Farewell to London

2008, 4.20 London, England

Today I am leaving London and I am sad to go. As I think about the past six months living here, I realize how much I will miss this wonderful city. In all honesty, its pace can be overwhelming at times, especially in places like Oxford Street and traveling to and from work on the Underground; however, it is a city unlike any other I have ever lived or even visited.

There are so many things I like about London, but what I loved most about it: its size; rich historical past; present life and culture; being able to play in the many parks or squares on a Sunday afternoon; go to Art Galleries or see a show; meet people from all over the world; easily travel to other European countries on a whim and inexpensively; historical pubs and vibrant nightlife; transportation throughout the city; interesting markets; the delicious curries and other endless food options to choose from; and even the feeling of safety despite the size of the city.

These are just some of what I enjoyed about London and what make the city a truly amazing place to experience. I am happy to have been able to call it my home, even for just a short time.

Brick Lane

2008, 4.19 Whitechapel, London

Known as a great place to find a delicious curry dish, Brick Lane is one street in London full of life and culture. In the afternoon I spent exploring this historical street, I found vintage clothing shops, antique and vintage furniture for sale, Bangladeshi music drifting into the street from the stores filled with the basic necessities for a local. I enjoyed the art and graffiti sprinkling the walls of buildings, music shops, and being among young adults sitting in an outdoor restaurant area drinking and socializing, people wandering about exploring the area, and a curry house every few steps along the way. It was one of my favorite London experiences.

1 brick lane

A side street off Brick Lane where I found a fun music store

Some of the street art

Day trip to Cambridge

2008, 4.18 Cambridge, England

Mom and I took a train from London to Cambridge, England for day five of our English adventure. It was a relaxing ride and I think Mom really liked seeing the English countryside--very different than the busy, bustling city of London.

We arrived in Cambridge mid-morning and walked from the train station to the City Centre--about 20 minutes. We wandered the city a bit and were looking for a place to have lunch. Eventually, we found a place called Henry's that was right on the River Cam and a great atmosphere. The table at which we sat had a view of the river just outside our window. The food--fresh green salads and chicken curry with rice--was delicious, and our waitress was very prompt and pleasant. It was a lovely lunch.

After lunch, Mom and I wandered the city. We saw beautiful parks, lots of green, students headed to class, tourists wandering about, houseboats in the river, and lots of punts (flat-bottomed boats, punting is a pastime for which Cambridge is very well known by tourists).

Punts on the River Cam

Punts up close

Making our way farther into central Cambridge, we went to King's College Chapel, which is part of the King's College of the University of Cambridge. At one end of the chapel, there was the beautiful painting "Adoration of the Magi" (1634) by Pieter Pauwel Rubens, and on the other an enormous and intricately designed mahogany wooden screen and organ dividing the space into two large sections.

The inside ceiling of King's College Chapel

My mom in King's College Chapel

Stained glass windows inside of King's College Chapel. The windows show stories from the Old and New Testaments, those with similar morals placed on top of one another.

The courtyard outside of King's College Chapel

After our experience ini King's College Chapel, mom and I browsed for a bit at a few local shops. We also went to the market in the center of the city and bought a few things there. I purchased a couple of scarves, which I love, and some fresh cucumbers and tomatoes to make some Greek salad later.

Local market fruits and vegs

As the sun began to fall slowly in the evening sky, Mom and I made our way back to the Cambridge train station to catch our train back to London. Cambridge made for a very nice day trip, despite not having tried punting. Maybe next time...

A brilliant musical experience

2008, 4.17 London: Billy Elliot at the Royal Victoria Palace

In the morning, Mom and I slept in a bit, had breakfast at the hostel, and then headed in to Central London by Victoria Station. I closed my bank account, which took a bit, and then we had lunch at Garfunkel's--some fish and chips. From there, we went a few doors down to the Royal Victoria Palace to see the musical production Billy Elliot.


The story according the Wikipedia article on Billy Elliot:

Billy is a boy living in County Durham. His father, Jackie, and older brother, Tony are striking miners during the UK miners' strike (1984–1985).

Billy's father is an admirer of real life world boxing champion Ken Buchanan, and hopes that Billy would become a champion boxer. Billy, however, is more interested in music, a passion he inherited from his late mother.

