Last day of Spring break 2004

Friday would be my last day in London. It was a bit unerving to see the end of the break already. The order of the day was this: The British Museum, Tate Modern, Waterloo and Westminster, Buckingham Palace and then one last evening with Alan. 

The British museum
I decided to find this museum and got lost once again. I took the bus, which dropped me off in the middle of nowhere really. I had to ask someone and because the weather was so bad, there was noone for a while. I had a map but I was confused because there seemed to be a name changes in the streets or something. But I managed to follow someone and found the museum.

The building was very impressive and hosted different pieces from various civilizations. I didn't linger near the egyptian section, nor the several sculptures from ancient Greece. I was more taken by the structure of the building really. It was really huge and I could not stay too long because of what I wanted to visit during the day. So I took the metro to quickly get to my next museum.

Tate Modern

I passed by the building several times but never bothered to find the entrance. That day, I decided to go and took the bus once I got off the underground near St Paul. Trouble was the bus took me all the way in the constructions around the first floor. So I had to walk quite a bit before getting to a visitors entrance. It was really cold outside and drizzling rain so the plan was perfect for the day.

The building was an old power plant that they renovated to host diverse modern pieces. there were at least 5 floors and the first floor is a huge empty warehouse with lights dancing on the walls. So many people were just resting ont he floor, gazing at the mirror ceiling. This museum has a section relating the story of London through artifacts found in the Thames at different periods in time. That was pretty interesting. It also had various objects collected from Japan after the nuclear bombs.

I didn't go into the special features but I had a lot to see already.

Westminster

Westminster is another place that I visited very quickly becasue I didn't want to wait in line and it was cold outside. So I kind of took pictures outside and waited for the bus while avoiding being crapped on by bloody pigeons! 

Buckingham Palace

I really should have planned this visit earlier, but somehow I posponed it everytime. So here I was in the rain, walking to the palace like a pauper. It was so big and I didn't managet o find a visitors entrance (wait a min, you dont VISIT the place!). So on a rainy Friday afternoon, you could see this girl walking away from the palace in the rain. I managed to get off the big boulevard, and looking silly for too long, and got into this real awesome park (St James Park). It was like a dream, as it was so peaceful and some flowers were actually blooming. It was hard to believe that I was in a big city.

Although I was not in high spirits, it made me smile and sing in my head (Hunger and cold can do that to you!). I felt so happy all of a sudden, being in this park. The rain seemed to have stopped all of a sudden. I can't remember the name of the park, maybe St James, but I'm not too sure. After i got off the park, I followed this gentleman looking dude, who walked directly into the subway...just perfect. I was ready to go cheer up Alan.

The dinner

For my last evening, Alan decided to take me to where locals hang out. We got to Clapham South and started to investigate on the menus. We first got into this nice pub, and managed to get a corner of a round table (hihihi). I downed a smirnoff I think, or maybe a beer(?). And then we looked for food. We first ended up in a crowded oriental-style pub (I know, not very zen). And then we spotted this bistro at a corner and got in. The menu was very mouthwatering (huge burgers), so we settled in. I think the resto was the gastro, not sure though, I was pretty tipsy by then.

I ordered a burger and Alan ordered a steak. We also had a bottle of red wine, which we finished (unfortunately for me). The dishes were huge but I was so hungry and drunk that I ate it all, to the last tidbit. I was scared to stand up after that but I let the meal settle in my stomach and absorb the wine...hmmpfff....We had a really nice talk, about nothing and everything, one of those blissy moments when nothing really matters but the bubble into which you float.

After the (expensive) dinner (that ruined Alan), we went into a pub...now you wonder why? Well it was for dessert really, except instead I cannot remember what I had. All I know is that I managed to find a seat and that the smoke didn't even bother me anymore. We talked and talked and talked, and Alan was very sweet. We stayed until they kicked everyone out...it was quite late and I cannot even remember if we took the tube or the bus back home. That's how drunk I was. I could still talk though but my physical reactions were definetely slowed down.

We passed by a cab shop, to order for a cab to show up early in the morning to get me to the airport. Ahh so we got home by cab but Alan didn't trust him to show up in the morning ....quite practical really.

Back home, I jumped in the shower to get rid of the cigarettes smoke, and hung out with everyone in the living room. I was rather mellow/drunk/sleepy/very full. We were debating whether to sleep or not because my flight so early in the morning. But I fell asleep (nothing would have stopped me I think) and finally woke up beside Alan.

After that it was all running to pack, go to the airport, and painful goodbyes.

By the way a nice link for London is here.