Day One: We Begin

The long haul flight wasn’t so bad. I slept/dozed most of the way and was very grateful I got one of those neck pillows at the airport in Memphis. It really makes sleeping sitting up a lot easier! I also watched some “Lost” and the flight didn’t seem to drag on forever. I stayed hydrated and rested and by the time I got to London, I was ready to go! It was a beautiful sunny day, so I collected my things, left Gatwick via an express train into the city (saw Battersea Power Station on the way) and ended up at Victoria station, where I purchased our 7-day travelcards for Tube travel and hopped on the Tube to get to our home for the week: Bayswater. Bayswater is a little tourist area, although I’ve been informed there are a lot of locals there, too. The first thing when I stepped out of the Tube station was two red phone booths and…. *drum roll* a Burger King! *L*

 

Anyway, I literally ran into Rachel at the hotel and she went to get food and stuff while I showered and got dressed.

 

Then it was off to see the city. We came out of the Tube at Westminster, turned around and looked up and realized we were literally right under Big Ben. Took photos, walked along the Thames and across it. We saw Westminster Abbey and just walked around the area, getting the feel for it. Went back to Bayswater, had supper in a pub (well, I didn’t eat much because my stomach seemed confused about the whole time difference thing) and went back the the room, watched a bit of telly and passed out. Oh, and there was a freak snow thing that happened on our way back to our room that night – didn’t mention that. Apparently, it was unseasonably cool in London during our trip and that was the first snow in October since the 30’s.

Day Two: Upon Stalking David Tennant

It is now a running joke between Rachel and myself that when anything bad happens to me, I blame David Tennant. Stratford-Upon-Avon was this cute little perfect English town. We got there at about 2 p.m., starved and ready to eat. We checked into our hotel, which had rooms named after Shakespearean characters (ours was Ariel, which I didn’t realize until much later was a character from “The Tempest”). We ate at a little pub nearby (I don’t remember the name) and I had the best chicken kabobs I may ever eat. I also had a pint of cider to warm up, because it was cold! So cold, that in fact, in many parts of England, there seemed to be snow still on the ground.

 

We saw “Hamlet,” which was beyond brilliant. The show was on a thrust stage so there were times when the actors backs were to us. This is how we spent a lot of time staring at David Tennant’s arse during the show. And when he bent over, we got a peek at his red and white undies. So there’s the story…. hehe. We stood out in the rain with a few other die-hard Star Trek and Doctor Who fans just to get a signature or photo of the actors and… nothing. I did manage to get my program signed by two of the actors from the show, but most of the others zoomed out of there like they had better places to be. And no sign of Mr. Tennant or Mr. Stewart. After about an hour of standing out in the rain, one of the fans knocked on the stage door and we were told that theatre was officially empty.

 

I was a little disappointed and even a little upset. I mean, I did travel an ocean for this! *L* And by the time the crowds had thinned out, there were maybe only 20 people standing outside, so would it have been SO DIFFICULT to sign a few programs? SERIOUSLY? *LOLOLOL*

 

Anyway, we walked back to the hotel, shivering and wet and I was screaming at midnight “I HATE YOU DAVID TENNANT.” And started to blame him for everything that went wrong during the trip…. hehe

 

So that’s the running joke. I had three buttons pop off of my coat in those few days – it was his fault. It was raining – it was his fault. It was cold – it was his fault!

 

And to top it all off, right after we got to the hotel, we turned on the telly and they’re talking about how he had just announced that next season (the short one) is his last as Doctor Who. And well, that obviously WAS his fault! *LOLOL*

 

So there you have it, the first few days in London. There’s obviously more to type, but if I don’t get around to it, here’s a summary: we saw the British Museum, the Victoria & Albert Museum, the Tower of London, took a cruise along the Thames, ate in pubs and drank in pubs and did some shopping in Harrod’s. It was a fun trip and I had a blast with Rachel.

We also saw a werewolf on the Tube…

 

So yeah, maybe I’ll have to type up more later. I’ll be uploading pictures today, too.

 

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