London Is Calling!

Yay, another trip! And the last one for a long time (at least on a plane). Eeeek! I'm so excited! And while I have to go back to school literally the day we come back, that's okay! Because I'll be attending an event I've been anticipating for quite a while now. I'll have the chance to watch professional actors act out plays written by high school students and possibly.... by me. Are you on the edge of your seat? Probably to hear about London! I have been waiting to post about this trip for so long, but I had to get other posts out of the way. I learned at lot more than I planned to, let me tell you, which is always good.

I'd say my favorite part was.... the National Portrait Gallery. I LOVE ART. Anything that takes me out of this world for at least a few seconds is worth looking at. Just arriving in London was fun. Is that weird? On the plane I watched Green Book, one of the Academy Award winners for Best Picture. It displayed racial discrimination through a different lens and it was a great way to kickstart the cycle of learnin'. After landing, my father, sister, and I took this train called the Paddington Express. Perfect time to finish my burrito and to observe the very different London environment. As for the Underground, or the subway of London, all I have to say is, why can't the US have a subway like this?! Why can't it be quiet and less unappealing. But I have to say I enjoyed riding the bus more than riding in the Underground. The buses are so cute and way too fun. I kid you not, I asked my dad if we could ride in the bus to a random destination and come back.

Upon exploring the city, we came across a beautiful public garden (there's probably a name I'm forgetting) and that really brightened up my day. Especially after feeling a tad lethargic and heavy. Who knew that many flowers could grow together?! Besides just visiting the most popular locations, I like to explore the small things (especially in another country) like what is the street made of? Brick, cobblestones, or cement? How are the buildings built? How do people talk and what do they talk about? How do they dress? What languages do people speak? Are casual sweatpants a norm? What is London feeling like today? How does the sky look from here? Are you that kind of person, too? Please, leave a comment!

Speaking of popular locations, our tour began with the Buckingham Palace. It was as you would expect: crowded, colossal, and made better with yeoman warders 💂. We then walked back to the beloved Underground to meet our hotel room. And being that we're in another country, the hotel room is also important. It met with my expectations, with the most luxurious shower. My goodness.

And jet lag loves to ruin trips so that was day one.

────── The Tower Of London ──────

For some reason I really wanted to learn more about the English monarchs and the random stories that surrounded them. The Tower of London is a castle and fortress for the current queen or king. Many queens and kings stayed in the Tower of London during times of war. I should know more than this, considering I made my father buy the guiding book. The Tower of London is also home to the Crown Jewels, which are exactly what they sound like: the jewels placed on each monarch's crown. They were so stunning! I mean this completely when I say I've never seen anything like it. Only in movies about treasure. There were so many personally and well-crafted crowns, and other pieces used during a feast. The feast pieces, particularly for the coronation of the monarch, were so detailed and I mean DETAILED. I learned something very surprising (other than the fact that lines move quickly in London) which I'll get to when I talk about tea.

I also got a glimpse of the various throne rooms, the punishment room (I don't know what else to call it) where they keep the wrack, the royal bedrooms, some hidden chapels, a room where they keep wild animals 🙈, and off to the side I saw the London Bridge on the River Thames (make sure you can pronounce it correctly). While in the tower, I came across some very interesting pictures contrasting the present with the past.

────── Westminster Abbey ──────

This is where the Queen or King-to-be is coronated. And where Meghan and Harry got married. After the National Portrait Gallery, this was my second favorite. I don't have any pictures of the inside unfortunately, but look! The outside! Many very famous people were buried here, not including Shakespeare, but no matter 😔. Rudyard Kipling, Dylan Thomas, and Alfred Lord Tennyson! Rudyard Kipling is responsible for writing the White Man's Burden, basically saying that people in Africa and other "uncivilized" places need help from white, European people because those people, they're impaired. And even if they don't ask for help, it is still the white man's responsibility to "civilize them." What a burden! I may be guilty of stomping on his grave. But Alfred Lord Tennyson!

