Didn't actually get a chance to eat any fried pickles. My only disappointment during my stay in London would be that. It wasn't the lack thereof, it was more my having no time to consume them due to the fact that in the span of two days I have seen Big Ben, London's Parliament, Buckingham Palace, the Marble Arch ; have marveled at the Peter Pan statue, London Bridge, Millennium Bridge; toured the Tower of London and the Globe Theatre; walked along the Thames River, stood underneath the London eye, gone to mass at Westminster Abbey and received communion in the same place where Princess Diana's funeral was held and where Elton John performed his rendition of "Candle in the Wind"; attempted to push my way through Platform 9 3/4; seen one of the most brilliant renditions of "Chicago" in one of the most influential cities for theatre culture in the entire world; haggled with a man at Camden Market for a one-of-a-kind, hand-made top; managed to figure out the Underground; walked through Hyde Park; bought something from a world-renowned department store (Harrod's) for my mother; and walked down streets where some of the world's most brilliant writers, actors, directors and monarchs have walked, dwelt and visited. Sometimes I forget this is actually my life I'm telling you about.
I know you're all curious about my attempt to make it to the famous Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Unfortunately, despite the desperate attempts by myself and my friends, we were unable to make it through to the platform...shame. Having fun visualizing this attempt? Here, let me help you...
It was actually rather difficult to find, which really added to the awesome-ness of it all :)
Also, while I'm rambling on about Harry Potter, like you all probably expected the minute you found out I was off to London, I think you should get a better idea of where I was staying and what I was near. To assist me in this i'm enlisting youtube.com for some visuals. Yes, I stood on that very bridge and stood in front of those very buildings. Luckily enough, the Death Eaters let us be for the day ;) Click on the link to see! (if you look close enough you can see London Bridge in the background)
Death Eater Attack from HP6
It's incredible how stories like Harry Potter and Sherlock Holmes influence the vibe of a city to a tourist. At some points I felt as though I were walking around in the 17th century listening to Big Ben chime away in the early morning, walking over the Wesminster Bridge through the cold early morning fog to church. London is a very cool city, definitely a place where I'd like to visit again. And though some parts of the city reminded me of Dublin, it's a very different vibe than Ireland, which is now what i'm used to. I think at least part of it may be because the country is still headed by a monarchy, which is such an interesting concept to me. There was something profound about being in a country where they have had the same form of government for thousands of years, and has evolved into the highest display of grandeur (which I also found quite different from Ireland-the complexity and grandeur of it all).
I will post some photos in a separate post because I haven't uploaded the photos on my computer yet!
Hope you enjoyed!
until next time,
Suze
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