The two biggest news items here were the 13 year old boy who is now a father with his 15 year old girlfriend; and the 9/11 widow who died in a plane crash. That crash seemed to make all the international news stations. Couldn’t tell you if they all went with the 9/11 angle, because I only speak English. It's a sad story, but everyone seems to be focusing on the tragic irony instead of the bigger picture.
Anyways. So I went to check out the British Museum. It’s a bit like the Met in New York, just without so many paintings. I hung out there for about an hour, took some pictures. I’ll be back tomorrow. I figured I’d stop by St. Paul’s Cathedral, Sir Christopher Wren’s masterwork, but they wanted £11 admission and you couldn’t even take pictures. NEVERMIND. So I kicked around on the tube for a while and then got some lunch.
It was more like an early dinner, actually, since it was like 4:00 or so. But why on earth would I go to the Burger King across the street? Because I didn’t feel like getting wifi from the Starbucks next door, so I figured I’ll just pick it up through the wall while I have a Whopper. After this utterly familiar meal, I checked out the Museum of Science, which was incredibly boring. I mean super boring. LOOK A STEAM ENGINE
HOW EXCITING! And for me to say it was boring…The Museum of Natural History is a very interesting place. The new wings are pretty typical, but the old museum is basically Darwin Cathedral.
Seriously.
They had some good dinosaur skeletons, though.Then I decided to kick around the tube a bit more. I was going to see a few sights, but it was getting dark. At one point, I found myself at Paddington Station, which was AWESOME. When I was on my way to Hammersmith, I noticed out the window (that part of the Hammersmith & City Line is elevated) a huge Westfield Shoppingtown (you can run, but you can’t hide from the Westfield conglomerate), where I decided I might find a watch. I found a Swatch that didn’t look like it was from 1988, so now that problem is solved. Some more aimless tube riding, a few pints in the hotel bar, and in bed by 11:30.
Save some fun for tomorrow, hahahahaha!
- The commercials here are insane, but not like you'd expect. I’ve seen tourism commercials for Azerbaijan, Croatia, and Nigeria. They made the places look nice, at least. But come on, Nigeria? There was also a slick-looking ad for Zenith Bank, Nigeria’s #1 bank. All I could think about is whether that was the #1 bank used by those guys who always need YOUR HELP MY FRIEND TO TRANSFER MY MONIES FROM THE COUNTRY. Ray Parker Jr. appears in a commercial for the 118 phone service. Huey Lewis needed some cash, I guess. I'm sure we'll soon be adding "I ain't afraid of no goats," to the Obscure Catchphrase Lexicon very soon.
- Apparently CNN now thinks that showing Australian newspaper webpages on the TV screen is good television news reporting.
- Walking – on the left or the right? I’m still confused. I’ve been trying to walk on the left when possible, but sometimes there is confusion. This probably has to do with the fact that at least 60% of the people walking around here are tourists. There are a few signs on the tube steps about keeping left, but on the sidewalk all bets are off.
- Things I saw today: a family of redheaded French people, four pigeons that tried to dive into my head (one inside Paddington Station, one trying to keep me out of St. Paul’s), the Elgin Marbles, and the inside of a Tesco.
- 1 in 4 people in London is apparently a university-age Asian girl. So if that’s your bag, come to London but remember that all Asian girls are looking for black guys because they're really into the whole ghetto thing.
- 1 in 3 guys around here look like that dude from Coldplay.
Overheard: an older gentleman who said to his wife, “Bloody hell’s bells!” in a way that I only thought could be uttered on television or in film. People here really do talk like that.
Note: Not sure if I'll be posting tomorrow. I may not have time/access/ability until I get to Dublin on Monday or Tuesday, so if I don't update until then don't worry! I am enjoying all the comments and etc. Please keep them coming!
