The next day began with The Globe Theater. I was lucky that I went on this day because even though the tour doesn’t include watching a play in the theater, there was a special performance we got to see. The theater is rebuilt in mostly the same way that the original was with the oak timbers and real thatched. Then, I made a long trek up to Kings Cross Station. On the way, I passed a street called Old Bailey and encountered the Criminal Court from A Tale of Two Cities. The Platform 9 ¾ at King’s Cross was set up in a way that was very, very touristy. They had half a trolley sticking out of the wall with scarves and cloaks that you could wear for a picture.
Read more: London Calling, Part 1
After that quick stop, I went to the British History Museum which is kind of their version of the Smithsonian. It was overwhelming to say the least. There were lots of very historical stuff but my favorite was the Rosetta Stone.
Next, I took a walk through Piccadilly Circus and Trafalgar Square which were filled with travelers and street performers. The National Gallery was close by so I decided to make a pit stop there to get some relief from what ended up being a very hot and sunny second day. I saw lots of paintings, but my favorites were the Sunflower painting by van Gogh and a partially unfinished ballerina painting by Degas.
Since I sped through lots of London, I ended up having some extra time on my hands. I went for a walk through Hyde Park which is sort of like London’s Central Park. It was a great summer day with lots of people enjoying the weather. I sat down on a bench at one point and a British guy sat with me and we talked about travel for about 30 min. All of London was just kind of crazy to visit because I just kept replaying movies in my head or imagining books that take place there.
My ride back to Germany was by bus instead of plane, but the one upside was that I had the chance to ride a lovely hour-long ferry over the English Channel to France (it made me feel like A Tale of Two Cities again).
JKO
