Average Adventuress: London Calling

The day after Thanksgiving, I took my first night bus. I usually prefer to travel during the day, but in this case, I didn't have a day to waste. The clock was ticking.

You see, the average passport-bearing American is allowed to stay in the Schengen Area for 90 days, total, within a 180-day period. And the Schengen Area includes pretty much every country I had planned to visit. (For more information about the Schengen Area, click here.)

So I did my research during the months before I left, and got everything in order to apply for a visa from the German embassy in Washington, DC (since I have family in Germany, it seemed like the best bet). But when I arrived for my appointment, completed application in hand, I was informed that I wasn't eligible for the visa, and that the only way that I'd be able to stay in Germany longer would be to apply for an extension visa from an immigration office once I was actually in Germany.

Well, it turns out my aunt has connections in German immigration, and the guy she spoke to said he could extend my visa, no problem. But the evening before my November appointment to go see him and actually get the extension, he said that he had looked into it more and found that he apparently couldn't actually do that.

Fan-freaking-tastic.

Since I can only (legally) stay in the Schengen Area for a total of 90 days within a 180 day period, I've had to leave the Schengen Area for a total of 47 days. (Since I'd already booked my flight home from Germany, I was committed to being Europe for a total of 137 days.)

So I had to pass on Portugal, Spain, Italy, and Greece this time around. Luckily, I hadn't booked too much for those countries yet, so I didn't lose too terribly much money. (But losing any amount of money still stinks.)

So where did I go instead? To the UK! (It's one of the countries not included in the Schengen Zone, even though it is/was part of the EU.)

Since every day now counted, I decided the best use of my time was to take a night bus from Paris to London, rather than waste one of my (now very limited) days in the Schengen Area by sitting on a bus.

I didn't get much in the way of quality shuteye on said bus, partially because of the passport checks at the border, but also because I was too busy chatting to my seatmate, a friendly native of England who had taken it upon himself to offer advice for my upcoming travels around the UK.

When we arrived in London at 5:30am--an hour and a half ahead of schedule--my new friend proved extremely helpful, helping me through a minor crisis involving every ATM refusing to pony up any cash for me. (I guess I probably should have let my bank know when I decided to come to the UK. Oops.) He also navigated the process of getting an Oyster card, which would allow me to travel London's public transportation like a local.

Once my new friend departed to catch his connecting bus, I headed out to explore the city for a bit. I had a few hours to kill before I could check into my AirBnB, so I headed to Buckingham Palace, just a short walk from the bus station. Sorry, coach station. They're very particular about that in the UK.

Guess the Queen was still sleeping...can't blame her. It was still pretty early!

After I popped by to see the Queen, I walked down to the Thames. On the way, I passed Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament, and, of course, Big Ben!

Did you know that the clock is actually named the Elizabeth Clock? Big Ben refers to the bell inside!

After lounging on a bench in St. James Park for a while, I finally made my way to my AirBnB, which turned out to be further from the center of the city than I'd anticipated. I had to take the Tube (that's the London Underground train) to the end of the line, then take a bus. In total, it took more than an hour. Oh well. I settled into my room for the next ten days, then headed back out for the afternoon. I went to check out St. Paul's cathedral at the recommendation from my host, but it turns out that it costs £16 to visit! Nope. I'll pass, thanks.

Instead, I went to check out St. Bartholomew's Hospital. Generally, it's not a touristy place, but if you're a Sherlock fan, it's one of those things you check out when you're in London.

It was actually a pretty surreal day. Maybe it was partially the sleep deprivation, but I think it had more to do with my inner Anglophile freaking out about the fact that I was finally in London, in person, seeing all of the places and things that I'd only seen on TV or read about.

The sleep deprivation did strike pretty hard, though, once the sun started to go down, so I made myself an early pasta dinner and hit the hay not too long after.

I let myself sleep in the next morning, before I got up and did some planning for the next leg of my trip. Since my itinerary had changed on such short notice, I'd given myself ten days in London to figure out what to do and where to go next, as well as to see all the sights there.

By early afternoon, I was burned out with planning, so I decided to treat myself to a movie. When I'd been in Paris, I keep seeing posters for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (but of course, it was Les Animaux Fantastiques), so I was excited to be in an English-speaking country where I'd actually understand what the actors were saying.

I ain't no plagiarizer. I got this photo from: https://logganeo.fr/

The next morning, I got up early, ready to really start to experience London. I went for a short run to kick-start my day (I doubt I'll ever truly be a city runner), then hopped on a double-decker into the city.

