NB: I wrote this Friday night and early into Saturday morning. I just finished it today, Sunday morning.
Yesterday was filled with reading Joseph Andrews (Fielding) and Memoirs of an Infantry Officer (Sassoon). Also I went to class and tried to wrap my mind around Descartes Meditations. My brain was fried so I called it an early night. Since I have no classes on Friday I decided to take a break from the reading, get outta the dorm, and enjoy the weather.
Besides the freak snow storm (side note: the last time London got 6 - 8in of snow was when I lived here - question: did I bring the East Coast snow?) London weather usually is overcast in the morning and becomes sunny after eleven-ish. About a week ago I walked along the South Bank after going the to the Tate Modern and wanted to re-trace the path because I had forgotten my camera. Early this morning I was referring to a map of London that I have stuck to my walk, trying to figure out the best South Bank walk. And there was this odd green line that seemed to randomly section off parts of London. Behold the Jubilee Walk (jubileewalkway.org.uk). During my various treks through the city I remembered all these silver disks in embedded in the sidewalks. Here was the meaning of them. In 1977, to celebrate the Queen's Silver Jubilee, The Jubilee Walkway was instated, you could say. Designed by Max Nicholson the Walk covers roughly 14 miles, weaving in and out of the city. Now the city is quite expansive but the Walk takes place all in Zone 1 as far as I can tell. Sure you can do the walk all in one day but what would be the point? The Walk was specifically designed so that the greatest London attractions could be linked along the way. The silver disks in the sidewalk are to point you in the right direction and for more information along the way there are plaques giving some background on the landmarks.
For my part of the journey I decided to do part of the Number 2 walk, roughly three miles (check out the 'itineraries' on the website). Ann and I started from Monument Stop (District / Circle Lines) and already there is something to see! The memorial to the Great Fire of 1666. Pay two pounds and you can walk up the hundred something stairs and get a semi-good view of the city. But wait there is more - you get a certificate stating the accomplishment. I'll try to get back there. I want a certificate. We were supposed to find Great Tower Street, but it decided to hide from us. London streets are constantly hiding, making it super difficult for us grid loving (New York City esp.) tourists to find a street that is not a 90 degree turn. But no matter cause we found a great covered market. Covered markets are great because in a rainy city they are places of refuge. So after Ann and I cut around to Leadenhall Street and then took a left on Minories (Street / Road / Lane?). As I anticipated we would see Tower of London before it could get away, like said streets. We did not go on a tour but walked around the Tower by means of the public walkway. I hardly remember the Tower when I visited it in middle school but do remember that the Beef-eaters were fabulous tour guides. They knew their history and they were really into it. There were a lot of school groups going. Including a whole group of small children that donned red berets, a la Madeline style. Tempted to take a picture of the so cute subjects of the Queen, I remembered that in England face's of celebrities' children are blurred in tabloids, as to protect their identities. So on second thought I put the camera away. People here are very against any kind of attention dealing with children and dogs. It's true. Any ways - Passing the Tower and moving in the direction of East, we made our way to St. Katherine's Dock. Now I lack the knowledge about what the history is behind this destination. But it reminded me a lot of the area around Row's Warf in Boston. So I liked it. Crossing a small bridge to get over a small canal we headed back around to Tower Bridge. Again for a fee there is a small exhibit about the Bridge and you can go up in it - maybe later. The Walk must go on. The view must be great from up in the Tower. Ann and I made our way off the bridge and on to the walkway right on the river, South side and headed West. According to my map we passed City Hall - but it must not have been all that great of a building cause I didn't snap a shot. What I did see was HMS Belfast. Sweet a boat! And then I took a small video of two barges and a small boat. Ahhh Rivers. Can you imagine how many boats travelled down the river? The people and the cargo? I have been reading a lot of English 18th century novels all mentioning London and many refer to the river. Ann and I ducked into another covered gallery - Hay's to be specific. This one had a great sculpture fountain. Come to think of it's like what I imagine an artist's interpretation might be of Gulliver's Travels. Here is the great complex boat, full of details. You can almost forget that the front of the boat is a man. Gulliver was not as important as his travels were. He's not a rememberable character. Just kinda is there for the purpose of the satire narration. Ok, so as we were pasting the London Bridge we decided to take a short turn off the waterfront. Ann and I wandered near to another inland bridge which I think was part of the tube network. To the right of the bridge and down some stairs there sat Southwark Cathedral. Southwark Cathedral started out as a small community church but eventually became a cathedral after some years. A information board states that this sight has over 1,000 years of Christianity under it's belt. Impressive. Sitting on all the offered benches in the church yard were lunchers. The lunches being devoured were purchased under the bridge, right next to the Cathedral. Mostly the yellow and red roofed stalls contained food items. Sausages, cider, pastries, but mainly cheese. Huge wheels of cheese with great wax shells stacked. Some cut into, some with large wedges missing. A great mass of Packmans sprawled out on tables, getting ready to instead be gobbled themselves. There were cheeses with soft casings. These were the ones leaching smells under the bridge. Ann and I agreed that we had to go to more outdoor markets like that. Besides Cambridge the other weekend I have not gone to any outdoor markets. Portobello Road needs to happen peoples. Ann and I headed back to the water - for fear we might go too far inland and forget which way to go. Haha. No Seriously. So then we saw what looked like a great pirate ship. Really we had stumbled upon Sir Francis Drake's ship. Here we have the first ever maritime museum. Fun fact to know. Also the information sign claims that there are Pirate Fun Days. Must look further into that. I saw an odd hanging metal container further down the street so we went to see what that was. While aiming for the lofty metal cage thing in the sky we pasted by what remains of a cathedral. I think Westminster but don't quote me on that. All that is left is a metal spiral staircase and one wall with the no-holds-glass rose window. The thing that was suspended in the metal cage turned out to be from the prison museum. Just a prop. Taking a right to get back towards the water we rejoined the Friday crowds and walked along the Thames. We passed by the Globe, the Tate Modern, and got a great view of St. Paul's across the water. We passed the South Bank Book Market - which is under a bridge. People here love putting things under bridges I suppose. We also passed a skate park that is under the Queen Elizabeth Hall Purcell Room. Filled with graffiti. Due to the tourists and the gorgeous weather there were an ample amount of street performers. I have a video posted of a good example. But I am running out of steam on this entry so we will save that for another time. Since I live in the South Bank. We headed home, passing the London Eye and a great view of Parliament and Big Ben. Past Westminster Bridge and onward inland, to home we journeyed.
Just by a quick walk around the city so much can be seen. This is just one option - there are still 4 more walks that can be done. Really along with this entry you should be looking at the pictures cause it gives a better sense of what Ann and I saw. In conclusion: Ann and I were taking the tube to meet some friends for taco night when we heard a man proudly state, "I may be drunk, but I remembered my map." Good thing he has priorities.
Next time I hope to write about the street performers and my idea of the oddest statue contest.
