Touring London
Today I went touring around London. Here's is my description of it. This is edited from an MSN conversation I had with Ana.
I ended up going around with a group of students today. It was interesting. I took a number of pictures. We went down to the area by the parliament building. We were walking out of the Tube and this kid says, "Hey an old building. What is it? ... Wait, if this is something important that I should know, I'm going to feel stupid." I said, "I won't call you out on buildings as it shows which ones I know and don't know." Once we got out of the stairway a bit, we could see. It was the houses of parliament (and Big Ben). We looked around that section of london some and then we hopped the tube for this sports bar where a bunch of american students were meeting.
Somewhere just before getting on the Tube, we lost a guy in our group. It was the same guy that had lost his luggage lost by the airline and had the group flight people leave him at the airport while he was filling out paperwork. So we pondered what to do, realized there was nothing we could do. So we wandered around some more.
Somewhere before the tube ride, a couple people ate some crepes (I think that's how you spell it.). The rest of us weren't into that, so we waited. We were going to eat at the bar and then I was planning on heading back to the hotel, since I don't drink, etc. etc. We got there, and they're carding. I was surprised. The policeman that talked to us earlier (as a complete group... part of the orientation) said they have a problem with underage drinking because no pubs card and only some of the bars card. The guy asks me how old I am, and I was about to say, "I'm over 18.", but it came out as 18. I immediately corrected myself and said 19. That looked bad, he said no way. I had left my ID in the hotel. I didn't see any need for it. What good is a drivers' license, I figured. I didn't want to be carrying around my passport, as that's just too risky. My student ID was at the hotel for the same reason as my driver's license. I figured it wasn't useful. One of the other guys said he was going to do the same thing, but he hadn't done it yet, so he lucked out. Anyway, so it took us a long time to find a place that was acceptable to everyone. In the course of that, the two that had already eaten decided to go to the bar. The rest of us ended up eating at a "noodle bar". It was a chinese place. I ordered a stir fry. It was good. I learned to use chop sticks a little bit more.
Then, I decide to head back. I got a Tube map from one of the other guys and head for the station. Just as I am walking down the stairs, who do I see? The guy we had lost! He said he was following someone that he thought looked like the girl in our group. Then she turned around, and it wasn't her. So, he headed back to the hotel, then remembered we said something about Picadilly Circus, so he hopped on the Tube and went to that station and he had just gotten there. I took him to the bar (since he didn't know where it was) and then headed back.
I was one stop away from where I planned to get off, and the train announcement says, "Please note, the train will not stop at the next station." So I jump off right there. I guessed at which way to go out of the station and guessed wrong. I pulled out may map after a few blocks, thought I was going in the right direction. A few blocks later, I pull out the map again, realize my mistake and turn around. So, I made it back without wasting too much time.
I ended up going around with a group of students today. It was interesting. I took a number of pictures. We went down to the area by the parliament building. We were walking out of the Tube and this kid says, "Hey an old building. What is it? ... Wait, if this is something important that I should know, I'm going to feel stupid." I said, "I won't call you out on buildings as it shows which ones I know and don't know." Once we got out of the stairway a bit, we could see. It was the houses of parliament (and Big Ben). We looked around that section of london some and then we hopped the tube for this sports bar where a bunch of american students were meeting.
Somewhere just before getting on the Tube, we lost a guy in our group. It was the same guy that had lost his luggage lost by the airline and had the group flight people leave him at the airport while he was filling out paperwork. So we pondered what to do, realized there was nothing we could do. So we wandered around some more.
Somewhere before the tube ride, a couple people ate some crepes (I think that's how you spell it.). The rest of us weren't into that, so we waited. We were going to eat at the bar and then I was planning on heading back to the hotel, since I don't drink, etc. etc. We got there, and they're carding. I was surprised. The policeman that talked to us earlier (as a complete group... part of the orientation) said they have a problem with underage drinking because no pubs card and only some of the bars card. The guy asks me how old I am, and I was about to say, "I'm over 18.", but it came out as 18. I immediately corrected myself and said 19. That looked bad, he said no way. I had left my ID in the hotel. I didn't see any need for it. What good is a drivers' license, I figured. I didn't want to be carrying around my passport, as that's just too risky. My student ID was at the hotel for the same reason as my driver's license. I figured it wasn't useful. One of the other guys said he was going to do the same thing, but he hadn't done it yet, so he lucked out. Anyway, so it took us a long time to find a place that was acceptable to everyone. In the course of that, the two that had already eaten decided to go to the bar. The rest of us ended up eating at a "noodle bar". It was a chinese place. I ordered a stir fry. It was good. I learned to use chop sticks a little bit more.
Then, I decide to head back. I got a Tube map from one of the other guys and head for the station. Just as I am walking down the stairs, who do I see? The guy we had lost! He said he was following someone that he thought looked like the girl in our group. Then she turned around, and it wasn't her. So, he headed back to the hotel, then remembered we said something about Picadilly Circus, so he hopped on the Tube and went to that station and he had just gotten there. I took him to the bar (since he didn't know where it was) and then headed back.
I was one stop away from where I planned to get off, and the train announcement says, "Please note, the train will not stop at the next station." So I jump off right there. I guessed at which way to go out of the station and guessed wrong. I pulled out may map after a few blocks, thought I was going in the right direction. A few blocks later, I pull out the map again, realize my mistake and turn around. So, I made it back without wasting too much time.
posted by Richard Laager at
11:56 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home