An American Girl in Avignon

For our second day in London, we thought that taking the tube everywhere would be the best decision for transportation. We bought day passes, much like the bus for the day before, to hop on an off whenever we liked. Thankfully Kyle was a pro at metros; he personally guided us through the Paris metro station after all. The London metros are more cramped than the ones in Paris, and the train cars are square shaped. Every time the door opened to let passengers on and off, a voice in a thick cockney accent said, “Mind the Gap Please,” the instructions were also written on the curb. I wondered if the French people could understand what this meant. We ended up having to help some French people figure out where to go when we were on the metro. It was weird being on the other side and understanding all that was spoken to us. In a way, I think London made us feel a little homesick, because it had less of a European feel than the other cities we have visited, and the fact that people were speaking English made me feel like I was back in the United States.

Our first stop was an attempt to go to King’s Cross and see the infamous Platform 9 ¾ to Hogwarts. It wasn’t until we had already arrived at King’s Cross that we figured out you had to pay to access platforms 8-10. Failed attempt, but at least we saw the station. The British seem to be more in a hurry than the Parisians. People were running in every direction to catch their trains on time. It is a stereotype that the British are always on time. I guess they want to keep up their reputation.

The Tower of London was the second major stop on our to-do list for the day. Supposedly the place is haunted, so that made the stop more interesting for Kyle. I personally have always been fascinated with London, the royal family, and England, because it’s my “mothership.” Caldwell is a very British name. My aunt, fascinated with genealogy, traced our family back to Anne Boleyn and, of course, Queen Elizabeth I herself. Of course, this relation is distant and our family is no longer royal (would not be in Ohio, if this were still true). But is cool to say that someone is your family was “on top” at some point in history. For just about every biography I did in middle, grade, and high school, I chose Princess Diana. What can I say, I find royalty fascinating. I have always questioned what makes one “royal.” Who decides if someone is worthy of ruling in the first place? What separated the blue-blooded lines from the peasants? And after viewing the famous (and overly extravagant) Crown Jewels, one wonders if the royal money was spent on the wisest purchases in past generations. There was a luxurious, purple crown dripping in jewels on display that was made for Prince Albert…he only wore it one time. It is ironic to me how a place such as the Tower of London, where people were tortured and executed is also the same location that houses the riches of the royal family, the people doing the executing and taxing the poor. I wonder how much money was spent making these crowns, although beautiful and neat to look at, which could have been spent on things to help the nation of England. The wealth of the royal family is extravagant to the point of nausea. But I am glad that we got to see the jewels. What girl doesn’t like looking at diamonds?

After our long three hours at the tower and quick look at Henry VIII’s massive collection of armor, we stopped for some classic fish and chips on the steps before heading to Saint Paul’s cathedral for some relaxation before making our way to the Globe. The modern model of the Globe was so cool. I am a big Shakespeare fan, as well as Kristina, so we were content just looking in the gift shop, outside, and lobby, since the theatre was closed for a play that evening. I bought a collection of magnets with Shakespeare’s love quotes on them. He had some wise words to say on that subject, that’s for sure. My favorite was, “Love from one side hurts, but love from two sides heals.” I also liked, “If music be the food of love, play on,” “They do not love that do not show their love,” and “When I saw you I fell in love, and you smiled, because you knew.” Ah, so good. Another one of my favorite quotes of his, “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women are merely players.” Ain’t that the truth. Life can definitely be compared to theatre sometimes.

Our last stop before dinner was the Modern Art museum, which was free!! If you don’t know the meaning behind the art, then pieces in a modern art museum can just seem like a bunch of scribbles, but after I found out that the largest soap on a rope was a memorial to all the Jewish people whose fat had been used to make soap during WWII, the seemingly worthless piece of “art” had much more resonance. Although I am personally not a big fan of modern art, although I am a big fan of art in general, it was neat to see something different – outside your typical Van Gough and Monet – for a change.

Since the corner of my metro ticket had been bent, it no longer worked. So I had to go through the hassle of showing my ticket at each turnstile to the normally busy attendants. Note to all those taking metros: hold on to your tickets because you need them to get out and don’t bend them the slightest bit.

Since Thailand was a British colony, England has a large selection of Thai Food for a cheap price. I had never tried Thai food before coming to London, but after I did, I will place it amongst my ranks of favorite foods with Chinese and Chipotle. I wish that Avignon had a Thai restaurant…

After dinner and hopping off the metro to take pictures at Big Ben, we went in search of a pub near Trafalgar Square near out hotel. (The drinking age in London is 18, I asked before I went in, because there was a sign on the door saying they will card if you look 21 and under). Tired and just wanting to sit down, we picked the first pub we spotted down a dark, side street, which to our luck happened to be the famous Sherlock Holmes restaurant. It was really cool inside. There was Sherlock Holmes memorabilia all along the walls, and the Merlot was excellent. The drinking culture in Britain is quiet different than in France. The French like to go have a glass of wine or two and discuss politics. The Brits are a little wilder. They drink more, laugh more, and are much louder than the French at night. I kind of figured that intoxication was more acceptable here when the drinks were ordered were at least the twice the size what we would have gotten in France for the same price. Interesting how things like that are viewed differently in each culture. For example, the French drinking age is 16, and there is a completely different attitude towards alcohol. I will be interested to see how different the attitude is in Spain next weekend. Isn’t it the land flowing with Sangria?