I love schedules and itineraries, so I had naturally sketched out a rough plan of what I was going to do with my time in London. On today's agenda I had penciled in the British Museum, the Sherlock Holmes pub for lunch, Evensong at St. Paul's, then meeting my friend Megan at the Swan Bar & Restaurant for good food and conversation. Well, it's a good thing that I used pencil, because NOTHING turned out like I had planned it (except for my evening with Megan).
Yesterday, I had heard that there was going to be a Tube strike today; however, the buses would be running and the Oyster cards which allow you to travel on the Tube also work on other forms of public transportation. I just assumed that the day would go according to plan, even though I'd have to do a little research on bus routes. In the words of Waylon Jennings, "WRONG!!!"
While I was able to locate the correct buses, I had no idea that these buses would abruptly terminate their service in the middle of their route or, in some cases, change their routes altogether. The first bus terminated its service and left me at an out-of-service bus stop; I had to walk around to find another stop that was active, then plan a whole new route to get me to the British Museum. Alas, the next bus I hopped on changed its destination after three stops. There were people all around me, causing the temperature to climb, so finally I got off at Royal Albert Hall for no other reason than to get away from the madness. I got some good pictures of the large music venue and the beautiful memorial statue of Prince Albert which Queen Victoria had constructed soon after his death. I find the love story between Victoria and Albert to be fascinating, and this statue really shows just how much Victoria loved him.
Given the impossible bus situation, I figured that the British Museum wasn't happening today; luckily, the Albert Memorial was located in Kensington Gardens. I decided to go with the flow and spend some time exploring. Kensington Gardens turned out to be a beautiful area. I purchased a lovely ice cream with a flake and discovered the Italian Garden which Albert had constructed for Victoria, a memorial to Edward Jenner, a Peter Pan statue, and the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain.
I found the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain to be especially nice. It was a warm day, and numerous children were playing in the fountain. I couldn't think of a better tribute to a woman who had worked as a teacher before becoming a princess. After wandering through the gardens, I enjoyed a light lunch from Lido before I worked up the nerve to try the bus system again. Surely I could still make it to St. Paul's by 5:00 pm for Evensong. Cue Waylon again...
The bus situation was completely out of hand!!! The bus I was on terminated at a location that was nowhere near where I needed to go. The bus stop I was let out at was crammed with people, all needing to take the next bus to Trafalgar Square. While this was not where I needed to go, it was the only bus going anywhere close to my destination. When the bus finally arrived, I was carried on the wave of people into the bus. We were so crammed in that I couldn't move my arms. At first, the doors of the bus would not even close. Some people had to vacate the bus before we could leave, and, once we finally started rolling, traffic slowed to a crawl. As the time slipped slowly by, the temperature on the bus skyrocketed. The combination of zero personal space, extreme heat, and poor hygiene of others really started to take its toll on me. As we inched towards Trafalgar Square, I knew I had had enough. As soon as the bus stopped, I jumped off; the conditions were simply too miserable for me, so I decided to walk. It was now impossible to make it to Evensong, but I still could catch Megan at the Swan Bar & Restaurant.
The walk was the longest I had taken in London, but it was still manageable. I made it to the Swan and waited for Megan. As it turned out, she also hopped off the bus at Trafalgar Square and walked!!! We spent the evening catching each other up on our lives, discussing our frustrations about public transportation, and discussing Shakespeare related plans for the future. We ended the day with a nice walk back to our apartment building. I have decided that while it is always nice to spend time with friends, it is particularly soothing to see a familiar face when visiting an unfamiliar city, especially when said city's public transportation has completely ruined your nicely planned itinerary. Even though the day did not go as planned, I was able to discover some things I would have otherwise overlooked; everything worked out just as it was meant to in the end.
Long days and pleasant nights!
**Good night, Mrs. Hall, wherever you are!**
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