Day 4: A Walk Along the River

Today has, by far, been the best day in London!  Want to hear about it?  Okay stop begging....... I'll tell you.


It started out with sleeping in.  That's always a great start to any day.  After scrambling together, we rode the tube to The Monument. It's a monument dedicated to the destruction that happened during the Great Fire in London.  It was designed by Christopher Wren who also was instrumental in redesigning the city. 

Our group headed out to Borough (pronounced burrow) Market.  What is Borough Market you ask?  It's heaven...  I'm not even joking.  It's one of the largest (if not the largest) foodie market in Europe.  We walked over the London Bridge across the Thames River, down these stairs under some train tracks and right against this backdrop is where I found an amazing scene. There are tons and tons of booths set up with all different kinds of food.  I saw everything from gourmet cheeses, freshly baked gourmet breads, pastries, quiches, fudge, fresh fruits and veggies, smoothies, spices, curry, fish, meat... really anything you can think of is all here!  It's a beautiful sight.  

(Walking across London Bridge!  I tried a sock bun this day which didn't really work out so please forgive my appearance.)

(Turkish Delight!)

It was breakfast/ brunch time so I decided to get this amazing grilled cheese sandwich.  Amazing isn't even a good enough word to describe it.  It was made with some sort gourmet bread and at least three different delicious cheeses and green onions.  I don't know what exactly was in it but I know my mouth did a happy dance after eating it!  Delicious!  

(Katherine and I splitting and enjoying our grilled cheese)

I also wanted something sweet so I bought raspberries and they were by far the BEST raspberries I have ever had.  I could have eaten probably 10 full containers of them.  It's hard to describe the taste of these things so you'll just have to take my word for it... so, so, so good.  

I also sampled some very rich and creamy hot chocolate, olive oil, turkish delight, fresh mozzarella, and an almond croissant.  I found out that this market is open Thursday, Friday, and Saturday so I think I will make a weekly stop there.  Everything was so inexpensive, so fresh, and was so high quality!  I haven't really been eating much each day because we've been so busy so that made all of the food at the market especially good.  I even bought a cute apron that says Borough Market on it and has a cute pattern... I can never resist a cute apron!  I now own six... I think I might start a collection.

(Just look at how cute it is!  Should I buy the matching hot pads to go with it?)

After the market, our group entered Southwark (pronounced suth-erk) Cathedral.  

It was a beautiful gothic style cathedral.  This is the cathedral that Shakespeare attended when he lived in London.  It was so peaceful.  I enjoyed sitting in it and directing my thoughts upwards.  There's so much Christian history in London that we have already seen.  I'm enjoying every minute of that.


We walked as a group along the Thames (pronounced Tems) River.  It was rainy and cold (like it has been every day) but I still enjoyed it!  It was a peaceful walk and I decided I really like this part of the city.  It's urban but not too "big city."  It's not touristy and there are so many cute and fun things along the bank of the river.  We were walking along when all of a sudden... BOOM!  We saw the Globe Theater.  

It was just standing right there along the river like it originally did except now it is surrounded by many modern buildings.  We will be going there to see Henry V on our last day in London.  For now I was content to see and admire it.  


After a little more walking we got to the Tate Modern Museum.  It's at the end of Millennium Bridge (the Harry Potter bridge that gets destroyed by Death Eaters).  

The museum is actually very cool looking from the outside.  It used to be an old warehouse or power plant that they cleaned out and have made into this modern art museum.  I think that's so interesting!  I wish I found the art inside as interesting as the building.  I have never really learned how to appreciate art (especially impressionist pieces) and so I really have a hard time appreciating it.  We had an assignment for our English class to do in the museum.  We had to look at certain exhibits, write about which once impressed us most and why, and which one we had a hard time considering "great art" and why.  For the hard time question I wanted to write ALL OF THEM!  But I didn't.  I actually found some interesting things and may have gained a greater appreciation for the pieces after reading about them on these little cards they have next to each painting.  Some of the cards helped explain the artists' vision or intentions.  Sometimes this didn't even help me understand but for a few pieces it enlightened me.

(A real Picasso!)

(The Artist's Family- my favorite)

After the museum, we continued walking along the Thames to get back home.  We had an assignment to walk to a certain point but the couple of girls I was with decided they wanted to walk just a little bit further.  We continued walking through the people and that's when I saw them........ Big Ben, the Parliament Building, and the London Eye!  Those are some of the things I have been longing to see and I finally saw them.  It wasn't ideal conditions in the cold, rain, wind, and crowds of people but my heart still skipped a beat and I kinda had a momentary freak out.  I walked over the bridge and right next to Benny and heard him chime.  It was a great moment.  

(St. Paul's Cathedral)

(great shot where you can see Parliament+Big Ben, the London Eye, and the Thames all in one)

(A pretty carousel on the side of the Thames)

(saw this on the way home)

The afternoon consisted of homework and leftovers for dinner from the night before.  Who knew I'd have so much school work to do?  Some people haven't even started the homework yet and I think they're in for a surprise when they see how much they have to do!  But I'm trying to stay on top of things as much as possible.  Hopefully I can keep up this studious schedule for the next 6 weeks.


For our "fun" Saturday night, a big group of us went to see the London Philharmonic Orchestra.  It was their last performance of the season!  It was absolutely beautiful!  We all dressed up and rode the Tube into the city.  Our tickets were only four pounds which is about $6.50 in the United States.  That's a HUGE deal!  We all really enjoyed it.  They played a piece by a modern composer I had never heard of before, a concerto by Beethoven (the pianist was WONDERFUL), and ended with a piece by Tchaikovsky.  We really enjoyed it.  Then we walked across the bridge again (lots of bridge walking today), in the rain and huge wind gusts to get back on the Tube and come back home.

It was a jam packed day.  The first week in London is over.  I'm still trying to get to know people in the group and make friends.  I'm trying to figure out how to balance school and social time.  I get a calling and a ward assignment tomorrow.  I can't wait for what new things I'll get to experience next week!  


P.S. Just to give you an idea of how the weather's been over here, the Metro newspaper said that "2 months of rain falls in just 24 hours" and  "There is no real end in sight to this unsettled period of weather and longer forecasts suggest it will continue for much of May."  Good thing I bought rainboots and that I have a good umbrella!  But say goodbye to nice hair and say hello to frizz... yes.


P.P.S. Note to Michal Savage- lots of women wear scarves on their head over here, especially when it rains.  If they do it in London, you can totally do it in Provo. :)