A Rainy Day in London

I arrived in England on October 4 and took the one hour train ride into London on October 5 to meet a friend from Ontario. We're both good friends with a mutual friend and we thought it would be fun to surprise her with a quick tour of some famous London sites.

My first time on a British train.

Ann, the woman I'm living with, gave me a ride to the station and explained the process - she's been amazing with helping me get my bearings and answering all my questions. Around the third stop along the way, two guys got on the train and sat near me, jabbering on and on. Although I could barely understand their conversation through their strong accents and slang, I could understand the four-letter words used frequently in each sentence. I smirked as it reminded me of my old workplace... good ol' linemen... and then I wanted to burst out laughing as I realized they were going on and on about "football" and the players and how much they make and how if "so-and-so did such-and-such" it would fix everything. It was so classically British yet so much like the hockey nuts back in Canada!

Eros at Piccadilly Circus.

I met Elizabeth at Piccadilly Circus on a rainy Sunday afternoon. I arrived about half an hour before her and I mostly just stood there trying not to feel overwhelmed as I stared at the buildings, crazy tourists, and the contrast between old buildings and huge digital billboards above modern shops and restaurants.

A goofy-looking pigeon wandering at Piccadilly Circus.

Lindsay - this one's for you! I was standing in Piccadilly Circus and thought of you when I saw the pigeons so I took a photo for you. You need to visit me so we can feed the birds... we'll even get bags and write "tuppence" on them!

Buckingham Palace.

The "topper" on the fountain in front of Buckingham Palace.

Buckingham has large parks around it where we saw people stop to try to get squirrels to come to them... really? That's the most entertaining thing they could think to do in London!? Next door to a palace!? Sad, really.

A guard who can barely see through his furry hat.

Yes, the girl who is usually opposed to the classic tourist stuff posed next to a guard outside Clarence House. He's real and I couldn't stop laughing at how absurd it felt to stand next to him for a photo. But hey, it was a necessary thing to do on my first visit to London. I wanted to stay and chat with the guys about what they do (there was another guard opposite this one), but apparently they aren't allowed to speak. I like asking people about their jobs if they do something quirky! And how can you get more quirky than this!? (I say that with the utmost respect.) But I still say the other guard cracked a smirk at me twice.

A big archway and me!

We happened upon this archway and we weren't really sure what it was all about, but it was big and impressive and we were in London, so why not cross to the middle of the road for a photo!? (I love that a black taxi made it into the photo!)

Just being myself in Trafalgar Square.

Going eye-to-eye with a guard's horse.

If you see a crowd on the sidewalk, there's some kind of photo op nearby... that's how we found this one. I first stood next to the horse and he slobbered all over my arm... then I decided to try a pose that wasn't so "classic tourist".

A classic red phone booth!

Finally found one that wasn't plastered with porn ads! As we approached the Parliament buildings I thought we might have better luck as all the others were pretty gross. As it turned out, this one only had the usual horrible smells, but none of the advertisements.

Westminster Abbey.

One of the doorways at Westminster Abbey. Elizabeth hoped we'd get there in time for Evensong but it's earlier on Sunday so we missed it. The guy at the gate said we could slip in for the last few minutes. We heard a hymn (Abide with Me) but could only hear the organ and faint choir voices as there's a dividing wall to separate the choir and church members and people who are on time from the riff-raff like us. The organ was still beautiful to listen to and at the end the organist played a classical song and it was pretty amazing. Just sitting in the church and knowing coronations had been held there was amazing... and then I looked at the floor and about three feet away from me was the marker for David Livingstone's grave.

"Lord, send me anywhere, only go with me.
Lay any burden on my, only sustain me.
Sever any tie but the tie that binds me to thyself."
- David Livingstone

A wall sconce on the exterior of Westminster Abbey.

Parliament Buildings.

So amazing to be there... I still find it hard to believe I'm really in England and it's all real.