February 27th-28th
I woke up early to pack my purse with the essentials: a book, two sheets of paper (for note-taking in class), a pencil, candy, granola bars, phone chargers, camera, rain poncho, make-up for touch ups, bobby pins, elastics, gum, and an umbrella that I pulled out for it took up too much space. My bag was loaded and had zero room for anything else. I couldn't take a big bag into the studio (as they said there was limited foot room) so I had to take my purse and make it work. I then clipped my water bottle to the side of the bag and made my way to campus.
I decided to give wearing long hanging earrings a try for the first time (on a trip that would last 24 hours). I didn't have any backings for them, but my brisk walking constantly made them feel as if they were going to slip out, so I used the back of another pair of earrings to reassure myself I wouldn't lose them.
I wasn't too overdressed in my lecture that morning, as British people tend not to wear sweatshirts or sweatpants to class. It was a nice and sunny day, but I wore my brown winter boots, as that was more stylish than my dirty black Nikes.
After class I had some time before my train left, so I stopped at Primark to grab a pair of sunglasses as I really needed those, as it was sunny and was going to be sunny all day (17 degrees too in London). I struggled to find a pair I even liked the shape of. It was either giant frames or Lennon shaped with weird colour messes. I found a decent pair for 2 pounds and checked out. It was tempting to go through the new collection of clothes, but I didn't have much time.
Then, I picked up food for the train. Basically a Gregg's breakfast sandwich. I now know what the sauces they are talking about. It was red sauce (ketchup) or brown sauce (which I have no idea what it is, but might brave a day to try it).
I then made it to the train station to wait for the train. It took forever to arrive. I tried to take the tag off of my sunglasses while I waited in the sun. I also grabbed an orange juice for the ride too, since I wasn't planning on eating a lot throughout the day and it would taste good with the breakfast sandwich.
When I got on the train a girl was in my seat (as always). She moved easily though, as I believe she'd gotten on at Edinburgh and just took over the window seat since it was by the window.
I was in the Quiet coach, as I had been planning on doing some school readings (but all my readings were online and I couldn't bring my laptop with me). Thankfully I just listened to music, as some men were having a loud chat most of the ride. Like, we're in the quiet coach for a reason, not the business coach or the chat to your seat-mate coach.
One thing that also annoyed me was that when they came round to collect garbage the guy rushed right passed me and barely gave me time to realize what was going on. I ended up stuck with my tray table out the whole ride, as there were no seat pockets to put my garbage into.
There's also wifi on board, but it never works on my phone (false advertising). Luckily I didn't depend on it too much, but I would have liked to have been able to access it.
When we arrived at King's Cross I followed the herd to get out. I ended up finding the shopping area in the station, which lead me to where the Harry Potter photo op was, however the line-up was massive. I am planning on getting a photo taken, but there was no way I was waiting that long. Also, I'd be coming back by King's Cross on another trip anyway, so I decided to leave the station and head to my second Harry Potter location: St. Pancras Station, which is what you see when you exit to the left. There were loads of people outside. It was very disorienting as I haven't seen that many people in a long time. There was also a lot of different languages being spoken, which is something I've never experienced before. Sure I've heard a couple, but never all at once.
I then walked past St. Pancras, and it's beautiful hotel, and headed to The British Library.
I went through security on my way in and headed up to look for what there was to see. However, it was really confusing and I didn't really know how it worked. It wasn't all for nought, as they had great internet service (people were in there on every floor studying and taking up every table I could see) they also had lots of cafes. I also checked out both the stores inside, but nothing really caught my eye. They had some cool prints, but they too expensive.
I then made my way to the Tube. This is where the first mistake of the day was made. I'd researched beforehand about how to pay on the tube etc. I knew you could use contactless cards, but there were these ticket booths when I got down there that said Oyster, contactless and cash above them. So, I took that as meaning that's where I paid to get on. However, I was wrong. The prices were more expensive than it had said online, so I was really confused. I paid 13 pounds for a day trip card, because I'd rather pay more to be safe than sorry. Then I went through the gates, using my ticket, but couldn't find the Piccadilly line. I'd followed the wrong signs I guess. It would have been nice if it was more connected.
I went to exit back, but it wouldn't let me, the guy working let me out though. I found my way to the right line and got on the first car that had arrived when I got there. However, I was very much confused and got off after a couple of stops to get up to where I could access my data (they had zero service down in the tubes). I realized the different names were because if you were heading somewhere beyond the closer zones, you'd have to take a specific car, but I could take any on that line. Thankfully, I didn't exit fully and was able to get on another tube without having to scan my ticket again.
I then arrived at Leicester Square. Harry Potter location number three. I then made my way down to where Diagon alley was supposedly off of. In the books it said it was off Charing Cross Road, so I went to one of the reported streets, Cecil Court, where a bunch of old book shops sit.
Took some photos, and headed towards Piccadilly Circus, HP location number five (where the trio almost get hit by a double-decker bus).
