I've been terrible about talking about the remainder of my trip due to the fact that since I got back to Arizona I have been focusing my energies on other things (namely exercising and applying for work). But here I am to finish what I started on the subject.
I went to see "Avenue Q" for the first time. I love theater and musicals, and I had been so good about keeping myself under budget that the one thing I actually splurged on while in London was a ticket to see the show. I had actually originally wanted to see "Chicago" because Michelle Williams (formerly of the girl group Destiny's Child) was playing Roxy. However, by the time I was able to buy the ticket her engagement in London had ended, and the tickets themselves were a bit too high for my taste. Thanks to the boys I got a tip to read "Time Out: London" for exclusives on what was going on around the city, at what price, etc. In the issue I was reading the magazine was highlighting discounts by a website called lastminute.com or something like that, and that there would be special deals for musicals. I looked into the shows I was interested in and the dates I could go and the best deal ended up being "Avenue Q". Because of the fact that it's set in New York City, I wonder if the audience got some of the jokes about American pop culture... I know that during a Wikipedia search there were some lyrics and jokes that were re-done for the London audience.
I have to also point out that I drank tea a million times a day. For breakfast I drank at least a cup or 2 of tea (English style, which meant using tea, sugar and milk), and by the time lunch came around (where I drank another cup) I had already drank another cup or 2, and by the time dinner came another cup or 2 had been drunk (as well as ANOTHER cup during dinner), and before bed time I could guarantee you I had drunk yet another cup or two.
----------------------------------------
I will admit that I did go to McDonald's near the end of my stay. However, I do defend my decision to eat there because it is of my own personal interest to compare McDonald's in different countries because I find the way the company molds itself to each culture fascinating. Not only that, but I had not eaten any American food by the time I went to Mickey D's (in fact, I wasn't even eating stereotypical English food, either, because I wanted to keep my stomach and taste buds intact), so I felt fully justified. Like Argentina the actual establishment is a lot nicer looking in it's presentation. McDonald's is not considered cheap, and it's uncommon to find a hobo/tramp eating there. Some of their offerings were interesting (for example, they offered mozzarella sticks), and they seemed to have better selection in certain areas (for example their McFlurrys included what looked like actual ice cream by a specific brand). They also had their own chicken sandwiches menu that was apart from the burgers and such, and it was called the "Deli menu" or something to that effect. The fries were the same.
----------------------------------------
Since I was broke I took care to take advantage of anything and everything that London offered for free. During my walks I stumbled upon 2 such places: the National Gallery and the British library. I couldn't really see much of the library, but they had a corner where they had a mish-mash of authentic documents ranging from Jane Austen to the Beatles to Shakespeare to Leonardo da Vinci. The next day I walked around starting at Picadilly Circus and made my way to the National Gallery, a massive building of artwork. I don't think I actually got through the entire building because it can be a bit confusing if one doesn't have a map (I didn't), but I was able to hit some well-known artists such as Van Gogh, Raphael, Monet, Manet, Michelangelo, Holbein, Rembrandt, Goya, Cezanne, and Poussin.
After the National Gallery I went out the "front doors" to Trafalgar Square and then proceeded to follow a rudimentary map I had drawn out of nearby attractions. I walked alongisde the Thames and got to Big Ben, and finally made my way to Westminster Abbey. It was a Sunday and I read on some signs nearby that the Abbey was closed on Sundays for services all day. Right after I read a sign detailing the costs of visiting Westminster and realized it cost a good bit of money to enter it. Well, being poor but wanting to see the Abbey I did the next best thing: I went to service. Services are open to the public, but they warn everyone that it is not meant for sight seeing, but for worship. As I went in people who tried to stop for a secont o look at the various epitaphs and such were quickly ushered into their seats, and sternly told by Abbey ushers that they had to go to their seat and that sight seeing was not permitted. Nevertheless it was a lovely experience, and I liked it also because I didn't feel like a tourist but an actual citizen going about their day (which is exactly how I like to feel). Looking up at the architecture and everything it made me think how it must have felt long ago in the Middle Ages when kings and royalty were in this same structure. I felt very happy thinking I was sitting in an area that saw so much history.
----------------------------------------
Money was an interesting subject for me. During the first day I asked Sam about the whole "schilling, pence, quid" etc and he told me that money such as the schilling was no longer in use. Not only that, but he didn't know how to tell that money apart either. Now the money is in pounds or pence. Pence is the equivalent of cents in the US, so 100p goes into £1. I did have quite the confusion with some of the coins, though. I believe it was the 10p and 50p coins that looked very similar to me, so I had to always find the numbers in order to not look like an idiot by giving the wrong amount. Oh, and "quid" is another word for £, so like something costs £5 coud be said costs "5 quid" or "a five-er." The "-er" is also added to "ten" so if something costs £10 it's a "ten-er" (or "10 quid").
----------------------------------------
Alright, I think that's enough for this entry. I'll try to add some more London photos on the next entry (since I won't be traveling in the foreseeable future).
-AALA
Back in the USA
11 years ago