Billy is taken to the boxing gym by his father, but he finds out that he doesn't really like the sport, and has no real talent for it. Part of the boxing gym is used by a ballet class because their usual studio in the basement of the sports center is being used as a soup kitchen for the striking miners. He is drawn in by the dance instructor, and with her help, secretly starts taking ballet class.

As a consequence of Billy's brother being arrested, he misses an important audition for the Royal Ballet School. His dance instructor goes to their house to tell his father about the missed opportunity. Billy's father and brother, fearing that Billy will be seen as a "poof", become outraged at the idea of him becoming a professional ballet dancer.

Once having seen Billy dance however, his father understands that ballet is Billy's passion and he takes him to an audition in London himself. Billy is accepted and moves to London on his own at age 11 to attend the school.

The movie concludes with a scene that takes place 14 years later, where his father and brother see Billy dancing. The film ends as the older and more mature Billy (dancer/actor Adam Cooper) takes the stage to perform the lead in Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake."

The acting, the story, the set, the costumes, the symbolism and imagery, the music and choreography were all wonderfully done. I had heard that it was really good show and was definitely not disappointed. It was everything art should be, really. Well-organized in a way, but not rigid. Music, color, dancing, different lighting all finely blended to create a connection with the audience and affect human emotions as realistically as possible without actually living through the story yourself. It was phenomenal.

Another Eventful Day in London

2008, 4.16 London, England:

Today was quite the day. My mom is here in London with me. This morning, we had some toast, tea, and coffee at our hotel for breakfast, went luggage shopping (I have waaaayyy to much stuff!) and then checked out of Olivelli's Hotel before stopping by the BUNAC Hostel to get more of my things. We traveled via the Underground to Stamford Brooke to drop our luggage off at the Globetrotter Inn in Hammersmith and then went back into Central London to check out the infamous Tower of London.

The White Tower of the Tower of London

After completing our tour of the Tower, we walked the Queen's Walk along the Thames River, crossing Tower Bridge and seeing London Bridge as we went.


From there, we took the Tube to Green Park, enjoyed an ice cream cone, saw Buckingham Palace, walked through the Wellington Arch, and then headed to Hyde Park. Mom really liked all the flowers. It was fun to see her so excited about the beautiful things around us.

While meandering through Hyde Park and then on to Kensington Gardens, we came across a filming for Burberry's Fall 2008 collection. The models were the attractive and talented Sam Riley, the main actor from the movie Control (I saw this movie earlier in my London trip and really enjoyed it, so it was neat to see this actor. Also, we smiled at each other as he walked by me--about a foot away, so that was fun), and famous model Rosie Huntington, who according to an article I later read is supposedly the next Kate Moss. I was a bit starstruck. It was fun.

Filming of Sam Riley and Rosie Huntington for Burberry fashion

Taking a walk through Kensington Gardens

Kensington Gardens at Kensington Palace

After Mom and I finished exploring the gardens, we headed back to Store Street to see if I could pick up the rest of my luggage at the BUNAC Hostel; however, Bill (hostel manager with access to my luggage) was not around, so we decided to stop by Olivelli's Restaurant for a drink. To our pleasant surprise, there was a movie filming going on at the Fill Station (gas station) kitty-corner to the BUNAC Hostel and the restaurant at which we were sitting.

It turns out that the movie being filmed was "An Education" with Emma Thompson and Alfred Molina, written by Nick Hornby. It was quite a sight to see and exciting to have seen two filmings in one day with famous actors that I recognized. Unfortunately, I didn't get any autographs, but I was okay with that.

After watching the filming a bit and finishing our Irish coffees, I got the remainder of my things from Bill at the hostel, said farewell and then Mom and I headed back out to Hammersmith to our hostel for the night. It was another fun-filled, adventurous day in London.

Covent Garden, St. Paul's Cathedral, and Tate Modern

2008, 4.15 London, England

The day started off with breakfast of tea, toast, and jam in the small dining area at Olivelli's Hotel that was really simple, but enjoyable. The family that owns it lives in the downstairs of the hotel and the dining room walls were nearly full of all kinds of family photos. They were a friendly family and it was sweet to be able to observe that small part of their personal lives.