I passed by M&M world, and headed inside to check it out. It basically was extremely overpriced M&M's and a lot of strange merchandise. You could get your face printed on M&M's there, but it didn't say how much it would cost, and I don't do things without knowing how much I'd be spending in advance.
There was also a Lego store across the street (they really know their demographic). Lots of souvenir shops too, I went into one, but I didn't see anything I liked. There was a candy store too, but nothing too interesting was inside.
I passed by the gates to Chinatown before I reached Piccadilly.
Then I arrived and it was just a mass of tourists. I really wasn't in the mood to try and navigate the area or head to Chinatown for food, so instead I headed back down into the Tube. However, I couldn't for the life of me find my tube card. I'd lost it, just as I had lost my student card the day before.
I have a theory that i may have been in the same pocket as my sunglasses, as I had to frequently take them on an off when entering and exiting shops. I was really pissed off, as I'd spent a lot on that ticket (which I should I add, I never needed to buy as the contactless location that I heard being what you could use online was tapped at the little security gates). I decided to just tap my card, get on the tube towards the BBC and look then.
I passed by a lot of cool station names, as you'll see below. My favourite was Bond Street (which I later got to get off at).
When I arrived at the BBC Studios Television Centre, I could see no queue at all, so I headed to the mall to find some food I could take to eat in line. The mall was massive, and the food area was all the way on the other side. I wanted to eat some Chinese or Japanese food, but there was a lot of table seating, so I didn't think I'd be able to do takeaway. I then found Nando's where I ordered the wrong thing, might be because the girl just heard chicken and pita and put that down (they didn't have their menu up on the board, and I had to order from memory).
I then took the food and circled the BBC, still not able to find the queue. I'd heard the queue can be massive, so I was confused. I probably went in an area I wasn't supposed to more than once. I ended up just sitting on this bench area outside to eat my pita, as a lot of other people were sitting there too, eating food. It was not until this old couple (dressed rather nice) sat down beside me and uttered the word "queue" that I realized I'd just sat myself down in the queue. There were no signs at all. It was a word of mouth queue. A lady came and sat beside me and I heard someone ask her if this was the queue for QI and she said yes. I then asked her a couple of questions as she'd been to see the show before, but this was a new studio (so basically everything I'd researched online ahead of time was irrelevant due to this being a new location). I felt out of place for a long time as most people were in their 40s.
While sitting I could watch them set up the gates for the security check, so I knew I was in the right place. In the UK queueing is very orderly and respectful. The minute they began to have us stand up (as more people had arrived, and we were risking entering the street), everyone stayed in their position in the queue - no run for first place. Then, they even had the line bend, with no barrier between the lines, and no one crossed over. Sure a couple of people went to join friends in the line (that's what the lady behind me did (but she was behind me so I didn't mind).
They then called for Priority tickets, so I exited my spot and pushed past all the people who had arrived before me and made my way to the front. It was about an hour and a bit wait after security. While waiting I got to see the queue continue to expand as more people arrived.
They opened up the side gate to let people go to the bathroom and fill their water bottles past security. I filled mine and returned to my spot in the queue, but as I was right beside the opening, people kept pushing past me, which was quite annoying. They had some chairs beside the bathroom, so some of the older people went to sit there.
Then, even though we'd been squished into a crowd of people instead of a line, we were let in in an orderly fashion. Priority tickets had a purple border, while regular where blue, so that way we at least got to go in first. However, what annoyed me was that they filled the rows just to the left of the centre with us first, and then filled the centre in about the middle of filling people in. They also had these new seats, which were new for the show, right in front of the stage, but they seemed very selective in who got those seats. There were also people with gold wristbands who were put in another special section (and who cut past people in the queue).
People took lots of pictures of the set beforehand. They had interesting facts playing before, and even some funny facts and leaderboards of the show.
I was able to brave taking a selfie, but the lighting wasn't that great, so I didn't bother trying for more. The seats were very tight (well for me) the guy beside me had his legs spread open wide and the woman on my other side was a bit on the chubby side. There was no room for me to sit comfortably, but I dealt with it.
The show I went to go see is Called QI (Quite Interesting). It's a British panel show where comedians (and other celebrities) come on and show off their wit and learn about stuff.
Before the show started, I got to see the interns move around the cups and set up the desks for each guests preference. They spent a lot of time cleaning the main Q. Also, Sandi Toksvig (the host of the show), stood to the side of the stage, where we'd entered. I wouldn't have noticed had the guy beside me not pointed it out to his mom.
The set-guy Guy, basically amped up the audience, explaining how he wanted us all to exaggerate our laughing and clapping. He said to laugh like an American, which someone in the front said she was Canadian (don't know why she interrupted like that), and he commented on how Canadian's are more reserved than Brits with humour. I could relate to that as I don't really laugh loudly (maybe some shoulder shakes and a snort if it's hilariously unexpected).
Then, Sandi came out and played a game with us. Basically you had to be the last man standing to win. The guy beside me got pretty close. The winner got to take a picture with Sandi and it was then tweeted out on their twitter account. She also had one of the QI elves (a fact checker) come out to show how fast they were at figuring out the answers to questions. She pulled a question from the audience.
