sad to look at even though it is bright and just a still-life. Except there's nothing "still" about it. The other Van Gogh paintings were also beautiful. Unlike some of the other works by other painters in the same room, his felt like they breathed. I don't know how else to describe it. I'm going to make time to see them again before I leave. And this is coming from someone who has always said she doesn't like Van Gogh's works.

I headed back to the hotel to drop some things I'd bought, and headed to The Sherlock Holmes Pub. 

Anyone who knows me knows that I have an clearly defined obsession with all things Holmes-related. Well, not all things. I'd rather die than sit through one of thse Robert Downey Jr. movies. Next week I'll, of course, be heading over to Baker Street to see the official museum at 221B. You'll probably hear my squeal of excitement around the world. 

London: Day 1

My day really began yesterday, the 6th, ad hasn't really stopped until now that I'm sitting in my hotel room smack in the center of London just two blocks away from Euston Square tube station. For about a miute and a half a few days ago, it loked like the tube would be on strike, but thankfully that was cancelled becuase taking the tube is becoming my favorite thing to do. 

But I'm getting ahead of myself. 

I took a red eye flight that was actually shorter than I expected. It was only seven hours and fifty minutes. I watched three dfferent movies on the flight and then tried, without success, to sleep. 

I was impressed, though, with the quality meals American Airlines provided. I'm so used to getting a stale bag of pretzels to munch on that an acual meal felt like a serious luxury.

The flight as predictble, though, so I won't give you a play-by-play. 

Going through security at Heathrow took about a month. I was carrying my backpack and another small bag and I thought  was going to keep right over waiting in that endless line. It was a relief to finally go through the, very dramatically titled, UK Border, and step firmly onto a city I've been dreaming of visiting since I first started reading Sherlock Holmes in fourth grade.

I am not a patient person on the best of days and after a seven+ hours on a plane whatever patience I'd had was long gone, so I bought a ticket to teh Heathrow Express, which makes it out oof Heathrow to Paddington in 15 minutes, unlike other options, which take much longer. 

Paddington was less complicated to maneuver through than I'd expected, but the machines from which you buy Underground tickets are a nightmare. I don't know why I'm surprised, though, because the Miami machines are just as bad. When I finally got my pass, things got better quickly.

Okay, yes, the tube system is complicated. It is a series of tunnels that feel more like an animal's burrow than a train system, but that's why they are so fabulous. I am seriously in love with the tube. It's a little pricey, but the experience of using them with quasi-competence is rewarding.

So I came to Euston Square Station, a couple of blocks away from Arran House Hotel.

 My room is small, and it doesn't have a bathroom of its own because, well, it's London and space is limited.

A simple yet cute bed which I haven't tried yet, so more on that tomorrow.

That's the view from the door. Like I said, small, but it's in an ideal spot. As soon as I could put my heavy bags down, I headed to my very first stop: The British Museum.

Voila! Yeah, the toxic orange cones take away a bit from the magesty but there were so many people around that I just wanted to get inside. Which is where I saw this beauty:

Isn't that just glorious? I stood for a good few minutes staring at that roof. But there was a lot to see. Floors and floors of incredible artifacts and information. There's no way to see everything in one visit. I did my best, though. Here are some examples of the beauties I saw:

That was from the Chinese section, which was in such a lovely room, full of natural light. Not how I usually picture museums.

This was my favorite room, though. It was about trading in Europe and it had artifacts from all over the world. Not to mention that the walls are lined with cases of ancient books. My paradise.

It was astounding to stand next to her. There's no glass, nothing to separate you from something whose age is measured in millenia. You can't touch any of the statues, but there's no need. Their presence is enough.

Another great statue, or bust, this one of Minerva. The details were amazing.

And look at this. This is a part of a Roman mosaic mural. All of those little pieces are handcut and meticulously placed to create the images.

The same technique on the one above, too.

Gorgeous stuff. The amount of ancient pottery in that museum is enough to make anyone nervous. I was walkng around trying not to breathe too hard in case I knocked something over.

This was in the African section. There were a number of gorgous pieces of artwork, including modern pieces.

I dragged myself out of the museum becuase I was tired and it's hard to keep reading tiny signs explaining what everything is when your eyes are burning from lack of sleep.

Of course, I had my first taste of London's shifty weather as I was walking back to the hotel. It is surprisingly like Miami in that respect. It can be sunny at one moment and then it can look like the apocalypse iis upon you.

And just as quickly, it was over and I could head out to Covent Garden. Where I saw this poor man trying to imporess the crowd with the threat of breaking his neck on an eight-feet tall unicycle. 

He juggled tennis balls, yoyos and even swords, but his tour de force was the unicycle. I didn't stick around to see if he actually survived the afternoon.

I didn't take as many pictures of Covent Garden as I wanted because it was too beautiful to see it from behind a camera, but I'll probably end up going back before I leave.

I stopped at Cafe Nero, one of the most popular cafes in London and had a great cappucino and then I headed over to the nearests Tesco supermarket to stock up on some essentials like water, extra shampoo, etc. I also got this because it wouldn't be a real English adventure without them.

And, with the Jammie Dodgers, I will leave you for tonight because I am a degree beyond exhausted, but stop by tomorrow for more!

Musing Mondays

Musing Mondays asks you to muse about one of the following each week…
• Describe one of your reading habits.
• Tell us what book(s) you recently bought for yourself or someone else, and why you chose that/those book(s).
• What book are you currently desperate to get your hands on? Tell us about it! 
• Tell us what you’re reading right now — what you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what you are (or, aren’t) enjoying it.
• Do you have a bookish rant? Something about books or reading (or the industry) that gets your ire up? Share it with us!
• Instead of the above questions, maybe you just want to ramble on about something else pertaining to books — let’s hear it, then!

I leave for London tomorrow! I am all packed, my lovely blue backpack (aptly named The Tardis) and I are itching to get started. I will be in London for 11 days and then I head over to Inverness in Scotland for another couple of days before returning to London once more for my flight back home. 
I'm going not only because London is a city I've been dying for years to see, but also because I am writing the sequel to THE ROSE MASTER, which will be published in June and it takes place entirely in London. Since I don't want to sound like I got all my knowledge of the city out of a travel guide, I decided I needed to go there myself. 

Throughout the next two weeks, I will be posting only on my UK adventure, so if that's something you're interested in, check in every day or so here or in my Facebook page which is here. You will see lots and lots of pictures, since I plan to document the trip as much as possible with my handy iPad. Follow me as I try not to get lost through the London Tube system and while I take the Caledonian sleeper all the way to the Highlands and back!










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