Weekend in London's done now, still no lack of things to do! If there's one phrase that will be stuck in my head for a long time it will be the constant polite reminder to watch your step before getting on a subway train. Thursday night was the official start of my weekend, and I was able to kick it off with watching a performance of The Lion King. Honestly, I think the play is even better than the original movies in some cases. It has several songs and dialogue added, and enough was added that it didn't feel like rewatching the movie. It's not enough to describe it, if you get the chance, check it out!
The rest of the weekend's been entirely sightseeing, and not even all of it was in London. Friday I visited Hyde Park for a walk, came across the Albert Memorial and I found the Museum of Science and Industry. As soon as you enter you see a timeline of sorts about the history of energy starting with coal and going through the progression of steam engines. Also featured is a space section which houses a full-size replica of the moon lander. That afternoon I shopped a bit before visiting the Zoology museum which was interesting despite mostly having a bunch of dead stuff in jars
The next morning I bought some train tickets for a spur of the moment trip to Ramsgate with some friends. Ramsgate is a small port town southeast of London of about 40,000 people. It's the only Royal Harbor in the UK, and we were able to see the ocean and beach. We managed to stumble upon a building called the Sailors Church, which had been repurposed to serve as a school of sorts for this Sea Cadets program. Essentially the program is used as a diversion program for at risk youth which is kind of a mix between the Boys and Girls club, ROTC, and the Boy Scouts. The boys join at a pretty young age, and they learn seamanship, knot-tying, and several other skills. They also go camping and hiking every now and then as well. We had no idea what we were visiting, but as soon as we entered an elderly man gave us a tour and invited us to have tea and coffee. I think we spent a good hour and a half just chatting with the people who run the program, and I enjoyed avery minute of it.
Today was much quieter. I joined a group of people visiting Camden market, and I don't know if I have ever seen a larger group of goofy people in my life. Apparently Camden is known for people with an...eccentric taste in fashion and hobbies, and it showed in the type of clothes they were selling. I can't say I was particularly comfortable, but it was an interesting look at the diversity of people you might come across in London. Didn't really do much else today, I've been pretty tired for most of it. This week I plan on visiting some of the major landmarks in London like Parliament, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, and a bunch of other recognizable locations. I still can't get any pictures up, so that will have to wait until I get back to the states. I still have plenty of time to see everything I want so check back in a few days to see what I have to say about it!
-Pat
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