After breakfast and stopping at an internet cafe to catch up with email and get our next accommodation plans set, Mom and I began a long walk through Central London. From the internet cafe on Charing Cross Road, we went to the Covent Garden area and briefly browsed the market.

Entrance to Covent Garden Market

English accessories for sale in Covent Garden

After a bit in the market, we continued walking towards the River Thames. It was a rather nice day outside, so we decided to see as much of London above ground as we could, rather than take the tube to get to where we were headed. We covered a remarkable amount of ground and it was fun to see so much of London this way. Along the way, we zig-zagged through different streets until we came to the Thames. We crossed the Waterloo Bridge, and then headed back towards St. Paul's Cathedral crossing Black Friar's Bridge.

City of London Crest just around the corner afer going over the Black Friar's Bridge

Our first real destination for the day was St. Paul's Cathedral. It was an impressive structure. The interior of the Cathedral is exquisite. It is massively hug and decorated in a simple, yet also elaborate way, meaning elegant, but not overdone. The ceiling is covered in deeply coloful mosaic and showing icons and holy people and scenes from the Bible. The windows were a beautiful stained glass.

Besides admiring the beauty and size of the Cathedral, Mom and I climbed all the way up to the top of the Cathdral--some 500 steps in total. It was cut up into levels, so we got some breaks along the way. One of the levels had some seats you could rest on, and if you were sitting on one side of the platform and you whispered facing into the wall (it was part of the arched dome on the interior), another person sitting several feet away could clearly hear what you said. People around us were having quite a lot of fun with this, and it was fun to observe.

Anyway, eventually, we made it to the top. The climb was worth it and felt like an accomplishment. The view from the top of St. Paul's was quite impressive. It allowed me to see a new perspective of London, helping me to better realize and understand just how massive the great city truly is.

View of London towards the River Thames, London Eye, and The Houses of Parliament from St. Paul's Cathedral

View of Millenium Bridge and Tate Modern Art Museum from the top of St. Paul's Cathedral


After enjoying the aerial view of London for a bit and making our way back down to the ground level of the Cathedral, Mom and I decided to also check out the Crypt in the basement of the Cathedral. We didn't spend a whole lot of time here, but were able to see where many famous people's remains are buried, including that of Christopher Wren (the architect of St. Paul's Cathedral) and Florence Nightingale.

From St. Paul's Cathedral, Mom and I crossed the street for some lunch at a little cafe to the south before heading across the Millenium Bridge to the Tate Modern Art Museum. Not being a huge fan of modern art, this was a mediocre experience. My favorite piece was a video of ants carrying bits of confetti during Holy Week. It may sound boring, but there was a room full of people watching the same thing, so I guess there must be something appealing about it that many could appreciate.

View of St. Paul's Cathedral from the Millenium Bridge

When Mom and I finished our exploration of the Tate Modern, we made our way to the Southwark Underground Station and went back to the hotel. That evening, we had dinner at Olivelli's Paradiso Ristorante--under the same ownership as Olivelli's Hotel.

Throughout the six months I lived in London, I walked by Olivelli's Ristorante about a thousand times, always wanting to dine there--it had white cloth covered tables with a bright red rose and a small candle on each table that I noticed every time I passed by--especially in the evening. A very classy and cozy ambience is what I envisioned, and when I finally made it, I was not disappointed.

I ordered a delicious garden salad with large wedges of tomato and sliced cucumber to start. My main dish was Rigatoni with courgettes (zucchini) and red sauce. The pasta was cooked perfectly al dente and tasted delectable. Mom had ravioli stuffed with walnut and gorgonzola and butternut squash, which she also greatly enjoyed. It was a lovely meal and I was happy to have shared the experience of Olivelli's Paradiso Ristorante with my Mom.

Walked the lengths of Central London, browsed Covent Garden, meandered along the Thames, climbed the heights of St. Pauls Cathedral, crossed Millenium Bridge, explored the oddities of the Tate Modern, and ended with a great meal at a lovely restaurant all done in great company... this was another lovely day in London.

