15 September 2008

Cheers from London!



In my opinion, there is nothing optional about an "optional fieldtrip" to London. Quite the reverse, in fact. London—home of Shakespeare, Jack the Ripper, and even, for a brief time, Jimi Hendrix—is a sprawling, vibrant city, as impressive as it is expensive. Taking a coach (yessir, another double-decker) from Oxford at 8:30am, we arrived in London early enough to do some serious damage to our feet, traipsing around town from 10 in the morning till 10 at night. Minus the time spent on the tube, of course.

A List of Important, Entertaining, and/or Famous Things I Saw in London:

- Buckingham Palace
- Tower of London
- Globe Theatre
- Big Ben
- Westminster Abbey
- Tower Bridge (known mistakenly to tourists as London Bridge)
- St Paul’s Cathedral
- the National Gallery
- Millennium Bridge
- Thames River
- A homeless man feeding a baby squirrel with baby formula from a syringe in Trafalgar Square

I attended evensong and listened to the angelic overtones of their world-renowned boys’ choir echo off the gold-emblazoned ceilings of St Paul’s. I saw Rubens, Michelangelo, Da Vinci, and Caravaggio up close in the National Gallery. I stood outside the gates of Buckingham Palace and wished the Queen were at home to greet me. I ate pizza off the street in Leicester Square for a

pound-seventy. I took the underground and saw where the fire of London started and walked on the same streets as did Samuel Pepys and the Beatles.

And then I caught the coach back home to Oxford, stopping at G&D’s for homemade Bailey’s (flavored) ice cream before crashing into bed at midnight. What a lucky girl am I!

6 comments:

Marlette said...

Oh, Oxford Christye! What an adventure for a girl who has been grabbing life with both hands since birth!

Your London trip reminded me of an old song by Roger Miller, "England Swings" -

"England swings like a pendulum do;
Bobbies on bicycles two by two;
Westminster Abbey, the Tower of Big Ben;
Rosy red cheeks of the little children." Check it out on Youtube!

I'll be singing that song all day!

I love . . . I love . . . I love you!

Anonymous said...

What fun Christye! :) Your blog makes me miss you all the more! So glad to hear you are doing well! I just love being connected through blogging! :D

Love the nike add too! Heehee! ;)

Anonymous said...

omg, can't wait to cheers with you in real life! you are almost there (for america's standard). love you like a sister (the way "you know who" uses it, i just think it has more meaning that way :)

Unknown said...

i love you, but i hate you. i'm so confused...

Unknown said...

I heard Big Ben is not the clock, rather it is the bell inside the clock tower. Can you confirm or deny this rumor?

Fitzel

Christye said...

Lucky, I'd say - more like blessed by the oodles and gobs!!! Have a wonderful time EVERY SINGLE DAY! Christye Ellen