Before I start, there's now a little London Underground map up above this post - you can type any station name into the search bar and see which stations I'm talking about :D nifty...
Camden Town on Saturday was pretty amazing :) It was all so unlike anything I've ever seen before, an entirely new experience. Matt and I spent a few hours looking around, had Chinese for lunch, then went to Worlds End (probably the largest pub in the world, according to them -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World%27s_End_(Camden)) for a few snakebites with Richard and Matt's friend, Maria. I felt like a real small town kid in the big city, I was kind of gawking at everything!
On Sunday, Matt and I went to Hoxton Square Bar and Kitchen, to see a photography exhibition crossed with a stage show put on by some of the people he works with (they are struggling actor/waiter types), which was very entertaining.
Monday saw me on my first solo mission (albeit to Putney High Street, which is only 10 minutes walk, but still) to get a cellphone (+0044 07904376128), then i went with Tweak to Seven Sisters, which is near their old house in Tottenham Hale to do some grocery shopping.
Tuesday was the first day of real gawking tourism for me. Adrian and I got a bit of a late start, but got onto the Tube and headed for South Kensington Satation, to see the Natural History Museum, The British Museum and Kensington Palace and Gardens.
We saw the Natural History Museum (pictured), but got bored and hungry, so we made our way to Hyde Park for some clean air and tranquility. From there, we realised that we could get to Buckingham Palace via Westminster Arch, and did so, to gawk along with the rest of the tourists. By this time we were very hungry, and Buckingham Palace isn't really that exciting, so we found a generic British pub by the name of 'The Old Monk', for fish 'n chips, a burger and two pints.
Well fed, we headed on to see St Paul's Cathedral, The Tate Modern and The Globe Theatre. However, all we got to see was the Cathedral, before our legs got the better of us and we headed home, seeing Westminster Abbey, Westminster Cathedral, Big Ben and the Tower of London on the bus ride home...
On Wednesday, Matt's work (my work) asked me to come in to have an interview. The restaurant is about 2 minutes walk from the Tate Modern, and The National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, and Trafalgar Square are just over the Thames. I got off at Charing Cross Station (with cool artwork, see above) , and started with Trafalgar Square. It was bustling with tourists, G20 protesters and police, as well as 1x Bagpiper and about a million french schoolkids. Trafalgar Square is bordered on one side by The National Gallery, so that was my next stop. The National Gallery bored me for the most part, but it was very cool to see originals by van Gogh, Picasso, Monet, Manet, Rembrandt etcetera. The National Portrait Gallery was a bit more interesting for me, with portraits of famous Brits both past and current. I then headed South towards the Thames, and ate lunch on the North bank of the river. I had visions of a grassy bank to sit on, but i suppose this is the middle of London, so perhaps that was asking a bit much. This was my view:
From there, I walked East along Paul's Walk (as in, St Paul, his cathedral is close by)until I reached the Millennium Footbridge (which is apparently the only foot-traffic-only bridge over the Thames in London) and crossed it to the South Bank. I walked from there to The Refinery (the restaurant Matt and I work at) for the interview, which apparently went well, since they asked me to come back. The Tate was next, filled with art students and tourists. I didn't have the time to see all of it, but it was by far my favourite of the Galleries. The most remarkable to me was a monstrous ground-level installation called the Turbine Hall, which involved giant sculptures of skeletons and spiders, rows and rows of empty bedframes with post-apocalyptic books attached to them, and a strange science fiction-arty-type movie, all overlayed by the constant sound of rain. Other highlights include a collection of Russian propaganda posters from the early 20th century, an Andy Warhol room, a painting painted entirely out of food, and lots of Cubism. I'm going back for the rest ASAP :)
I worked training shifts on Thursday and Friday at The Refinery (
http://www.therefinerybar.co.uk/), who have hired me for service AND bar work, which is exciting for me. It seems like a really relaxed, but up-tempo place, and a definitely upmarket clientele, which I prefer. The other staff are rad, as well, so I think I should enjoy myself...
Well, that's all for the moment. Well done if you got this far! For those of you who are crying, I'll try to update more frequently, but I'd rather delay the updates a little so that I can include photo's. A few more photo's to follow, as well as random thoughts on London.
Paul's Walk, North Bank of River Thames
National Gallery, Trafalgar Square
Timeline, Tate Modern