I was also given the pleasure of viewing the burial sites of Queen Elizabeth I (can you believe there are only two Elizabeths?), Mary I, also known as Bloody Mary, and Mary Queen of Scots. There are so many others I'm forgetting. On top of each site, there is a statue of the monarch lying down. There's something both eerie and relaxing about seeing that. I hope that doesn't make me sound extremely weird. Overall, beautiful architecture, especially the angels flying around.

────── The London Eye ──────

You can't go to London and not go on the London Eye. By not going, you can't say you've seen all of London. See what I did there? I didn't have to suffer through a long line. I did see all of London. To make up for what I didn't write, have some pictures.

─── Royal Academy of Dramatic Art───

London is home to one of the best acting schools in the world: RADA. When I went to New York, I walked around Juilliard, so being in London, I have to get a glimpse of the Royal Academy. My sister couldn't agree less. I'm considering applying here, because of its reputation and dedication to students, and because college in Europe is cheaper, even if you're an international student. I had heard so much about this school, through acting competitions and my favorite acting blog. I'm happy I got to see it for myself. Even just a glimpse.

────── No Big Ben──────

In all this excitement.... I did not forget about Big Ben. Who could have guessed that he/it was undergoing construction and was completely hidden. All I saw through the London Eye was this huge scaffolding. It took me maybe too long to realize it was Big Ben all along. I find it more funny than disappointing. At least we could see Big Ben's face through the scaffolding and tarp.

────── Literal and Figurative Tea ──────

 

My one regret on this trip is not drinking enough tea. Our hotel served tea in the morning (and why wouldn't it?) but I just never drank it. Why oh why? For my father's birthday, he, my sister, and I went to afternoon tea. They had vegan options! And an Alice in Wonderland theme! I've never been an exclusive Alice in Wonderland fan, but knowing how magical and wondrous the story is, I'm intrigued. I think every aspect of the theme made an appearance on the display. From the "drink me" sign to the smoking caterpillar. And nothing tasted like what you expected it to taste like. Yuuuummmmm! I need to do this more often. I hope my father enjoyed this as much as I did. The only other time I drank tea was on the way back to Boston. Such a mistake! I've never been a fan of tea with sugar, but with English tea, it's incomplete without it.

I've got some tea to spill. There were some things about England's past I questioned as a visited different locations of London, particularly the Crown Jewels and Westminster Abbey. As we know, England colonized many countries, among them India. I never realized the Koh-i-Noor diamond, one of the largest diamonds on the Queen's crown, came from India. The description at the Tower of London stated the diamond was "acquired" from India. Can you say "bias"? My family can agree the diamond was not "acquired," more like stolen or taken from India. It never occurred to me that England still had things, for lack of a better word, from other countries and didn't plan on returning them, which kind of really frustrates me. There wasn't an apology for England's actions, for Apartheid in South Africa, for taking over so many nations.

While in the Westminster Abbey, I saw plaques commemorating Lieutenants "stationed" in India. Why? I understand that those plaques were probably constructed at the time when India was colonized, but can't I be annoyed for just a moment? thank you. It's like commemorating Confederate generals in the US. This sort of attitude from the country toward England's history of colonization made me question whether I'd like to study here, despite the lower tuition price. In that moment, I saw a country that assumed it's power and took over other groups of people and hasn't properly apologized for anything, as if those actions are forgotten with time. And I couldn't help feeling so irked that I need to rant about it for a little while. Colonization is particularly a touchy subject for me. I CAN'T STAND IT (I say while living in a colonized land). End of rant. Thank you for humoring me.

That being said, I was amazed by the diversity of languages I heard all around me: Hindi, Spanish, Tamil, Italian, Russian, French, and.... English. That always fills me up. The food is considerably better here than it is in the United States, not to choose a controversial subject 😋. We came across a really good Indian restaurant with the best gobi 65 (look it up) and dosa. And we visited a vegan restaurant after visiting the Royal Academy with the perfect brownie, probably the best one I've ever had (I haven't made too many successful brownies).

Many, many, many photos and words later, that's London in a nutshell. I hope I didn't irritate or bore you too much. Great job for getting through the whole thing

Let me know: if you were to travel to London, what is the first thing you'd want to see?