Packing it all in at the end

This morning I got up with no idea what I was going to do, yet I managed to completely fill the day, and see a ton of cool stuff to boot. I had been accumulating free meal coupons at my hostel, so I ate breakfast (and lunch later) there. I get one coupon per day, but I've rarely used them since I'm usually in a hurry to get out in the morning, and too busy during the day to make it back. After breakfast I got online and looked up prices, directions, and hours of a few tentative sights.

First off, I went up to Oxford Street to stop in at a couple shops and see if I could find a good/cheap record bag to help me bring back the records/souveneirs I've bought. I couldn't find anything I liked enough to pay for, so I moved on. I surely wish I had bought of the Slammin Vinyl record bags at the rave, but I figured IMO Records would stock them.

I then headed out to St Paul's Cathedral. I had ducked in after their normal hours earlier in the trip, but my sister Taryn had told me that you can climb to the top, and the view is amazing. Early in the morning seemed like an ideal time for city landscape photography. I paid my £7 to get in, and spent awhile wandering around admiring the breathtaking architecture, then going downstairs to the crypt and seeing the graves of many famous political, military, and religious figures. Much of the church was sectioned off and/or under construction, as they remodelled to prepare for their 300th anniversary. Because of this, I feared that they weren't letting people go to the top, since I couldn't find the way anywhere. Just as I was giving up and heading out the door, I heard the pastor (or reverend or whatever) announce they were going to have a prayer. I decided to sit in for this, which is a good thing because as I was I noticed the entrance to the stairway up to the top.

Photography isn't allowed anywhere inside, but I went crazy once I got outside on the first level of the dome on the church. The wind was blowing like crazy, but it was an amazing view (which is a good thing, because the several-hundred-step staircase had seriously winded me). Another stairclimb got me to the very top, and from there I could see just about the entire city. Absolutely amazing.

Just acrossed the thames from St Pauls is the Tate Modern, as well as Shakespeare's Globe Theater. To go inside and take a tour of the theater cost more than I was willing to pay, so I just snapped a few pictures outside, then went nextdoor to the Tate Modern. I have to admit that I really don't have a sufficient appreciation for art, most especially modern art. But, it's a famous thing to go to, and it gave me a good excuse to walk acrossed the newest bridge in London, the Millienium Bridge.

Once there, I spent just under a half hour wandering around, looking at the modern art, which was sometimes strange, shocking, and often downright wierd. The only real highlight to me was the building, which I heard someone say was the old power plant or something. It's absolutely cavernous.

I got the heck out of there, with the original intent to walk to the Imperial War Museum. But, as I made my way, hunger was starting to really kick in, so I instead got on the tube and went back to my hostel for lunch. I had this great sausage in mashed potatoes lunch, with a dessert of a chocolate pastry thing in custard. It's worth mentioning that I'm just now getting it through my head that British desserts are just as big (or bigger) than the main course they serve you. Rather that just a small thing to top off the meal like in america, you could eat well just by ordering a dessert item. I can never finish them when I order them, which is always heartbreaking because they are delicious.

Once fed, I got back on the tube. Tate Brittain was on the way to the Imperial War Museum, so I stopped there to see London's gallery of classic art. I spent significantly more time here, as I can appreciate the classic stuff more. In fact, I really enjoyed it there, and stayed for over an hour (longer than almost anything else I did today, since I was trying to cram it all in).

After that, I got back on the tube and rode to the Imperial War Museum. I REALLY wish I had been able to spend half a day here, rather than one hour. There is so much to see here, and so much to learn. I have a real interest in WW2, so I focused my visit on those exhibits - every war and/or battle of the past century or so has it's own exhibit (or section, for larger wars). I got to touch a Sherman Tank, a Japanese "Zero" fighter plane, and a German V2 rocket. I went through their amazing holocaust exhibit, including countless pictures, videos, interviews, tons of artifacts, and a huge model of the german Auschwitz concentration camp. I also went through their big area on D-Day, which was great.

They kicked me out at 6pm for closing, and since nearly all the museums and things were now closed, I decided to take another look at Piccadily Circus, and see if I could figure out why we couldn't find Tower Records on our first stop.

Once I arrived, I wandered around, hung out by the fountain, took another stop in Virgin Records, and finally asked someone where Tower Records was. It turns out it closed about a year ago, which is a shame (and a suprise) because it was a major tourist stop at Piccadily Circus.

I then walked down to Trefalgar Square, hung out for awhile, and took a few more pictures of details I hadn't had a chance to see/photograph on my first whirlwind pass through.

As darkness fell, I started to get hungry again, so I headed back to the hostel to blog and eat. My plane leaves tomorrow for Seattle at 3pm. I haven't planned anything for the day, except to wash my clothes, pack, and get to my flight ahead of time. If I do find myself with some extra time, I might take another walk through Regents park and see if I can find one of the pubs on the north end of the park that might serve spotted dick, since it's one of the last things I'm wanting to try.