My first stop was to pick up my London Pass. Since I'd gotten so much use out of the Paris Museum Pass, I was eager to see what the London Pass had to offer. It turns out, A LOT. I used the heck out of that thing over the next few days.

I then headed to the Sherlock Holmes Museum at 221B Baker Street. It was super cool to actually be at the legendary address, but the museum itself was a total rip-off. Since it's supposed to be a museum, I was expecting things about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's life and career, about how Sherlock has been reinterpreted over the years, you know, informative museum exhibits, but I was extremely disappointed. Nothing about it is a museum. You basically pay £15 for five cramped rooms full of crappy (and creepy) wax figures and props. Fellow Sherlockians, steer clear. Just take your photo outside the front door and just keep on walking.

Okay. Rant over.

The rest of my day was more enjoyable. I checked out Regent's Park, one of London's many gorgeously-landscaped green areas, then went to the Victoria & Albert Museum, better known as the V&A. They had some pretty cool exhibits, including a fashion exhibit featuring the history of undergarments. (Scandalous!) Then I went to check out one of the world's most famous department stores: Harrods.

If you've ever been to the Macy's flagship store in New York City, picture that. Now multiply its size and extravagance by about twelve. Harrods is insane. Holy cannoli. It's seven floors of some of the most diverse, luxurious, and, yes, expensive merchandise I have ever seen. It was even more overwhelming because of Christmas: both the decorations and the crowds simply added to the madness. I only had the energy to tackle about two of the floors that evening before skedaddling back to my AirBnB.

The next day dawned as clear and bright as had my first few mornings in London. It was kind of freaking me out, actually. Isn't London supposed to be rainy? Or at least cloudy?

At least it was good weather for (surprise, surprise) a free walking tour! We walked through the City of London, which is the part of London where the original London town stood way back when. This part of London is still governed separately from the rest of the city, by a Lord Mayor, rather than your garden-variety mayor. Another stop on the tour was the oldest pub in London, Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese. The pub has been in the same spot since 1538, and it was one of the first things to be rebuilt after the Great Fire of London in 1666: the Cheshire Cheese was up and running again within a year of being burnt to the ground. Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese was frequented by many famous writers, including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Charles Dickens. Right around the corner from the Cheshire Cheese is the home of another one of its famous patrons: Samuel Johnson, writer of the very first dictionary. Outside of his house is a statue of his beloved cat, Hodge, who famously dined only upon oysters.

The tour finished at the Tower of London, whose name is rather misleading:

That's the original Tower, the corner right above my left shoulder. But I was actually inside the Tower of London when I took this; the name now refers to the entire complex.

I used my London Pass to bypass the line at the Tower of London, and caught the start of a Beefeater tour. "Beefeater" is the nickname of the Yeomen Warders, the ceremonial guards of Her Majesty’s Royal Palace and Fortress: the Tower of London. They supposedly first got the nickname in the 1660s, by those who were jealous of their beef-heavy diet (culled from the King's dinner leftovers).

My favorite fact of the Beefeater tour was that the Tower of London has six resident ravens. Legends dating back to the Tower's beginning claim that wild ravens were first drawn there by the smell of the corpses of the executed enemies of the Crown. However, the start of the royal tradition of keeping ravens with clipped wings there can supposedly be traced to Charles II and his royal astronomer, who complained to the King that wild ravens were flying past his telescope and making his work in the observatory at the Tower difficult. Charles II was prepared to remove the ravens, but shortly before he gave the order, he heard a prophecy that if the ravens ever left the Tower of London, England (and the King himself) would fall. The superstitious King--who had only just regained the throne--instead set measures to ensure that there would always be ravens at the Tower.

The best part of my visit to the Tower of London, however, was getting to see the Crown Jewels. (Can you say "ba-bling?") If you've ever gone to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History with me, this won't come as a surprise. I always insist on seeing the Hope Diamond when I visit.

Once I managed to tear myself away from all the sparkly things, I headed to Tower Bridge, flashed my London Pass, and took the elevator up, up, up.

View of the Tower Bridge.

View from the Tower Bridge.

My interest had been piqued by the Cheshire Cheese earlier that day, and now that my day was winding down, I decided that, yes, I did want to have a drink at the same pub as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, thank you very much. So I made a one-beer pit stop there on my way back to my AirBnB for the night.

The next day found me--bright and early--at Westminster Abbey again. But this time, I was armed with my London Pass, and actually got the audioguide and did a tour. And man, that thing is not one of the most famous churches in the world for nothing.

