London…….Part 5. Being a Tourist

In my four days in London, I have to admit, I let the tourist in me come out. Although I was wondering its streets and pavements in the hope of finding its essence, I was drawn into seeing its ‘sights’. I was intrigued by the Tower Bridge, the Big Ben and the Thames. From such a young age, we grow up seeing the Big Ben Clock Tower on the television and hearing about the gates and guards at Buckingham Palace, so I guess it was only natural for me to want to experience London’s sights with my own eyes. Without trying to put you asleep by just rattling off a list of the sights I saw, I will try and find a way in which to describe them, in the light I saw them in.

Without a doubt, one of the best Friday night drinks I have ever had was with Jo and Jacinta at an intimate Jazz bar, just off Carnaby street. The bar was called something about Jazz or All in the Jazz, anyway, something like that. But it was brilliant, it was some of the best live jazz I had ever heard, the atmosphere was relaxed and full of life. It was just great. Sitting there drinking red wine with the girls I found myself understanding exactly why the girls loved London so much.

The next day, I hit the pavement again and decided that I was going to walk along the Thames, exploring the Southbank of London. I found Parliament House and it’s gardens and walked right past as members of Parliament were being interrogated by the many journalists and photographers who had camped out waiting for there arrival that morning. I took in Westminster Abbey, The Big Ben and the London Eye. Walking along the Thames, I watched as the traffic on the river, ploughed away in its chaotic manner. I walked past the Tate Modern and came across Borough Market, just in time for Lunch. I can say without a doubt, that I loved this market more than any other I have experienced. It is a lively hub of activity. It is a food and produce market really where you can absorb so many flavours, and taste some of the worlds delicacies all under the same roof. It was packed, as people stood around trying to decide what on earth to satisfy their hunger with. You could have paella, cooked right in front of you, on the largest pan I had ever seen! Falafel wraps, your choice of roasted meat rolls, almost every type of fudge that you could think of, cheeses, olives, jams, chutneys, juices, ciders and I could go on and on, on and on! I couldn’t believe how much choice there was. Amazing!

I reluctantly left Borough Market and continued along the Thames, eventually climbing the London Tower Bridge and making my way over to a tube station and catching a train to Camden. I had been warned that I would love the Camden markets, so I headed to yet another distinctively different part of London and wondered through the many narrow alleyways of the market stalls. I loved it and instantly felt the vibe of Brunswick Street of Melbourne. Its punk, grunge feel took me straight back to my university days.

The next day, Jo, Sally and I headed back to Borough Market in the search of a good old Saturday morning brunch rendezvous. We tucked into a hot, roast pork roll, topped with sweet apple and cranberry sauce. Delicious! Next stop was Portobello Road Market, which consumed us for hours. I loved it and could have spent hours upon hours exploring all the stores and shops. I am sure I will find myself back there one day soon. That night Jo and I headed to Covent garden to meet Caitlin for dinner in a swanky, buzzing restaurant followed by an essential part of any London experience, the Theatre! The three of us sat and watched as contortionists, acrobatics, and magicians worked there magic in front of us. The show was called La Clique and it was more like a modern day circus show than an actual theatre show, but we all loved it and left feeling as if we had constantly been laughing and sitting on the edge of our seats. It was a real thrill.

On my last full day in London the girls and I all hit Harrods and explored its many levels. I was again overwhelmed by the amount of people, but no where near as much as I was overwhelmed by the grandeur of Harrods. Too much could be said about this world unto itself. So I won’t even start! We then wandered into Hyde park and warmed out hands on some mulled wine. The ice skating seemed appealing but a traditional Sunday roast seemed even more appealing at the time, so we all headed back to Clapham and tucked into a hearty roast dinner followed by a board game or two, to finish off my London adventure.

As I tucked into bed that night, I was too excited to sleep. With the next chapter of my journey about to start I could hardly contain the thoughts that were flying around in my mind. I was apprehensive and excited all in one. Yet again I was excited about the unknown I was about to delve into. I couldn’t wait for the sunrise and consequently didn’t get much sleep that night. I knew deep within me that the next five months of my life were somehow going to change me and ignite a passion within me that I hadn’t known was there. And as I waved and hugged Jo goodbye and made my way to Stanstead Airport to meet the people I would be spending the next five months of my life with, I had a deep sense that my new life was about to begin…..

