It’s easy to get lost in London.
And not just because every street corner is marked with a different sign or because a lot of places aren’t even marked at all — but because there’s so much to look at, so many things to do, it’s easy to get lost in it.
London is the capital of England and the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom. It’s home to about 7.5 million people who speak more than 300 languages. There are more pubs, shops, restaurants, churches, universities, bookstores, libraries, museums and historic sites than you can possibly get your head around — which makes it difficult to plan a four-day vacation in the city. There’s simply too much to do!
So we kept it simple. On our first day in London, we decided to hit the British Museum — about a 20-minute Tube ride from where we’re staying in Hackney Wick — and walk back. Whatever we stumbled across in the process, well, that’s what we were going to do.
Here’s what our first day in the UK looked like:
18 Comments
So you went aaaaaaall the way to England and ate Vietnamese food? LOL!!! At least make sure you sample the fish and chips once. I would also guess that the dark beer (mmmm,) that you had was Boddington’s maybe?
I would definitely say the “look right” signs on the road do work, as all of Europe and the US have traffic coming from the left. I would have to guess that that little heads up alone has saved many people from being hit by vehicles.
As for the Greek statues belonging to the Parthenon, I’m afraid I agree with the Greeks. I’d say return them to their rightful place so that they may be seen in their intended context.
Hey, did you catch the Chilean miner rescue on TV over there? What an amaaaaaazing 24 hours that was! I never got tired of hearing, “Chi chi chi,” “Le le le!”
London is a blast. Thanks for the photos. Last time I was there I spent majority of my time in Piccadilly Circus and the Theatre district.
Those signs in the road are a good reminder. I almost got whacked a few times by the speeding black cabs becasue I was looking the wrong way. Good times.
@CodyZamboni The Black Cabs were diesel as well as the Double Decker Buses. We use to choke and gag as those vehicles drove by.
I’ve always wanted to go to London! Thanks for sharing!
@JMattHicks If the time is right, go for it.
@JMattHicks If the time is right, go for it and have a bloody good time.
I’ve wanted to go to the British Museum for years, and this post only intensified that desire. Thanks!
@Sushi You should go when you get a chance. It’s not as big and spread out as the Louvre but it’ll take a better part of a day to see everything and that’s going at a fast pace.
@harrycovair I plan on it. That’ll probably be the second place I stop when going to London… after Platform 9 and 3/4, of course.
I’m just waiting for Harry Potter and the bunch to come jumping out of Diagon alley.
I recommend against an international incident, unless it could restore the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Hawai’i or free Tibet, but MaxMaxMax is spot-on about the British Museum and the Lord Elgin Marbles, as they are sometimes called. The position that the British carted them off when the modern nation state of the Hellenic Republic did not yet exist, and with the permission of the Ottoman Governor, may be a legal argument, but today it is without moral and equitable merit. There is a gaping hole on the Acropolis and in the Acropolis museum for these originals, and every Greek is painfully aware of it. Cat, if you can’t fix that up while you’re in London, we’ll just have to figure some other way.
Oh, if only the stickers you’ve been stealthily pasting up had “honolulu” in the logo, you could get some international traffic to this site! So funny to see you pasting it everywhere… er, I mean, funny how you’re “finding” them everywhere (ahem!) ;^D
Copy and paste from post I couldn’t upload earlier today.
MaxMaxMax said the same thing I was thinking, going all the way to London to have an Egg Salad Sandwich, a Hot Dog, and Pho. Strange when you mentioned peanuts in the Pho broth. First thing I was thinking of was Ox Tail Soup with Pho Noodles.
The British Empire appropriated not only the Greek works of art, they also have stuff from Egypt, China, and even Hawai`i as you pointed out. Actually in some cases plundered might be a better descriptive verb.
Couldn’t help but notice those “business cards” in the telephone booth with the NonStop sticker. Wonder what those business cards are for.
As usual Cat, very nice pics to accompany your blog.
Cut and paste of a post I couldn’t upload earlier today.
@MaxMaxMax said the same thing I was thinking, going all the way to London to have an Egg Salad Sandwich, a Hot Dog, and Pho. Strange when you mentioned peanuts in the Pho broth. First thing I was thinking of was Ox Tail Soup with Pho Noodles.
The British Empire appropriated not only the Greek works of art, they also have stuff from Egypt, China, and even Hawai`i as you pointed out. Actually in some cases plundered might be a better descriptive verb.
Couldn’t help but notice those “business cards” in the telephone booth with the NonStop sticker. Wonder what those business cards are for.
As usual Cat, very nice pics to accompany your blog.
@harrycovair Yeah, I was having trouble posting earlier too… NSH seems to have worked the glitch out though.
CAT:
Aaaiiiyyyaaahhh! Fuud Pix? Say, didn’t you cover this before??? Toa Chao or Hale Vietnam???
Good thing you caught those instructions on the pavement! A friend’s college student son was killed in London when he stepped off the curb after looking the wrong way and was run over by a taxi cab.
Sorry to be a downer; absolutely loved that you started out the London post with a trip to the Bristish Museum. Not enuf people your age value such things. Oops, did it again!
Carry on!
Interesting stuff, more of an everyday life post. Haven’t had breakfast because i wasn’t hungry… until now.