A relaxing and uneventful train ride to London, parlayed into a wet and crazy evening walking around the city. I arrived into King’s Cross, and then hopped down to the tube to Paddington Station, where my hotel is nearest to. A quick check-in to my small, yet adequate and nicely furnished room, and I was ready to go.
Of course, as with my luck, the thunder clapped, and it turned into a torrential downpour stranding me at the hotel for a while. The skies looked to be clearing up, and I finally ventured into the city as the rain had stopped. My luck continued, as just as I was safely about 3 or 4 blocks from the hotel, the thunder crashes and the rains begin again. I took shelter in the covered archway entrance to a hotel, until I got so fed up with it I just left and got wet anyway. Fortunately, at some point it let up a bit and I could get around town. I took a walk across Kensington Park, and then found myself at the Natural History Museum. Lots of interesting stuff there, but then the scary stuffed cat scared me and I left.
I went next door to the Science Museum, which was pretty cool. After wandering through there for a good amount of time that I lost track of, I wandered up the street and ended up at the world famous not-to-be-missed gihugous department store Harrod’s. Living up to its reputation, it had pretty much everything you could POSSIBLY think of under one roof. So the next item up for bids… impress your friends with the desk to replace all desks. Hand-crafted from exquisite hardwoods and with that olde-world charrm you don’t find these days, it’ll be a perfect addition to your warehouse-sized office of any size! And it could be yours… if the price is right.
Did someone bid $1? Oh, I’m sorry. The actual retail price is… 76,799 pounds, or the unbeatable price of approximately $122,000. Definitely something to add to your collection.
After gawking at all the overpriced junk at Harrod’s, I continued down the street towards Piccadilly Circus, but was entertained by some store’s elaborate window displays, including what I can only describe as “The Gin God”.
Hmmm, kinds makes me want a martini. I made my way on through the rather anticlimactic Piccadilly Circus, and on to Leicester Square. Weaving through all of the West End theatres, I dropped down to Trafalgar Square where I found the 2012 Olympics countdown clock.
Looking forward to that, in a little over a year’s time. Speaking of the Olympics, the city is an absolute nightmare right now. Practically everywhere you turn, there are streets closed and construction barriers up, as they rush to finish all these construction projects in time for next year’s Games. Makes it a bit of a challenge for the summer tourists this year, but I guess that’s the price you pay.
After successfully getting myself halfway across the city, I hopped the tube back to Paddington, and drug my sore and tired feet and legs back to the hotel. Plenty of adventures to continue on Wednesday.
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