He asked what the white buttons meant on the outside of the studio. The elf then ran off to go meet with his team to research the most correct answer.
Then, each of the guests were introduced (I'll tell you if you ask me individually, but you'll find out when the episode guide comes out - it's the first episode of season Q). I've seen all the guests before, and one of them I really enjoyed, so I was happy about that.
Sandi then got the answer on her headset from the elves that the buttons had been pins used to hold the set design together, and the designers had liked it so much they decided to add them to the final design - which is apparently a very British thing to do.
The show ran for 2 hours long, with only a few rests. The actual show is about a half-hour, with an extra 10min for their XL episodes. This means a lot of the jokes get cut out. While watching I mentally edited the show and could tell what parts would probably not make it. There were some controversial comments I'm curious to see whether they'd be cut.
Once the taping was over, people just got up and left, with the comedians all on stage still. Like no one went up to go and ask for photos, they just politely left.
I got back on the tube and headed to my back-up plan location: Big Ben. The show ended at around 9:30pm and my bus wasn't going to leave until 11:45pm, so I had a lot of time that I decided not to waste. This way I could check off "see the Thames at night" off my list. London is a huge city with lots to see and do. This just took off a lot of things off that I no longer will feel obligated to go look for.
It wasn't crowded at all when I arrived. Probably because Big Ben isn't that great of an attraction anymore as he's going through a face-lift. But it was cool to see at night. Things were lit up in an interesting fashion. I walked along the Thames (no one around me) by the boats and scoped out the area.
I headed towards Waterloo bridge and took a picture with the London Eye.
It wasn't running, as it was too late, but they had it lit up red. I thought it might change colours, but it never did. I also happened upon The New Scotland Yard, which was on my list to see, but I never looked at where it was. Glad to know even though I was one of the few out by the Thames that the police were right there.
I then took the tube to where my coach bus would arrive. While there I saw a sign for Buckingham palace, so I thought, why not, and headed over. All the gates were closed, but I got a good picture of it at night. There were also a few souvenir shops still open, which was odd, as it was quite late at night. I didn't go inside because that kind of creeped me out.
Then, I used google maps to find a McDonalds to fill up before my journey. On my way a lady asked me where the train station was. I had to inform her I had just as much clue as she. See what I mean about looking like I know things.
While at McDonald's I didn't realize how far away the coach station had been from the tube station, and had to rush out before finishing my fries, I brought them along just in case.
Some guy asked me for them while I was rushing off through the streets, like no, this is my food and I needed it.
I made it to the coach 4 minutes to departure. You're supposed to arrive 15 min prior, luckily I wasn't harassed about that. I wasn't allowed my McDonald's bag which confused me. He said it in a thick accent so I can't remember the reason. Now I regret not just stuffing the bag inside my cramped purse, because I think he may have meant you can't have two bags on board and the food counted as a bag. The girl in the seat beside me had a bag of food in her bag so that's when I realized I could've done that instead of throwing out a pound's worth of fries.
Because I'd been so late I had to pick someone to sit beside. I hated being in this position as I know the people sitting are thinking "not me." There was also a lot of guys on the bus, and not a lot of girls to choose. I wanted to try and sleep, as I had class the next day, so I picked a girl to feel more comfortable.
The ride was awful. I got nauseous pretty quickly as I couldn't see out any of the windows, and the streets of London have many odd turns. I ended up fighting the urge to puke for most of it, and wasn't able to get any sleep. About half-way through the journey I was able to nab a row to myself. Thankfully moving away from this guy who had been eating (and smacking his lips) for most of the journey.
Every time the bus stopped all the lights went on and it was difficult to ignore. I never really got comfortable. It was cold and hot at the same time. The air conditioning randomly turned on at one point and i had no way of getting the air to leave me alone.
When I finally arrived in Newcastle, I bought myself a pint of milk and some donuts to try and cheer myself up. I ended up passing out in bed, feeling miserable. I tried to go in for class, but I still felt like puking, and the milk didn't help as much with my muscle aches.
I was also stressed out because I hadn't gotten an email about anyone finding my student card. I messaged the professor of the class I'd lost it in and she advised me of some places to look. I missed the play I was to see that night, but I'll get info on it from my study group.
Overall, it was a pretty good trip. Qi was a good show to see, although at times it felt as if I were really watching an episode, I had moments of deja vu, as if I'd seen or heard that joke before. The problem with the Tube really put my mood down I think. I'm annoyed of how I'd lost that card and how I lost my student ID card, which I need to be marked as present in class. So that's incredibly annoying. It will cost 10 pounds to get a replacement card.
However, this 24 hour trip to London makes me look forward to going there and having a less stressful time, with more of a plan in mind. I'm also never taking a night bus again if I can help it. Or travelling by bus if possible. It may be cheaper, but getting sick is not something that I'd like to save money for. Also, on a gross note, my snot was blackened by the underground dust, and I thought I was dying from some dreadful disease upon my return. I don't think I'd be able to live in London if that's what the air does to me.
Comentários