First of all, I want to say thank you to my sweet friends for commenting on my last post and giving me such rich encouragement. Really and truly, it means the so much to me.
Secondly....LONDON! I went back this weekend because one of my best friends from high school (and former roommate in college) was going to be there for a week for school, and we just couldn't resist the opportunity to meet up. I wasn't really smart enough to plan ahead on this one, so I ended up taking a bus there and back....which was a NINE HOUR ride--one way. So I spent most of Friday and Sunday on a cramped bus, but hey, I can handle aching muscles and dehydration for a day in such a great city.
Getting into the city Friday night was quite interesting. I wondered around four blocks searching for a particular
bus in a virtual ocean of buses. I finally gave up, knowing I had already missed the one I was supposed to take, so I rode around the Underground for about 45 minutes until I made it to the train station. I accidentally jumped on the wrong train and thankfully, I had a strange feeling that I was on the wrong train and literally jumped off right as it was leaving. It was kind of a frightening thing heading out on the train, watching the landmarks of the city disappear from my eyes. I was in a hostel on the other side of the Thames....the wrong side of the Thames. This is not where you want to arrive after dark--but that's just what I did. Seriously, I've rarely been as nervous as I was in this neighborhood, but thank the Lord, I survived. My friends arrived later that night, and when we came out of the hostel Saturday morning, we were pleasantly greeted with a blood splattered sidewalk surrounded by police tape as we walked
to the train station.But anyway, we did have a fantastic day! We spent the morning in St. Paul's Cathedral, which was really spectacular. We did the enormous hike (259 narrow, winding stairs) up to the top of the dome and looked out over really amazing views of the city. It was overcast and cloudy, but that's London. Naturally, pictures are forbidden in St. Paul's, but the one here is one of the stealthy snapshots I managed to click.
After the cathedral we stood in line for discount theatre tickets in Leicester Square, grabbed some lunch, and parted ways. I spent my afternoon wandering around the city, ducking in various shops, taking another look at the Hou
ses of Parliament and Big Ben, and doing some people-watching in Trafalgar Square. My favorite part of the afternoon was perusing the National Gallery. Museums are totally free in the UK, and this one is INCREDIBLE. I spent almost two hours in there, but one could truly spend all day soaking it in. I saw works by Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Monet, Van Gogh, Reubens, Cezannne, Rembrandt, Van Eyck, Raphael, Botticelli, Titian, and Degas. I was probably most excited to see a painting I remember loving as a little girl: "The Umbrellas," by Renoir.After dinner, I went to see the musical Wicked, which I've wanted to see for several years now. It was, just as I expected, really spectacular and so much fun! We had quite a late night of wonderful fun with my dear friend Hannah......and then I got about 3 hours of sleep.
The really frightening part was getting back to my bus the next day. I had to get up at 6AM to wonder around (in the dark, of course) this scary neighborhood to find a random local city bus back to the huge Victoria bus station and make it to my Glasgow bus by 8AM. Somehow (by the grace of God) I made it onto the bus on time and made the 9 hour journey back.
It seemed strangely comforting to pull back into Glasgow as the sun set....I think I'm actually starting to feel at home here, and I can't even begin to say how happy that makes me.
