Mastering London

My final day in London started early as I slipped out of the hostel trying not to wake the others. I took an hour on the Internet to plan my day in the lounge. I had some fun ideas! All ready, I stashed my stuff in a hostel locker and was off back-pain free. I stopped at a general store and got a couple of drinks and snacks for the day. My next stop was in a coffee shop for an Almond Croissant and a cup of coffee. I took my time and savored the nice quiet morning. Also, by this time my thoughts had developed an English accent. It was fun thinking about the different things I would do today. Ahh, the things that amuse me!

My first stop was St. Paul to walk around on the inside. When I made my way over it was open, but they were charging about 15-17 pounds to go inside. I decided to skip it and head to my next destination which was over the Millennium Bridge to Tate Museum. Well, the walk over the bridge was nice, but the Tate Museum was closed for the week and it looked like an ugly factory anyway. So, on to my next stop....The Globe Theater.

I had been looking forward to the Globe Theater ever since I arrived in London. The box office wasn't quite open yet since it was still early so I got a chance to walk around the area and soak in the Thames River for 20-minutes. When the Globe Opened I was the first one through the door, but tours weren't going to start for another 30-minutes. The good news was that my ticket got me an all-day pass to the Shakespeare Exposition. The Exposition was awesome! It was full of artifacts, clothing, instruments, sound booths, history, and more! It was my kind of place! I really fancied the sound and visual effects portions. Very cool! There was also an area where you could hear excerpts from plays where different people had acted in various parts. Famous people such as Dame Judi Dench, Peter O'Toole, Marlon Brando, etc. I even created my own Shakespeare lines for my future play.....this one is for you ma!:

My Shakespeare

Inside The Globe

Outside The Globe

30-Minutes wasn't enough to look at everything and read everything so would return later after the tour. The tour was by far one of the most informative and fun tours I had been on....the only exception was the Jungle Cruise ride at Disneyland where the guide ranted about Bamboo half the time. Anyway, I should say that I have a new found respect for Shakespeare. I didn't realize that he wrote mush of his work with the idea that it would be preformed at the Globe Theater and how the same stage set-up is used for all of the plays and they they are easily transferable. Imagination also plays a key role. I was overwhelmed with the design, acoustics, construction, history, and modern use. Where the classes sat in the theater and how Shakespeare wrote his plays with the audience of The Globe in mind. It was brilliant! After the tour I headed back to the Exposition where I finished my look around and also got to see a sword fight scene. They also had workshops in dressing in costume and using a period printing press. Very fun!

After, I popped on my iPod and listened to my collection of swinging 60's English rock bands.....among other English rock bands. I had fun gliding through the train stations and getting on one train to the next, it felt so natural and easy. I made my way to stop at Oxford Circus and just a couple of blocks up I found my next treat. Can you guess where it was? Well, it was a Joe & The Juice....I looked online and saw that they had two in London. I bought a sandwich and my juice and headed to a nice park to eat my lunch. It wasn't as great as Copenhagen, but it was still fantastic! I was debating on going back for another, but I decided to move on. I was just too excited for my next stop which was more of a pilgrimage that many before me had sought. My stop was at St. Johns Wood station. I didn't have a map of the area to find what I was looking for, but the bus routes did, so I used that to find my way around. It didn't take me long. Before I knew it there were several tourists snapping photos of the street and I knew I had found the famous Abbey Road. It was cool! There is not much to see, but you definitely get a feeling of accomplishment for getting there. It's hard to explain.....it was very peaceful and enjoyable. Everyone there was there for one reason....The Beatles. Now, the street itself isn't all that exciting other than that is where the Abbey Road cover was shot and the record studio is right there, but it was fun watching people recreate that famous image. As many before me, I also left a few words. I just put the first thing that came to mind at the time for what I was feeling at that moment. In retrospect, I'm glad I put what I did because it sure conveys my thoughts on a lot of things:

Let it be!

Abbey Road

By this point my plans for the day were fulfilled. I decided to head back to the hostel to pick-up my things and head to the Kings Cross Station to catch my next train......AND can you guess what my platform number was?

Patform 9 3/4