Just a quick note, I hope everyone who was affected by Hurricane Sandy is doing well and that life will return to normal quickly. It was very nerve wracking to watch what was going on back home over here, especially when the media loves a good disaster.
Anyway, onto a more pleasant subject.
Approximately 2 to 3 times a week, I like to walk to school. This is normally dependent upon the weather (which is unpredictable at best. It could be sunny at home and pouring at school.), if I'm running late (90% o the time), or if I am carrying an inordinate amount of weight (i.e. Library books, or my laptop if I'm going to try to be industrious after lectures). It's a pleasant walk, about 3 or so miles, and takes around an hour to complete due to waiting for crosswalk signs to change.
To begin, you head right out of my flat, heading down towards the Albert Embankment, a lovely stone paved walkway along the Thames. On your approach, you pass an old boat building dock, which has remnants of old boats sticking up directly out of the ground. To your left is the MI5, where James Bond works. To your right, Big Ben and Parliament gleam at you from across the river. You head down towards this iconic part of London, the heels of your shoes clacking merrily along the path. There are benches placed up every so often for people to rest and take in the scenery, a cafe or two is peppered along the walk in case you are in need of caffeine (I am often in need of caffeine). On foggy mornings your footsteps are muffled, runners emerge from the mist and fly by. Up ahead is the London Eye, you turn left here and go across Westminster Bridge, where the Scottish bagpiper is. Every day. Always. You've learned to like bagpipes.
Over the bridge you go, fighting against tourists who invariably stop in the worst places, walk in the wrong direction, and try to take group pictures that people are constantly walking through. At the second light, you turn right down a road that you don't really know what it's called, but you know it's the right one because you can see Westminster Abbey on the corner. Walk, walk, walk. Big Ben, at this point, has rung out at least once during your trek, letting you know if it's 15, 30, 45, or on the hour. Mostly, this is important for knowing just how late you are running. Along this next road you pass several important looking buildings, along with plenty of statues and memorials to the Glorious Dead. You have often wondered just what is so glorious about being dead. You bet that the dead would much rather have not died gloriously. At the bases of all of these statues are wreathes of poppies, a sign of remembrance. On the left is the Royal Calvary, where men with funny candle snuffing hats sit astride giant horses all day. You know that through that gate and across the street behind it lies Buckingham Palace. You think that your walk to school is pretty cool.
Oh, look at that, the street is dead ending in a square. Trafalgar Square, to be precise. Behind the famous column is the National Museum, something that you keep meaning to go to but have yet to actually make time for. Off to the right is The Strand, which has loads of shopping. You continue up to the back right corner of the square, down Charing Cross.
This bit of the road is very uninteresting. There are Chinese food shops, some neon signs, and a Chipotle (which is actually very exciting but you haven't gone there for the sake of trying new things.) You pass a few theatres, a few cafes, a couple that you would really like to pop into one of these days. You round the corner and viola! Tottenham Court Road and Oxford Street.
Per usual, these streets are crazily packed with people. There's an awful lot of shopping to do, and more than enough people willing to do it! You take a moment to wonder just when, exactly, all these people go to work. There seems to be an oddly disproportionate amount of people free at 11 in the morning on a Monday for this to be normal. You pass another theatre, this one is showing We Will Rock You (based on Queen's music, very fun, you should go see it). The first time you saw this building you were wondering why there was a giant golden statue of Elvis on it. It's not Elvis.
Up the road you go, past grocery stores, phone stores, movie stores, something that is called a Casino but looks deceptively like an arcade, fruit stands, coffee shop, coffee shop, Starbucks, coffee shop, before turning down a small street next to a building that has already decorated for Christmas. You think this is ridiculous, but forgive them for 3 reasons. 1, they don't celebrate Halloween all that severely here, so it's ok to start decorating for the next "major" holiday because 2, they don't celebrate Thanksgiving either (something which depresses you greatly because you do so love turkey dinner), and 3, they have chosen to decorate the exterior with legitimate pine boughs. Seriously. These things smell AMAZING.
Down this small street you pass one of the very best pastry places you've ever been to, a luxurious and charming apartment building (where, this morning, you saw a parent holding their child up to the window so it could stare, amazed, at the world below. This made you smile), a Waterstone's bookstore which looks like some kind of Victorian castle, an old church, a beautiful fenced in park, and here you are, at last, at the Institute of Archaeology.
And that is my walk to school.
XO,
L
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