July 17 2010

Ouch My Feet Ache

I woke up this morning intending to go to the a few museums starting with the British Museum. This didn’t quite happen though but I still had a great day and saw some great buildings and some really old stuff. Anyway the day started with a train ride from Gunnersbury Station to Leicester Square.

Leicester Square

Well if you are into theatre and films I think this is the place to be. As you get out of the tube you are assaulted with posters for shows and movies. Leicester Square itself is small but it is surrounded by the hand prints of movie stars that have attended premieres at one of the cinemas around there. Unfortunately there was a massive Audi stand in the middle of it ruining any chance of a good photo.

British Museum

From Leicester square it was up Charing Cross Road, right on New Oxford Street and left on Museum Road. I didn’t get lost once, Woohooo. The first thing you see is the familiar black fence that surrounds all the important buildings in London, then a mass of people and finally the facade of the British Museum. It really is a fantastic place, firstly it is free and secondly there are artefacts from all over the world. I started in the medieval Europe part of the museum and then worked my way around the place. Weirdly there was a stupid Fynbos exhibit outside the museum. What is the point of travelling 12 hours from South Africa to see bloody Fynbos? Highlights of the museum was seeing Mummies from Egypt, handling both a miniature statue from medieval Europe and 1.3 million year old “tool” from Africa or a piece of rock depending at how you look at it.

The Walking Begins

The plan from here was to hit another museum or gallery but I got a little distracted by the buildings around me and ended up wondering around taking a few photos. Eventually I ended up at Soho Square which is smaller than you would imagine. From there I walked up to Oxford Street and last a few hours going in and out of a few shops. You could hardly move with all the people walking around this area of London. I don’t think they speak English in London anymore because the only time I heard English the entire day was in the tube, bus or lifts. Everything talks to you in the UK. The trains tell you where you are what to do when you get off and the buses tell you the next stop and whether the bus is stopping or not and the lifts tell whether the doors are opening or closing or if it is going up or down and if you are lucky they tell you to be careful because the doors are closing. It really is a nanny state and I am sure the next generation won’t know what to do unless the machine voice tells them what to do.

From Oxford Street I went down New and Old Bond Street which are super fancy with expensive cars parked down both sides. I didn’t go into any shops because I had a funny feeling that I wouldn’t be able to buy anything.

Then it was off to Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery, this is really a beautiful part of London with Nelson’s Column, the fountains and the surrounding buildings (including South Africa House) all standing out. The only trouble was the scaffolding all over the place which ruined my photos a bit.

I went into the National Gallery but I only had an hour before it closed and you really need longer to have a good look at the paintings so I will have to back soon. I managed to see Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘The Virgin and Child’ which is a masterpiece I have been told. (I don’t know masterpieces).

Now my toes were starting to cramp and I was losing some steam so had to wrap up the day but managed to squeeze in Downing Street and the Embankment. From there I headed home to rest my feet in the hotel. Another enjoyable Saturday and I didn’t even need a long top.