It was my last full day in London and while you'd think that I'd be panicking to see the last handful or so attractions/places left, the days feeling has been quite the opposite. I think spending the whole time here has made it more about absorbing the life here rather than checking off things on a list (although we did do that).
Today we went to the British Museum. It was both on the list and recommended by nearly everyone we spoke to for ideas/recommendations. Plus it's free and as someone who's barely been able to hold on to that last 20£ to avoid yet another trip to the ATM that was all I needed to know. So with JP fed (I skipped the carbo breakfast having learned early on that it does nothing for me but make me hungrier two hours later) and directions acquired we headed off to the museum.
I was definitely not disappointed by the recommendation. We entered from the back entrance and immediately were presented with artifacts from one of the ancient civilizations. Heading up to the top floor we slowly worked our way down through the millennia of artifacts. I found the Roman ruins of Londinium (original London) to be the most fascinating because I never think of London as being part of the Roman Empire. Usually when you hear London and Empire in the same sentence you think of the British Empire so it was quite interesting.
Before the museum I had forgotten reading about all the archeologists that worked for them over the many years. It's easy to understand how they've acquired such a vast collection of ancient artifacts when you realize that they've been gathering them for almost three hundred years. It also makes the States feel like a baby country compared to anywhere else pretty much!
There was one part of the museum I didn't like - all the dead bodies on display. It wasn't just the mummies wrapped up but more so the skeletons and skulls on display. I told JP that that was my worst fear - to die in some manner that would result in my body or remains being put on display in some museum for tourists to gawk at and pose for photos in front of.
We didn't make it through the whole museum. Sometime after the watch and clock exhibit we both petered out on a bench in a grand hallway. JP took a quick cat nap and I sat there watching all the groups go by. It was fun to listen to the different tour guides too, especially the Japanese speaking one (his voice sounded like something out of anime). Eventually we decided that our minds had enough learning and headed out.
Back in Queensway we grabbed some delicious doner kebab, a couple snacks, and headed back to the tv room in the hostel. JP ended up falling asleep laying on the cushions and I stayed there a bit longer watching old movies with a few of the staff before heading up to the room to clean the kebab sauce from my shirt and watch a movie before dinner.
That ended up turning into a nap and then JP joined me in the room. He listened to the rest of my movie while I watched it and then we got into a discussion on our favorite topic, A Song of Ice and Fire aka Game of Thrones until it was time to go out to see our respective friends.
For me it was a trip to Notting Hill. I got there about an hour early an used the opportunity to walk around and see the town. It's all very fancy and yet a bit touristy as well. There was a market there that was being torn down when I arrived and Kensington park didn't appear to be a park at all but rather a bunch of posh houses in semi-circles.
At 7:30 I heard a familiar voice calling my name as I stood in front of the restaurant in the blistering wind. Jerry!! My favorite director/former coworker. It was great to see him again, of course, and it just so happens that the restaurant he picked is considered one of the best Italian restaurant in London. It definitely was amazing. We got antipasti and shared a meat entree and a pasta entree. Each dish was better than the last and the Italian beer we paired it with wasn't half bad either. Jerry surprised me during the meal, pulling a plastic bag from his manbag to reveal a present for me - the secret ingredient to takoyaki!!!
To be honest I wasn't sure at first we'd have anything more to talk about after dinner the other night but it seems that I forgot just how easy things can be socially with the Japanese guys. It's been so long since I spent any kind of quality time with them.
When dinner was completed Jerry suggested we go to a pub. Somehow we managed to find the strangest pub in all of London. First we had a hard time finding the front door (hint - it's never far from the smokers) them we were greeted by a roaring fire and an oddly configured room. It was divided like a pie with walls about ten feet high separating each section and three foot doorways to travel between each mini-room. We found a spot just off of the bar and ordered a couple pints. Jerry, if you ever read this, know that you are far far to generous. After he swooped in and bought the first round I insisted in buying the next, especially since it was literally the least I could do after dinner and the awesome present.
I'm not sure what was better, the story swapping or the people watching. There were a lot of interesting local characters in the bar. First there was the guy with a bike bell attached to his beer stein and then the grandmother sitting by the fireplace stoking the fire and the guy (who it turns out works there) who was helping her out. Sprinkle in a few randomly dressed kids and it left us giggling in the corner to ourselves sipping on our pints.
I'm not sure how long we sat there but we left at closing, which is 11pm for most pubs in the UK an entirely unacceptable to both of us who are used to bars in NY that don't close til three in the morning. I went with Jerry back to the tube, and probably could've just walked back from there like I did last night but getting a ride is better than walking and wasn't eager to partways any sooner than I had to. Eventually though all good things must pass and Jerry and I parted ways.
I returned to the hostel to find quite a ruckus going on in the basement. There I found a bunch of the staff members playing a drinking game called Wizards. The object of the game is to drink enough tall/pint-size cans of beer to make a staff equivalent to your height - the staff, aka cans, is held together by tape. I didn't intend to play originally but since JP was kind enough to pick up drinks, I found myself and JP sitting with Luke, Katelyn, and the Grand Wizard (the only person to have beaten the game) until the wee hours of the night during which we swapped all kinds of stories and anecdotes about our three different cultures (Aussie, British, American).
Eventually JP and I headed upstairs and I found myself sitting in the stairwell with him figuring out what our plans are for tomorrow and talking about the adventures we'd had over the course of the day.
For the last full day of this trip I'd say it was a day well spent.
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