Arrival and Wonderful London

So I have finally been able to get to the Internet and post about my trip.  I landed in London at the Heathrow Airport after a straight and easy seven-hour flight. We had one horrible bout of turbulence causing me to think back to those episodes of Lost where they show the plane crash. I had hoped I would be able to sleep through the flight but that unfortunately did not happen. It didn’t matter because I was on Holiday and getting ready to step onto the land of another country.

My original plan was to stay at a hostel in Chelsea I had found off of www.hostelworld.com; however, one of my roommate’s parents put me in touch with a relative they had in London.  After contacting their relative, I was invited to stay in their beautiful house in St. John’s Wood. They thankfully put me on the right track for getting on and off the tube station and the best things to do in London.  It was wonderful to have this great home base and very useful resource throughout my stay in London.

I hopped on the very convenient and inexpensive London Underground from the St. John’s Wood station after passing both the Abbey Road crossing and Paul McCarthy’s house. I bought an Oyster Card while at the station, which made it convenient to just swipe before I boarded any train or bus.  I knew I was in love with London when I stepped out of the Westminster tube station and was looking at Westminster Abbey, the Big Ben, and the Thames Rover. A tip for Westminster: if you go to one of the Sunday services, you can get in and look around without paying.

Next, I visited Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms where the British Government conducted research, made decisions, and had scrambled phone calls to Roosevelt in the United States all while being bombed during the siege of London.  It was a wonderful exhibit that cost 12GBP (the usual price I found for museums while in London.) Being right off the flight and trying to fit a lot in, I fell asleep while watching one of the movies about Chamberlin in the huge museum.  I will need to go back one day when I am a bit better rested and can then take in all the facts.

After that, I walked across the road to St. James’ Park and sat to people watch.  I then went to this great little pub called The Clarence off of Whitehall Road and ordered lunch.  I had a B.L.T. and a cup of pea soup, topped it off with a Stella Artois.  I then headed to the National Gallery at the end of Trafalgar Square.  The paintings ranged from the Renaissance period up to Picasso and Van Gough and were wonderful.  The best part is that admission to all art museums is free.

After walking through a lot of London, exploring Oxford Street, Chinatown, and Piccadilly Circus, I decided to take in a show.  I went to see Enron – a fantastic show about the Enron Corporation Scandal in the early 2000s – and paid only 20 GBP for a day-of student ticket.  The play was very well done and was held in the Noel ­­­­Coward Theater just off of Trafalgar Square.  By 11 o’clock I was exhausted, got on the Tube, and called it a day.

On the second day in London, I decided to go away from the city and see the Wimbledon Tennis Championships.  Unfortunately, I didn’t get to Wimbledon till right at 10am, which is when the doors opened.  I became number 9401 in the queue waiting to get into the Championship.  I then queued for the next seven hours and was not able to get in until 5pm. It was hot in the sun and I became very hungry while waiting in line. After seven hours waiting in the queue you really get to enjoy the people in front off and behind you.  I was in-between a British couple and these two Aussie broads.  A tip for next time: everyone is allowed one backpack sized bag where they can keep either a bottle of wine or two beers and can bring them into the Championship with them.  This is a great way of packing food and drinks and not have to spend as much money when you get inside. Also, if you arrive at six or seven in the morning you are very likely to be able to see a full day’s worth of tennis.

Finally I made it in and I was very ready to see some tennis. The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club is absolutely beautiful. The food court had terrific food, and nothing beats the beauty of their grass courts.  I was fortunate enough to seem a couple of doubles matches while I was there.  I watched ­­­­­­­­Asiam Qureshi and Rohan Bopanna play ­­­­­­­­Phillipp Marx and Igor Zelenay in men’s doubles.  Then walked around and saw Ross Hutchins and Anne Keothavong loose to David Marreo and Alexandra Dulgheru in mixed doubles.  Afterwards I went to the food court to get the world renown Pimm’s along with strawberries and cream. I was able to get great seats right behind the coaches and parents and see Lindsay Davenport and Bob Bryan beat Aisam Qureshi and Alla Kudryavtseva in another mixed doubles match.  Wimbledon Tip: each evening at 8:30pm five hundred tickets are released on www.tickmaster.com for the next days Center Court matches. So gamble for tickets, if you don’t get them get up early the next morning to wait in the queue.