Day 55: London

I woke up at what I thought was 8 am, but since it was daylight saving's time in London, it was really 7 am. I had breakfast, showered, and got ready for the day.



My first stop was the Houses of Parliament. It was raining and since I had left earlier than I thought, the houses weren't open. However, I saw them from the outside and got to shoot some photos of Big Ben, so I was happy nonetheless. I also saw Westminster Abbey before taking a bus towards Hyde Park. When I got off the bus, I went right rather than left and ended up cutting through Green Park. This worked out beautifully though because I stumbled upon Buckingham Palace. Just as I arrived, they were doing the changing of the guards.



I then made my way in the proper direction towards Hyde Park. It is a beautiful park with gorgeous gardens of flowers and plants. I saw a poor rat that was sick or something on the way because he was just sitting on the sidewalk, but anyway, I digress. I walked along the trails and found an amazing tree that's branches grew up and then bowed down towards the ground on all sides. Thus, you can walk into the tree and be totally engulfed by its limbs. As I continued on, I came across the Princess Diana Memorial Walk and walked along the Serpentine lake. There were some interesting looking birds by the lake that would dive into the water and catch crawl dads, or crawfish, or as one british person told me: yebby.

Next, I went to the Royal Albert Hall. This space is used for many things, but most frequently is used for concerts. We got to a tour of the entire building and learned a little bit of the history. For instance, although Albert had planned the creation of the hall, he had died before it could be built, so his wife built it in his honor. Throughout the staircases of the hall you can see a lot of A's located on the railings to further exemplify her love for him.

After Royal Albert Hall, I stopped into the science museum and looked through the store at all the little trinkets before taking the bus to my next location. When I got off the bus, I stopped to eat. I had a piece of pizza and some cheesecake (this was the first time I've had cheesecake since beginning my European journey and it tasted so good). After eating, I went to the Museum of Brands, Packaging, and Advertising. I got to see the transition of various packaging designs over time which I found to be extremely interesting. I also saw memorabilia spanning from the early 20's all the way to present day. I took the bus back to the center of town and on the way must have dropped my travelcard.



I had to buy a 1 day bus pass for the rest of my traveling for that day. I went to a theatre called Curzon Mayfair in SOHO. I saw an Italian film (english subtitles) called Caos Calmo. It was pretty good, but the fact that I was watching the film in London added to the excitement. After the film, I was exhausted and took the bus back towards the hostel. I bought some ravioli from a little supermarket to heat up at the hostel. I showered, read some of my book, and then went to sleep.