I spent my last day in London with Sarah D. and her friend Keya. Keya had arrived in London late Wednesday night. Today Sarah invited me to tag along as they did a a fast tour of the city for Keya. I thought it would be great to see the city for the last time and be with a friend for a day.
We started the day at the Tower Hill Tube station. There we took pictures of the Tower of London and of the London Wall. We then took the Tube to St. Paul's and took picture of the cathedral. We then walked across the Millennium Bridge and went into the Tate Modern so that Keya could see the interior of the converted power station. We went up to the second floor and sat on a balconey that had a great view of the Thames, the Millennium Bridge and St. Paul's. Plus the we got a good breeze from the altitude and from the air conditioning from the museum. It was very refreshing after walking in the heat.
From the Tate Modern, we walked down the river to see the Globe Theater that is next door. We then turned down the street. Sarah was going to show us where the Rose Theater stood and where the site of the original Globe Theater. When the plan to recreate the circular theater the wanted to build it on the same spot, however there was a house that is under the National Trust and so it couldn't be torn down. This is why the Globe is only a few blocks away. After this we found a McDonald's for lunch.
Stomachs full we then took the Tube from Tower Bridge to Westminster to show Keya Westminster Abbey, Big Ben and Parliament, and the Eye of London. The we went to St. James' Park and walked to Buckingham Palace. There took pictures of the palace and of the Victoria Memorial. I also told Keya how the all the flags were framed the streets and how the entire place was a sea of people during the Trooping of the Colours. From Buckingham we walked down Buckingham Palace Road to Victoria Station.
There we went into a Marks and Spencers, which is a department store that has a Food Hall that is found all over London. This particular M&S was only food. Sarah and I split a carton of fresh Pineapple and a Rasberry and Cranberry sparkling water. The Pineapple was so fresh, sweet and it was refreshingly chilled. It was great. After sitting on the floor, up against a fencing that seperates the stores from the train platforms and eating, we did a little bit of souvenier shopping before we took the Tube back to Gloucester Station.
We to the Atlantic House and situated Keya in the computer lab, which were Sarah and I left her while we went to eat our last meal in the cafeteria. We then went back to the computer lab and played around on the web for a while before we went to veg in front of the telly in the commons.
Around 9 PM we left to go to the Gloucester Arms pub to give Keya the traditional pub experience. Sarah and Keya each bought a glass of Pimm's, and was happy with my water. The pub was actually quiet tonight. Of course it was Friday and it was late. I liked it. If wasnt't for the smoking and the fact that I was leaving tomorrow, I would've gone back there for a meal.
From the Gloucester Arms we all went to the Ambassador House where Sarah lived. This was the first time I have ever been inside of Ambassador House. It wasn't that bad. I liked the stairwells better than the Atlantic's. Sarah's room was on the second floor and through a corner door. You woud've never thought that was a room and a public bathroom there, which maybe one of the reasons why Sarah hadn't gotten fresh sheets and her trash taken out for most of the six weeks. Her room was big enough to be a double, however it was single. I thought it was very nice. It was out of the way and you didn't hear much noise, except from the little kids that lived in the house behind the Ambassor.
After seeing the room, we went down to the commons, which really the front room of the town house. We watched TV for a couple house. It was nice to just hang out and do nothing. When there was nothing left on the telly to watch we went back to Sarah's room. Sarah and Keya began start organizing their room so that it would be easier to pack. I just sat there in the doorway talking to them for a while before I had to say good bye and go off and pack myself. It was sad to say bye to Sarah. Other than talking to her via the web, I wonder if I'll ever see her again.
Back in my room I began to pack. I had already began to the packing process earlier today, however I needed to pack all of my souveniers and presents and the remained of my clothes. I packed my suitcase full with the clothes from today, all of my notes from both my classes, by two bags (one of which I realized that I really didn't use except for a few times towards the beginining of the program), and all of my theater programs, tickets, maps that I've collected over the six weeks, and finally my shoes. I had just enough stuff that I had to use the expandable feature of the suitcase, especially if I wanted to fit some of my remaining toiletries that were worth taking back to the States. Done with the suitcase I then turned to my weekend bag. This I've deemed as my souvenier bag. I packed my teapot's box full of toilet paper and plastic bags so that the teapot wouldn't rattle around during the flight. The sugar bowl and cup and saucer were already wrapped in paper but I wrapped them up in one of my shawls so that they would be etra protected. I then began to back everything else into the bag. I was surprised that I actually had a little bit of room left over.
After my room was basically empty of everything, I decided to take a break and get a Mars bar from vending machine and cool down in the computer lab, which is almost completely empty. Everyone is off to the pubs and clubs to celebrate their last night with their friends and in London. It feels sorta weird to be leaving London. I told Sarah that I'm going to miss the Tube. I actually like the Tube. It is so easy to use and it gets around town fast. I wish there was a Tube in Texas. Even though I'm going to miss the city and the Tube I'll be happy to be back home.
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