8:30. we met outside of venneit close to walk as a group to the train station to catch a train from oxford to london.
10:30. we got to london via train, which i slept on the entire ride, and left paddington station to explore the city on our free day.
11:00. we went through hyde park, an amazing park decorated with various types of sculpture. two of the most interesting pieces, and most contradictory, were across the square from one another, providing the viewer with a contradictory emotion. to one's left side if approaching the park from paddington station, there is what appears to be an iron head of a horse, balanced on its nose. the features are done accurately and carefully, and from viewing the piece from the front, one has no doubt it is a horse. it is when you move to the side of the sculpture that you have a "eureka" moment. the horse has been balanced on its nose for a very specific reason. from the side, it appears to be two different things. the head of a horse and a point shoe which a dancer is balancing upon. the curve of the head is the same as the curve of the pointed foot in the shoe. the sculpture is definitely an optical illusion of the three-dimensional kind, and it was a great first thing to experience in london. the piece directly across from the horse is a beautiful arch. i'm not sure as to the dating or name of the work, but it definitely bears roman influence and is similar to the arch of constantine. it is exquisitely carved with images that may be deities or may be god and angels, however since i do not know the time period, i'm not sure which is a better candidate.
12:30. we finally get to where we needed to be, tower hill, and stop to get lunch before we go down to the actual tower complex. and i finally experienced it, fish and chips! i got them at a local pub, and they were well worth the £5.10 i paid for it. it was unlike anything i expected it to be. it was, of course, a good sized portion of fries, or chips as brits and outback calls them, a fillet of cod which was lightly fried, a serving of peas, and a side of tartar sauce. i'm not a big tartar sauce portion, so i didn't use it, but i did put malt vinegar on the fish to give it an extra kick. i had expected it to be more along the lines of fish sticks, not a whole filet, but it was so good that i didn't think any different. i ate more than half of the whole fillet, but towards the end i picked the fish out of the breading so that i didn't get too full. it was the classic experience i needed to have, and was a perfect way to start my london day.
2:30. we finally arrive at what i am most intrigued by in history, the tower of london. though it was once a palace and now serves as a treasury, i like it for the prison it once was. it was used most during the tudor reign, most famously by king henry the eighth and his children, and the tudor family fascinates me so the tower is something on my list of things to see before i leave. however, yesterday was not the day for that visit. instead, we took a riverboat tour of the thames river. the guides were not really guides, but sarcastic british watermen who provided us with quite the informational, and amusing, trip we needed on our free day. we saw everything from parliament, big ben, the reconstruction of shakespeare's globe theater, the gerken, and the oxo building. the history surrounding each thing is fascinating, but the buildings are not the only things that make you appreciate the river. the exquistie bridges also have much history surrounding them. one was built by women during world war ii, and the stone used cleans itself in the rain. no marketing nor ads of any sort are allowed along the river because it is considered to be royal territory. all in all, it was a great day to relax and learn about what was around us in a distant, yet detailed way.
4:45. carly and i got to paddington station to catch the train to oxford. i also used this opportunity to buy my love, paddington bear.
5:25: carly and i start our return to oxford.
7:15. i now decide that the weather, though chilly, is still nice enough for me to take a run, and the guilt from eating the fish and chips basically forces me out of the door.
7:45. mid-run, i begin to realize how dehydrated i am. my ears start to burn.
8:00. i get back to venneit close, drink lots of water, shower, do laundry, and eat dinner.
by around 10 i have fallen fast asleep.
here's what i saw in london first time around.
cleopatra's needle, a gift from egypt.
london bridge. the original was built by the romans and sold to america. this is its replacement.
london eye.
big ben's clock tower.
paddington bear's statue at paddington station.
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