Shakespeare, Beatles, and The Magna Carta

2008, 4.14 London, England: The British Library, The British Museum

On the morning of April 14, the second day of adventure for my mom and I started the day with a proper breakfast served by our hotel with eggs, bacon, toast, cereal, yogurt, oj, coffe, and tea. It was a nice beginning to what would be an interesting and busy day.

After breakfast, we walked from our hotel to the British Library--just north east of where I had lived during my time in London. I had heard that the British Library was an interesting place to visit, but I did not expect it to be one of my favorite places in London.

Entrance to The British Library

Painting inside The British Library

The Library's exterior and entrance drew me in right from the start. From there, Mom and I found our way to The Sir John Ritblat Gallery: Treasures of the British Library (the rest of the building is an actual library where you can check out books and do research, etc.). It was literally a gallery full of treasures. Because there were so many amazing things to see, I will just list some of my favorites below:

-Shakespeare's First Folio-the first genuine collection of Shakespeare's works, published in 1623

-Lewis Carroll's Diary, author of "Alice in Wonderland," actually mentioning said book

-The original copy of "Beowulf"

-George Frederic Handel's Messiah, an autograph composition draft from 1741

-Sir Thomas More's last letter to Henry VIII, 1523

-The Gutenberg Bible, 1454-55

-Aesop's Fables, 1484

-Writings from Galileo Galilei

-Codex Arundel by Leonardo Da Vinci

-The Codex Sinaiticus, which is the earliest manuscript of the complete New Testament

-The Magna Carta--a charter of liberty and political rights obtained from King John of England by his rebellious barons at Runnymede in 1215, which came to be seen as the seminal document of English constitutional practice. A very important and influential historical legal document, later influenced the creation of many constitutional documents, including the U. S. Constitution

-And last but certainly not least, hand-written Beatles lyrics for the songs "The Fool on the Hill," "I want to hold your hand," "Help!", "Yesterday," "Ticket to Ride," "Hard Day's Night," "Michelle," and " In My Life" all of which you could listen to on the headphones they provided right there in front of you as you read the lyrics.

This Gallery's contents were truly impressive and, like I said, one of my favorite experiences in London. On top of the amazing gallery exploration, there was a temporary exhibit outside of the Sir John Ritblat Gallery called "All Power to the Imagination! 1968 and Its Legacies. This was an incredible collection of photographs, art, articles, video clips, music from the year 1968, which was a truly interesting and earth-riveting year in history. This exhibit was the cherry on top of an already awesome experience at the British Library.

Me at the British Library

The British Library

Sign at the British Library


After exploring the British Library, Mom and I made our way towards the British Museum. We stopped at Tesco (local grocery store) to buy some take away food for lunch and then sat in Russell Square while we enjoyed our lunch and tried to stay somewhat dry as it had begun to rain lightly as we sat there. Luckily I have a very easy-going mother and this did not disturb her much. From there, we made our way around the block to the British Museum.

British Museum in Central London, blocks from the BUNAC Hostel


While Mom and I didn't spend a great deal of time at the British Museum, we did stop by and enjoy seeing the Rosetta Stone--an ancient Egyptian artifact that helped scholars to decipher hieroglyphics and learn more about ancient Egyptian language and culture. It was pretty neat. In addition, I saw real mummies, which were disturbingly incredible and interesting.

While this was interesting and there were many treasues to be found in the British Museum, mom and I spent the majority of our time there in an exhibit called "The American Scene: Prints from Hopper to Pollock." It was somewhat funny to be viewing an American exhibit while traveling, but interesting to see it from somewhat of a foreigner's viewpoint. There were many interesting pieces of art there, however, and it was well worth the time.


Night on the El Train by Edward Hopper


One of my many feet photographs from my travels...this one taken by my mom on the way out of the British Museum

After getting our fill of historical treasures for the day, Mom and I headed back to our hotel for a bit. We stayed at Olivelli's Hotel just a few doors down from the BUNAC Hostel, which was nothing fancy, but was pretty reasonably priced for the area and suited us well for a comfortable place to sleep at night and a brief resting place in between excursions.

That evening, Mom and I had dinner at one of my favorite Thai restaurants in the area called Busaba Thai just down Store Street from Olivelli's Hotel and the BUNAC Hostel. We enjoyed Massaman Duck Curry with coconut rice and some hot tea. It was a lovely end to another lovely day in London.