No spoilers, though. Go check it out for yourself. 😉

Afterwards, I headed to the Churchill War Rooms, not realizing until I arrived at the balloon-bedecked entrance that it was, in fact, Winston Churchill's birthday. It was meant to be.

The War Rooms were far more interesting than I had expected them to be; I think that spending so much time in Europe has managed to make World War II an interest of mine, despite what I told my World History teacher in 11th grade. (Sorry, Mr. Richardson.) I actually spent so much time in the War Rooms and the attached Churchill Museum that I was late for lunch.

That's right, I had plans to meet someone for lunch in London! As soon as I knew I would be in London, I reached out to my fraternity to see who was around, and made plans to meet a Brother from a chapter in Washington, DC, who was studying abroad in London. He introduced me to the wonder that is Wagamama, an Asian-style chain restaurant that became a slight obsession of mine while in the UK. So. Yummy.

After lunch, we headed to Covent Garden and found a red phone booth, taking the requisite super-touristy pictures.

So obvious I'm from out-of-town it's embarrassing.

Afterwards, my friend had to split to take care of some school things, so I made my way to the Royal Mews, home to the Royal wheels, carriages and cars alike. I was just in time to see the horse-drawn Postal Carriage depart on its daily journey to collect the Royal mail, a tradition that has been going on since 1843. I then headed next door to the Queen's Gallery, to check out an exhibit called "Portrait of the Artist."

I was still in museum-mode when I left the Gallery, so I headed back to the V&A to explore some of the exhibits that I hadn't gotten around to the last time I visited. I also stopped in the museum café for afternoon tea, courtesy of the London Pass.

That evening, I had tickets to see Wicked at the Apollo Victoria Theatre in the West End, which I was SUPER excited about. I listened to the Wicked soundtrack quite a bit growing up, but never actually saw the musical, or even read the synopsis. (I didn't want any spoilers for when I finally did see it, and boy, was that a good move on my part!) So when I found out I could get a ticket for under £20, I jumped on the opportunity.

And I am so glad I did. It was wonderful. (Or dare I say wicked good?) High-five through the past to young Jess for not reading the synopsis, because those plot twists were pretty dang awesome.

The next morning, with the Wicked soundtrack still on repeat in my head, I set off for Windsor Castle. Since you have to buy tickets almost a year in advance to see Buckingham Palace, I had to settle for a tour of the Queen's weekend residence, which is a bit outside of the city itself, and which boasts the title of both the oldest and the largest inhabited castle in the world.

Fun fact that I learned while touring Windsor Castle: Her Majesty was a Girl Guide (the European equivalent of a Girl Scout)! As a lifetime Girl Scout, I got pretty excited about that. I also got kind of hungry, wondering what kind of cookies Girl Guides in England sell. So after finishing up at the castle, I headed into the town of Windsor itself, in search of fish and chips.

After lunch, I moseyed back over to the train station and headed back into the city. Next up was the London Transport Museum, which didn't actually sound all that interesting to me, but since it was included in my London Pass, I figured I'd give it a shot.

That place is amazing.

It's an elementary-school teacher's dream, with tons of hands-on and multimedia exhibits. There was even a simulator that allowed you to be a Tube driver...SUPER cool! My inner child was so thrilled to be in a museum where I could actually touch things that I ended up spending almost three hours there.

The museum is located right next to Covent Garden, so that was the only logical next destination for me. The Christmas decorations there were next-level.

I also took advantage of the free samples at a tea shop there before heading to the nearest Tube station, where I found a huge crowd of people waiting. Apparently, several of the Underground lines were "operating with severe delays." So I busted out Citymapper (this app is a must-have for getting around London) and figured out which bus I needed. I passed the hour-plus bus ride by becoming best friend with the kid sitting across from me. We made faces at each other, much to his mother's amusement, until my stop came up.

Over the next three days, I structured my days around what was included in the London Pass, traveling all over the city and becoming a pro at London's public transportation in the process.

I checked out the Banqueting House:

Saw the changing of the Horse Guard at the Royal Calvary:

Visited Shakespeare's Globe Theater:

The only thatched-roof building in London. This is actually a reconstruction of the Globe, built in the 1990s. When applying for the building permit, they had to get special permission to have a thatched roof, due to building regulations still in place from the aftermath of the Great Fire of London. (Thatch is pretty flammable.)

Checked out the HMS Belfast: