georgia: kutaisi and gelati monastery

If you are in the states and say the name Georgia, people assume you are referring to the state. But I live in Europe, so this post is all about my visit to the country of Georgia.

My flight took me from Kyiv to Kutaisi, Georgia. If I recall correctly, my flight landed just after midnight, and the airport wasn't particularly busy. The passport control officer asked me if it was my first visit to Georgia, and I said yes. Then he handed me a mini bottle of wine!! (Too bad I couldn't drink it.) Georgia is known for its wine, so it's a nifty marketing tool.

During this trip I was sooooo tempted to try different wines, and just deal with whateva happened, but I didn't.

Since I'd arrived in what was basically the middle of the night, I elected to stay in the airport overnight, to avoid paying a night of accommodation that I wouldn't get to until who knows when, and how. I didn't really sleep in the airport, but I did doze off for an hour or so at a time. I wasn't entirely sure if sleeping in the airport was allowed, it definitely emptied out in the middle of early early morning, but I didn't see security guys walking around rousting any sleepers.

The next morning I walked out to the street in front of the airport and caught the next marshrutka heading into Kutaisi. It was a bit confusing, since I don't speak or read Georgian, and I had no idea how much anything should cost. It's always a bit of a gamble to hand money to someone when you don't speak the language and there is no posted price. That being said, I watched how much others paid during the rest of the ride to make sure I paid the right price. 

It was already raining, which didn't look like it was going to change anytime soon. Argh. It was still raining when the marshrutka got to its final destination in the city. 

I asked the driver (in English, of course, hoping for good luck,) if he knew how I could get to my hotel. Normally I would walk, just because I can, but with the rain, I was in a taxi or local transport sort of mood. The driver suggested something totally inappropriate, and repeated his suggestion when I said no. Argh. I mentioned my boyfriend, he said he had a girlfriend and they need never know. I was outraged, to say the least. I got out of the marshrutka and found a taxi on my own. I'm sure I overpaid, but at that point I was more interested in getting away from the creepy marshrutka driver. Yuck.

The taxi dropped me off, and I found the entrance to my hotel on the side of the building, (after circling around the whole thing.) There was no one there for a few minutes, but eventually the manager came back in, and I was allowed to check in early. Since it was still raining and cold, I warmed up with tea and charged my phone. 

Then I figured if I waited for good weather I would be stuck inside all day, so I started walking. Kutaisi is not a picturesque city, to say the least. 

My initial impression of the city wasn't as good as it could've been, mostly due to the weather. I could see ottoman influences in the architecture (Georgia has been part of a few empires,) as well as plain boring buildings. 

I could see lights had been strung, presumably to celebrate the upcoming holidays. This definitely helped with the appearance of the town. Georgia is mostly Orthodox, so I didn't have to worry about everything shutting down over 24/25 December. Orthodox Christmas is 7 January. 

Kutaisi has a river running through the city, with a number of bridges going across the river. I really liked the views from these bridges. The houses and buildings on the banks of the river were NOT what most people would think of as picturesque, but they caught my eye anywho. A lot of them were wood, and multiple levels. 

One of the bridges has a statue of a young boy on one railing, he looks as if he wants to jump into the river to swim. 

As I walked the streets I saw a couple schools, each with a statue in front of them. Maybe the schools were named for the people those statues represented? 

At one point I walked next to the opera house. The roof was awesome, with sculptures. Very eye catching. The building wasn't tall, I wish I'd been able to see the interior. I wonder if it was as stunning as some opera houses I've seen. I should've looked at the schedule too. Maybe I could've attended a show that night?

I found the so-called teachers house, at least that was what the sign said. The building itself was missing a roof, and everything was literally falling down. I found an opening in the barrier, and walked in. I like taking photos of abandoned buildings. I wish I'd been able to figure out the history of the building, and any potential future.

I loved the building that houses the central market. A brick building, there were great sculptures on one of the exterior walls. Awesome. The market itself was just like markets I've seen around the world: sections with produce, dairy, meat, dry goods, and of course the completely random items.

I found the seasonal section, which had plenty of people selling Georgian Christmas trees. I bought one, how could I say no to something so cheap, and so cute? 

On one side of the opera building was a small park, and on the other side of the park was a traffic circle. In the middle of the traffic circle was a big fountain, with quite the sculpture. It was still going full blast, despite the rain. Totally worth a heap of photos :)

From the fountain I walked to a synagogue. Unfortunately, the exterior gates were closed, so I didn't get to see the interior. 

On the way to the synagogue I'd noticed the tops of a fancy church roof, so I headed that way next. I got to the church, which wasn't anything fancy, though I liked the wooden bell tower. I also really really liked the derelict looking wooden building on the corner across the street. I must've stood there for at least 30 minutes taking photos with different filters, from different angles. There was also an overturned car, missing the cloth part of the interior, but I couldn't fit that into my photos. Why do people leave burned out shells on the street?

In that area of the city most of the houses are behind gates, some of which were quite nifty. I could see some of the houses, they didn't seem worth 'protecting,' but maybe the gates are tradition more than protection. 

I wandered through the streets and found another church, this one much more interesting. Church of the immaculate conception I think, at least that is what is carved into the entrance. 

From there I found a way to another bridge, and crossed the river. Old schoolbuses caught my eye, I don't know why. 

I followed a path up the hill, to another church. I can't remember the name of this church, but it wasn't big. The interior was mostly blue. Quiet, peaceful. There was a graveyard there too, and the whole thing overlooked the city. 

Then I backtracked a little, and made my way to a unesco site.

Bagrati Cathedral. It was big, on a good plot of land, with a stone wall all the way around. As it was also on the hill, it provided another nice view of the city. (Not that Kutaisi is particularly eye catching.)
The cathedral looks as if it is being rebuilt, so there is a mix of old and new stone/rock. As it was still raining/threatening to rain, there was a fair amount of mud all over the grounds, and there was no building happening at the time I visited. There was no entrance fee, yippee!! The interior of the cathedral wasn't very decorated, it was almost bland. There was howeva, a small display of bones in the middle, and the altar could still be used. There were a few icons up on the walls, but not many.
I followed the fence on the grounds just to see if there was a place with a better view of the city, but with the awful weather, that didn't happen. Oh well.

After making my way back down the hill, I found my way back to the market. On one side of the market I found a lady selling popcorn, yum! Since I've been fooled before, I made sure to ask if it was salty or sweet. Salty popcorn is a great snack.
My next sight was Parliament. It took a bit of walking to get there, but at least it wasn't actually raining anymore. The walk was easy and flat. I'm not sure why, but the president of Georgia decided to build Parliament in a city three (or more) hours from the capital city but he did. The building is very modern, with flat ground all around.

To build Parliament, a soviet war memorial was knocked down, which upset quite a few people, and caused some controversy.
I didn't go in, as it was getting late, and I couldn't find the place to buy tickets for tours, if there were tours to be taken.
After walking back into town, I found a small cafe with yummy looking slices and sweets. I got a cream horn, which ended up being not nearly as good as it looked. At least the cafe had nice decor. I was tempted to try something else, in case it was just bad luck with the cream horn, but I just wasn't hungry. Argh.

After the cafe it was dark, and I made my way back to some of the streets lit up with holiday lights.  The fountain was lit up in color, and it looked even better since it wasn't raining. I wish I had a better camera. Or a foldable ladder so I could've taken the photo from slightly above.
The next morning I was up early to catch a marshrutka. At least, it felt early, though I suppose 0700 isn't that early. It felt early because sunrise comes so late in Georgia at this time of year. The marshrutka came at 0800, and was easy to spot even though I don't read Georgian. I laughed when I saw it, because there were neon lights around the interior and underneath.

The marshrutka took me to Gelati Monastery, about 10km outside Kutaisi. It's another unesco sight, but is another sight I wouldn't have expected to have this designation. 

Gelati Monastery was founded in 1106 by King David. (He is also buried here.) when I read the history on Wikipedia it sounds like Gelati was a big place, but it definitely didn't seem that way during my visit. 

The photos online are also much better and mine, mostly because I had terrible weather. Also, the roof of one of the churches was being redone, so there were ladders in a few places and big, organized stacks of shingles.

I was the only tourist on the marshrutka, and as far as I could tell, there was no entrance fee to be paid.
As I walked through the entrance gate, I realized it was Christmas morning. For me at least. 25 December. It was completely quiet. Definitely a moment to pause and think about life. 

I arrived before the churches were even open. I walked the grounds, which didn't take long. I walked up stairs on the outside of a small tower, wondering what I might see. The entrance door to a small altar was closed, but not locked. I put on my headscarf, and opened the door. It was a very small room, but very warm. I stayed inside a minute, then closed the door and went back down the stairs. 

At the point it was 'opening time' if there was an official opening time. A priest came out of a building on the edge of the grounds (I'm guessing priests' quarters.) and unlocked the door to one of the churches. 

The interior was definitely old, but I loved all the colour. There were fresco paintings all over, and the iconostasis was still in decent shape. The paint wasn't perfect anymore, but you could still see what the paintings were supposed to depict. 

I had only been in there a few moments when two cleaning ladies came in and swept the entire floor. It was dusty, but not dirty. There were windows, and I imagine the interior would be even more lovely if there had been sun. 

That was all I was able to see of the monastery, which didn't take long. The next marshrutka back to Kutaisi wasn't going to come along for another 2.5 hrs, yuck.

Instead of waiting, I decided to start walking. It was an easy walk, heading mostly downhill. There were a couple lovely views, and some views that made me break out the camera though I doubt anyone would say they were 'pretty.'

I got to the bottom of the hill, and after waiting for just a little while, I hopped on another marshrutka, which brought me back to Kutaisi in just a few minutes. 

I picked up my backpack from my hotel, and stopped in a bakery for snacks. All of the signs were written in Georgian, so I had no idea what I was choosing, but I suppose that's half the fun. 

I hopped on the next local bus to the bus station, and when I got there it was easy to find the next departure to Tblisi. 

I wouldn't mind going back to Kutaisi, assuming the weather is better, and I had more time to explore the whole area.

hungary: budapest

When Katie was first planning her trip to Europe, she had to figure out where she was going to go...one family she babysits for in the states is half Hungarian, and when they found out she was going to Europe, they told her she had to go to Budapest, and stay in their family flat...when she told me, of course I agreed :)
We took the train from Amsterdam to Eindhoven, and a bus from that train station to the Eindhoven airport...even the guidebook says Eindhoven isn't known for anything in particular, except for the increasing number of budget flights from this airport...

The flight was easy, as was landing in Budapest...Katie collected her bag and as we exited she saw the grandma of the family waiting for us...grandma drove us to the flat, gave us the nickel tour, then said she would be back in the morning...
She came back the next morning and walked with us to the metro stop...she also drew us a map, but I'm really glad she walked with us, as I never would've been able to follow her map...she also bought our first metro tickets, yahoo!

This first metro ride was only to the center of town, to an information office, where we picked up the Budapest card each of us had bought...the card entitled us to free entry to some sights, free public transport, and as couple other benefits...
The next chore was to find a ticket office where Katie could buy a train ticket to split, Croatia...after that was accomplished, we hopped back on the metro...
A couple stops later we got out, and picked a direction in which to walk...somehow we stumbled onto the platz in front of st Stephen's basilica...it's a big platz...

we didn't know what we were looking at, we had to check the map...how awesome that we stumbled across what is probably the most important church in the country...we ate lunch at a cafe on the platz...
We went in the church, I was really impressed...so was Katie...I'm not often impressed by churches anymore, but this church was worth it...around the back, in a small, closed off chapel, we saw the mummified hand of st Stephen...I don't remember the story of the mummified hand, I don't need to remember...I'm both fascinated and grossed out by mummies...

We walked out of the church, and down the street in front of the church...there were a couple cafés, a couple souvenir shops, and a couple office buildings on the street...at the end if the street we went right, to cross a small park...at each end of the park was a statue, each person was probably important...I found them picturesque :)
Between this park and the river was a big street...we crossed the street, and took in the view...we were on the pest side of the river, so we had a great view of the chain bridge, over to the Buda side, with the castle and such...an awesome view...

We walked across the chain bridge, which had been turned into a pedestrian bridge for the holiday...
I suppose now is a good time to mention that we visited Budapest over the festival of st Stephen, one of the biggest holidays of the year, as st Stephen is the patron saint of the country...
There were plenty of people out walking, enjoying the great weather and the holiday...heaps of people taking photos, of course...i don't know if everyone in the country gets the day before the official festival off, but it certainly seemed that way...

We walked each way along the river, checking out the food stalls set up for the holiday...one of the stalls was selling the official birthday cake of Hungary...there were two options, one of which was sugar free...(what's the pour of sugar free cake?)...we bought the other choice, which I was excited to try, until Katie told me she could smell and taste alcohol...booo...it looked good, I had to satisfy myself by smelling and looking...
After food, we found the funicular and took it up the hill...a short ride, but fun...unfortunately, not super cheap, and not included in the budapest card...it should be!

The funicular let us out at a spot on top of castle hill...we went right, walking past a couple impressive buildings...we turned right again as we came upon the church of st Matthew...otherwise known as the coronation church...this is where hungary's kings were crowned, though that no longer happens...
Katie wasn't as impressed by this church...I wasn't either, but it was by no means a shabby church...a small area on the second floor was a museum, with some history displayed...

At the back of the church is a bit of stone carving...according to the sign, this was the oldest stone carving still in it's original location in either the country or city...
After the church, we took a quick glance at the Fisherman's bastion, which had great views over the river...there is an entrance fee, but both of us were satisfied with what we saw for free :) ...(that and we didn't know where the actual paid entrance was)
We walked back in the direction of the funicular, stopping in a small supermarket for water and snacks...

From there we walked to the Budapest history museum...we got to a set of gates, only to find a folk festival taking place...the folk festival had an entry fee, and we weren't interested in the festival, but the only way to get to the museum was to go through the festival...argh...we showed our Budapest cards to the guys taking money, and explained where we wanted to go...one of them used his walkie talkie to speak with someone, then asked us to wait a couple minutes...

Eventually someone from the museum came out to escort us through the festival to the museum...(on the way back we had to do the same thing in reverse order)...
The museum itself covered a large period of history, I don't think it's possible to really take in everything in one visit...my favourite exhibit was the one that showed various habitations of people in the Budapest area through history...from small homes to soviet style apartment blocks and everything in between...we didn't have time to see everything in the museum before closing time came...

After this museum, we took the funicular back down the hill, then went back to one of the food stalls for dinner...then we walked back across the river, and followed the bank of the river for a bit...we had purchased tickets for an evening river cruise, a popular tourist activity...(totally worth it)
It took us a while to find the exact company with which we'd booked, then the lady tried to tell Katie she didn't have a reservation...she was actually quite rude about it...I was watching what she was typing, and realized she was typing the reservation number incorrectly, and told her so...she was only slightly contrite when she had to face her mistake...
We boarded the boat and I took a couple photos of Buda hill, brightly lit up across the water...as the boat started to move, we put on our earphones and listened to the spiel...it was a bit confusing (they were trying to be creative) but I enjoyed learning something about a few of the buildings we passed on the river...

both Katie and I noticed the family in front of us had wasted the money they'd spent on this cruise...both parents were glued to their phones, barely looking up, not wearing the headphones...the oldest kid was also attached to her phone, taking several selfies and texting them two friends...the two youngest kids were running around, but at least they looked out the window a couple times...
Anywho, after the cruise ended, we took the metro home and went to bed fast...

The next morning was the festival of st Stephen...(the festival is only one day officially, but preparations take a bit longer and some events take longer)...
We'd read in the guidebook that there is still a crown of Hungary, though there is no longer a monarchy...the crown is occasionally displayed for the public in the halls of parliament, on holidays...we figured this must be one of those days...we took off early in order to get to parliament before the expected queue got too long...our timing worked out well, as there was a queue, but it wasn't too long...

the line started moving soon, and moved steadily...occasionally we looked back to see the line growing quickly...
Eventually we got to the front of the queue, and went through security...we followed everyone up the stairs into a grand entry hall, marveling at just about everything...while on the boat tour we'd heard there are something like 11km of stairs/hallways in parliament, we only saw a small amount...after the entry hall we followed into the next room, which was where the crown was displayed...there were guards around the walls of the room, I think nearly the only thing they did all day was tell people photos were not allowed in that particular area...that didn't stop some people, who still took photos from other sports when the guards weren't looking...both Katie and I were surprised that the crown wasn't very shiny, it didn't seem very blingy...it's not as if I have heaps of experience with crowns to be able to make such a judgement, but I remember being under impressed...

After exiting parliament, we walked as far as we could to the banks of the river...unfortunately this was when we came to the point where we were not happy about the holiday festival, as the sidewalks this close to the water were blocked off by fences...argh...we'd wanted to see a modern art piece on the sidewalk, we had to settle for seeing it from a distance, through the fence...
We walked along the river back toward the centre area, eventually getting to the great synagogue...it's the biggest synagogue in Europe...we had to wait in a short queue to buy entrance tickets, which was annoying only because it was raining...the worship area had several tour groups, the guides giving information quietly...

There was an upstairs area that had been turned into a museum...some exhibits showed items used in Jewish life, some showed the history of this synagogue and it's congregation, and some showed some of what happened in the Holocaust...a small museum, but I liked it because I was able to absorb the information without feeling overwhelmed...
There was a memorial garden out back...very peaceful...
Lunch was in a random cafe across the street...
From the cafe we took a tram across a different bridge to the chapel in the rock...the entrance fee included an audio guide (a bit too preachy for me) so we learned more than the guidebook said...various chapels had different stories to tell...the church is more of a natural cave that has been carved out a little more to make a small church...

Across the street from the chapel is the Gellert baths, some of the biggest in the city...the lobby area was pretty impressive...
More walking (back across the bridge and down a pedestrian street) took us to Gerbaud...Katie's friends in the states told us we had to go there for tea, and I'm so glad we did...everything on the menu looked good, it took us a while to figure out what we wanted...it was very well presented, and really good...(and our waiter was good looking too:)...
After tea we used the subway and more walking to get to lukacs baths...our Budapest cards included free entrance to these baths, of course we wanted to know what all the fuss was about...
There wasn't much English inside, it took us a while to figure out where to go and what to do...but once we did, it was fun...the baths were all heated to different temperatures, (the coldest was 32C and the hottest 40C)...everyone moved around every so often...we were plenty pickled by the time we left...

As we walked toward a metro stop to get home, we crossed another bridge, covered with people staking out a spot for the fireworks scheduled that evening...I bet people come out there pretty early in the day, the bridge spots were a great place to see everything...we heard most of the show, which was impressive...loud too...
That was our last night in Budapest...we took the metro home, it wasn't nearly as crowded as I expected, considering all the people out to see the fireworks...
The next morning both of us were up, and left the city...I have to go back!

london

The day I traveled to London was stressful, to say the least…one of the most stressful travel days I’ve had in a long time…I was flying air asia, and they’ve recently set up online check in, as well as check in kiosks at the LCC terminal in Kuala lumpur…howeva, when you check in online, they send you one of those barcodey looking squares…you can have it sent to your phone, or to your email, which I guess you’re then supposed to print…not very helpful if you don’t have a phone, or access to a printer…anywho, I was checked in…I got to the airport and discovered that the kiosks would only work to print boarding passes for people already checked in if you had that barcodey thing to put in front of the laser…obviously, I didn’t…what kind of kiosk doesn’t let you search by name, or flight number, or something along those lines? Argh…so I got in line…

The lady at the check in counter wanted proof that I had plans to leave the UK before allowing me to check my bag and get my boarding pass…never mind that I was already officially checked in…this whole system of showing proof of planning to leave is the dumbest thing ever…just because I bought a ticket doesn’t mean I will actually leave, and if you allow people to check in online, there doesn’t have to be proof of anything…so those of us who can’t do it properly online are more likely to overstay a visa in the UK? Argh…anywho, I had a ticket purchased, but I didn’t have it printed out… (isn’t one of the reasons for e-tickets is to save the environment and stop printing out so many sheets of paper?)…she insisted, so I had to go hunting for an internet connection…I had a laptop, and the airport has free wifi, but I needed to print…there was a VIP lounge area, and it had internet…for the obscene price of $8 for half an hour!!! Can you imagine? Not surprisingly, I didn’t have that much money left in my wallet…I’m leaving the country for goodness sake, why would I keep that much money in a currency I won’t need? The guys running the desk of that lounge were quite insistent that that was the price, though by that point I was crying…my thought process was this: seriously, you’re not going to let me print, and even though I’m already checked in, I won’t be able to leave the country because I can’t pay $8 to print one sheet of paper? Really? You can’t make any exceptions? Aaaaaaaargh… I had some money, just not that much…I was really lucky that some gentlemen who had paid the fee took pity on me and let me print my one sheet of paper…

Then I went back to the check in lady who looked at my ticket to leave the UK as if it were in another language completely…she looked at it, put it down, looked at it again, read her way down the page using her finger, etc…then asked what it said…if you’re working a computer system at an international airport, I presume you can read English, why is it so hard to read my ticket? Argh…finally, she took my baggage and gave me my boarding pass…the flight left over an hour late, but was smooth and easy…

Because of the late arrival of the flight into London’s stansted airport, I was able to catch a bus into the city, but I was too late to take the tube…so I had to catch a cab…it’s London, so that wasn’t cheap…at all…my friend brie had said I could stay at her place, even though she was out of town, traveling for work at the time…so her flattie lynsey greeted me, after explain to the cabbie exactly where to go…at that point I was thrilled to finally be in London, but not thrilled with how my day had been…expensive and stressful…argh…sometimes I hate traveling…

I ended up staying up most of the night due to jet lag, my body clock was completely screwed up…this same thing had happened the last time I flew this particular flight, so I wasn’t keen on the next day…only two or three hours of sleep wasn’t my idea of fun, especially since I hadn’t had tons of sleep lately anywho…

I got up the next day, wasted more time online, then finally walked out of the flat…the last time I flew to London from asia, I didn’t see much of the city…by that point in that trip, I was completely traveled out, and didn’t care if I saw nothing…this time I wanted to see something, even if it wasn’t much…especially as I’d bought a London guidebook…I found my way to the tube, and made my way to the area the book calls “the city”…

My first stop was st paul’s cathedral…it’s huge, an Anglican church…not only is the church huge, so is the entrance fee…argh…but I wanted to see it, so I paid…almost as soon as I walked in, I knew I’d never want to get married in that type of church…(not that I’d be eligible to do so…while members of the public can get married in Westminster abbey – provided you can afford it and follow their rules – you must have an OBE or be closely related to someone who does in order to get married at st paul’s…at least, that’s what I was told)…it’s beautiful, but it’s also really complicated…there is all sorts of stuff going on…amazing decoration, really intricate…you could spend a day walking around, and not see all the decoration…part of that is because it’s a cathedral, and huge…your eyes can’t see the tiny details that far away…which is a shame…you’re not allowed to take photos inside…I have mixed feelings about that, but I followed the rule…it was crazy crowded with tourists, I haven’t felt that crushed in a long while…there were free audio guides, I listened to every track…in addition to the religious stuff, there were also tombs and memorials galore…since churches used to be a much bigger part of daily life, both life and death took place in the building…

One of the niftier aspects of the church is the whispering gallery…up top, it’s said that you can speak in a whisper to someone on the other side of the gallery, and they’ll hear you…as I was by myself, I didn’t have the option of trying this out…the view down was fun…there are plenty of stairs to get to that gallery…then, there are way more stairs to get up to the cupola (I can’t think of the right word, someone help me) on top of the church…when you get all the way up, you go outside, and you can see all across London, all the way around…way cool…heaps windy up there, but I liked it anywho…as I look at my London photos, I took a LOT of photos of st paul’s exterior…

From there I followed one of lonely planet’s walking tours, and proceeded to get lost…not all that surprising…but getting lost in London isn’t at all like getting lost in a country where I don’t speak the language or read…I figured out where I was not too much later…I ended up in front of what used to be the royal exchange I think…another imposing building, but I don’t think it was anything inside…I didn’t go inside, so I’m not all that sure…whoops…there is a memorial/tiny little park out front, I watched people for a little while…

From there I kept walking, back to st paul’s…I wanted to attend the daily evensong prayers…the service takes place every day, and anyone can attend…I was curious…it’s basically a church service w/out the singing or the sermon…short and sweet…around 15 minutes later, it was over…

On the way home, I picked up fruit…green grapes, strawberries and raspberries…a couple bananas as well…that was dinner, and I was thrilled with it…

I managed to keep myself awake until almost 2100, which was way better than the last time I’d flown to London from asia…that time, I kept falling asleep in the evening around 1900, which meant I woke up early early early in the morning (around 0400) and couldn’t get back to sleep, and had a really hard time adjusting to the new time…staying away till 2100 meant I slept until 0500 or so, and it felt good…still too early to be waking up, but at least it was a full night of sleep…

The next day I got up and to the tube to the “west end” of the city…the area full of places Americans have been hearing about all their lives, even if they haven’t been paying attention…parliament and big ben…Westminster abbey…Trafalgar square…downing street…Buckingham palace…Piccadilly circus…I saw them all…

I started my day by joining the ridiculously long queue for Westminster abbey…another huge Anglican church…the sight of William and Kate’s royal wedding, in case you’ve been hiding under a rock for the past year…again, the entry fee was ridiculous, but again, I wanted to see the church, so I didn’t have a choice…the public entry fee is different from where Kate entered the church…again, there were audio guides, which was nice…the guide talks you through many of the tombs and memorials of the church, as well as some of the history and architecture of the church…just like st paul’s, I enjoyed walking around and looking, but I wouldn’t want to get married there…way too much going on in there that isn’t religious…when the current queen was crowned there yonks ago (next year is her diamond jubilee) they somehow managed to put in 6000 seats…(by comparison, the recent royal wedding had 1500 attendees I think? - which apparently was “small” - and it looked crowded on tv, you could see that most of the people there couldn’t see much of anything)…I ended up spending around two hours in the church…again, no photos are supposed to be taken inside…I saw a few people surreptitious (sp?) breaking that rule, but I followed it…

I continued my walk around a tiny little park with tents and political posters set up, I’m sure someone could tell me what that is all about…the signs seemed mostly to be about land…Korea claiming dokdo in particular…and I saw an aboriginal flag from aussie…

I kept walking, and saw a crowd gathered by a gate…I looked at my book, but there was nothing labeled at that point on the map…then I saw the street sign…downing street…10 downing street is the residence of the prime minister of great Britain, I suppose people were hoping for a glimpse…I only took a self portrait with the street sign in the background…more as proof that I was in London than anything else…I haven’t paid enough attention to British politics to know what the prime minister looks like now, though I know I should know…

I kept going and got to Trafalgar square…there is a very tall statue of (admiral) lord nelson (I think? Please correct me if I’m wrong)…it’s a wide open area, again great for people watching…I didn’t stay there though, as you can also see a huge gate entrance to st james’ park right there…this was the path followed by the royal couple after the wedding, on their way to Buckingham palace…gjillions of people were there (and even more gjillions watched the whole thing on tv) and there are still union jacks on every pole all down the street…

At the end of the street is a monument, and behind it, Buckingham palace…which, though it’s quite famous, it’s all that to see…it allegedly has 1500 rooms, or something along those lines…what on earth anyone needs all those rooms for is beyond me…I had my photo taken by one of the gates, and I took a photo of the first kiss balcony…architecturally, the outside of the palace isn’t very exciting…

From there I followed the street to the end of st james’ park, there is an area with military memorials for various countries of the commonwealth…Australia, New Zealand, India, etc…then I walked up Piccadilly…there is an area in the street called Piccadilly circus, it’s described as the times square of London…an open-ish area, with heaps of people…buildings on the edge have lots of signs and advertising…a fantastic place to people watch…also a fantastic place to be overwhelmed by the numbers of tourists…I thought I’d been some touristy places over the past few years, but none of them were like London…whoa…

I made my way to covent garden, watched a few of the street performers and bought some shampoo from lush…the shops there didn’t otherwise grab my attention…

A bit more walking, a few turns and I ended up along the river…I decided to cross the river, in order to get the southside view of parliament and big ben…lots of folks were doing the same thing…I walked past the London eye, a huge ferris wheel that was set up in 2000 (I think) and was supposed to be temporary…since London is set to host the Olympics next year, I guess it isn’t so temporary…I like walking along rivers…

That was the end of my sightseeing for the day…on the way home I stopped for more fruit, and takeaways…yum…

The next morning lynsey told me how to get to luton airport…I packed up, hopped on the bus, took the train, took the bus, and flew out of the country…security was a long line, but at least checking in was an easy processJ…where I was going, not only do american’s not need a visa, I didn’t have to provide proof of plans to leave…(which was a good thing, since I didn’t have any of those plans!)