London

My constant impression of London is of crowds. Everywhere I go there are people, frequently too many to be comfortable. Particularly on the subway. And it’s not helped by the heat. I didn’t expect it. I looked ahead this week at weather before I left, and I guess didn’t really believe it would be above 20C most of the time I’m here. Underground, it’s even worse, probably 10 degrees hotter than outside and more humid.

Aside from that, I’ve had a wonderful time. I managed to get a fairly nice hotel for not a lot of money, which included a nice breakfast and free wifi in the lounge–sadly not in the rooms. It’s too bad I couldn’t stay with my friend, but to be honest it’s nice to have my own room (with a bathroom).

The first day, we–my friend, her flatmates, and I–had high tea at this cafe called the Muffin Man. Tea, teacakes, and cheesecake for 5 pounds. I probably didn’t need the cheesecake. It was all delicious. We then wandered around, shopping a bit. My friend got a top, and I resisted getting necklaces. After refreshing at her flat, we then went out with another one of her flatmates to an Irish pub called O’Neills. The funny thing about this place is that there’s one in Glasgow, and I’ve been to it. This one, though, was packed when we got there. A live band was playing covers of popular songs, pretty well, too. We almost didn’t find a table. Once we did, though, I got fish and chips, and they got Irish stew. All of it was delicious. I introduced my friend to cider with a Kopparberg. And we all went home happy.

Day two was more shopping. Berate me all you want for not going to big landmarks like Parliament and tourist traps like the London Eye, but I’ve seen a number of them before and this trip was more about seeing my friend again than seeing London. We went to Camden Market, which was basically a maze of closely hung clothes and Indians constantly asking if you want what you’re looking at. I felt too pressured to buy anything, though there was some stuff I might have been interested in. I just like to be able to stare at something for a while to think if I want it, rather than be pressured into something that may not be my style after all. After that, we went to Portobello Road/Market, to see if there was more interesting things. By then, though, I was so exhausted from walking around that I wasn’t really interested in buying anything. The highlight of the day was that evening, when my friend and I went out to Japanese food. None of her flatmates were interested, and they really missed out this time. The food was amazing. They took a while with one of the things my friend ordered, and to apologize they gave us a free salmon hand roll. I’d go there again in a heartbeat.

Today, we were going to go to a Doctor Who shop (another thing her flatmates aren’t interested in, who knows why), but found out it was too far away. Instead, we checked out Forbidden Planet, which is a sci-fi/fantasy store full of comics, manga, figurines, t-shirts, and other “cult” memorabilia. Not to mention, they also carry Doctor Who stuff. We looked and found too many tempting books and comics, a few interesting Doctor Who trinkets, but nothing we really wanted. My friend wanted the Master’s Fobwatch, but it’s apparently sold out everywhere, even another local comic shop. Oh well. We then relaxed in a pub and got mini meat pies to snack on.

Now, I’m on the train back. It’s been a good trip, and I hope to go back to London before long. Perhaps to see more “touristy” things.