Walking Around the Thames

Last Friday I went down to London to see some plays as well as to explore the city. I booked a hotel in zone two of the city (at least zone two on the underground map). There are six zones with zone one and two (especially zone one) making up the city centre. My rationale for backing a hotel vs. a hostel was the added privacy as well as the fact that from what I’ve heard, many hostels in London are party oriented. I don’t like the idea of being forced to sleep with one eye open.

When I got into London the first thing I did was went to Green Park to kill some time. Green Park is right next to Buckingham Palace. It was interesting to see as well as ironic since I’ve yet to see the White House in person. After snapping photos and asking some questions to a security guard about the palace, I started to make my way back over to Green Park. I noticed an arch way just down the road. I said, why not? I might as well just because who knows if I’ll make it back there.

The archway was a memorial and surrounded the arch were other little memorials for soldiers in past wars who are dead and gone. I found many memorials like this across the city, small plagues and small statues. It was interesting at how this city seemed to be steeped in its own history.

I took the tube to Earl’s court and checked into my hotel. They had bumped me up from a single to a double at no extra charge. I was pleasantly surprised. The room was adequately sized. It’s not as big as American hotels but I wasn’t planning on staying in my hotel for any other reason than to sleep.

I got lost on the tube after that. The district line can be a bit fickle as to where it wants to go. Once I got my bearings straight I headed to right near the centre of the Thames. I got off and walked down. I found the Millennium Bridge which is sandwiched between St. Paul’s Cathedral and the Tate Modern Museum. I headed towards St. Paul’s. Snapped photos and then headed towards the Gherkin a massive skyscraper which is a huge part of the financial district. To me it looks like a Faberge Egg. It’s easy to get lost looking for it because it’s designed in such a way that you can only really see it when you are standing right beneath it.

I got a coffee and then went to the Tower of London. I didn’t go in it. I just walked around the outside. I then headed towards Tower Bridge. This is the actual name of it. It’s not London Bridge like most Americans think. From there I walked down the Thames and then crossed over again at London Bridge. Continuing along I crossed again at Southwark Bridge. I ran across the Globe theatre and then I crossed yet again at the Millennium Bridge. It was an epic walk after which I was quite exhausted.

For me it was an interesting walk just because I am a big fan of taking walks, especially around rivers. I tended to take some pretty extensive walks around the Iowa River my freshmen and sophomore years.

I headed to the Novello theatre. I found a place to grab dinner. It was a good meal though pricey. I found my seats and the play will be my next blog post.