London…….Part 4. A Wonderland of Everything and Anything

I love how diverse London is. Like Melbourne and many other multicultural cities it has so many different areas, which offer a different vibe, essence, flavour, its own people and inner hum, a different culture, class or status symbol. You feel like you can be transformed into anyone you want to be in each of its differing metropolises.

My senses were on constant overdrive. London is a city where you can get whatever your wildest dreams could think of. All you have to do is imagine it in your mind and you will find it. Your dream pair of shoes, the amazing dish you have been craving to eat, that perfect present that you haven’t been able to find anywhere. It is literally all here, you just have to know where to look.

London…..Part 3. The Land of Opportunity

London seems to be the kind of place where if you stand still for long enough, you can be approached by anyone trying to sell you something, sign you up for a research project or offer you jobs. I was standing outside Topshop waiting for Jo to arrive one afternoon when all of a sudden there was a guy standing in front of me, holding up a camera in front of my face. The first thing he asked me was if I had done any modelling before? “Umm, No!” Next question….., “Are you wearing contacts or are those blue eyes natural?” “Umm, they’re natural! Why?” “You should be a model!” and with that, he thrust a card into my hand and said to call him, and on he went, to find his next wannabe model. And just like that, a new opportunity on your door step. That’s London for you. I wonder how many people actually believe him and call the number!?

There is a buzz about London which seems to sing ‘SUCCESS’. It seems that everyone is trying to make a break, to climb the ladder of career status or turn there 5 digit bank balance into a 6 or 7 digit number overnight. The city simply never sleeps. There is always something to do, always someone to meet or somewhere to be. Everyone is in a hurray and following the tune of their own agenda. Everyone seems to be out for themselves, living life to succeed!

London…..Part 2. One great big Ant Farm!!

I hit the pavements of London the next day with my enthusiasm high and patience restored. I was ready to be consumed by the city and wanted to walk its streets for hours, exploring. The next day, the train system didn’t seem so scary and I made it perfectly to Victoria station and walked towards Buckingham Palace, arriving just in time to watch the Change of Guard, which is where I got my first taste of the kind of tourists I was going to be fighting with throughout my time in London. I vowed at that moment to try and avoid all tour groups and bus loads of tourists and go in search of the Londoner essence. So I kept on walking and made my way through the gardens, past the Ritz Hotel, along Pall Mall Way up to Trafalgar Square. I ducked into the National Museum just before a big down pour of rain was about to explode onto the Square. In my efforts to escape the rain, I wondered through the rooms, past the sunflowers of Van Gogh, The Venus and Mars of Botticelli, Rembrants’ self portrait, and as if I hadn’t seen enough in Florence, more renaissance art from Michelangelo, Titian, Bellini, Raphael and Leonardo Da Vinci.

Next I was off to Leicester Square, in search of theatre show tickets. But couldn’t decide between The Lion King, Les Miserables, and The Phantom of the Opera! Too many choices so I continued to walk on and found myself in China Town, where I devoured some great Sushi and explored some Asian supermarkets. Always a favourite of mine, I find them so fascinating! From there I seemed to wonder along some back streets getting quite lost in Soho, which finally led me to Oxford Street, which I quickly decided again to avoid, so I ducked back into the streets of Soho and found some amazing little narrow alleyways, with some quirky shops and amazing fabric stores. I was drawn back into the pretentious, artistic, designer feel of Soho. I loved the street cafes and boutique stores. It had a community feel about it that I liked. It reminded me of Greville street in Melbourne. I eventually landed up back down in The West End and made my way up to Picadilly Circus. The Christmas lights of Regent Street caught my attention, so I followed the canopy of fairy lights along the rows of shops. I ducked in and out of stores like The National Geographic, and the amazing children toy store, Hamesleys. I bought a T-shirt that I thought said it all, “Find your Freedom!” It was written on the front and I felt it surmised exactly my existence at the time, it had pictures of swallows flying all over it and I loved it! So it became mine. I still love that T-shirt. It reminds me to keep pushing myself to find the next adventure, to keep pursuing the next challenge and above all, it reminds me to never forget that I am free.

Literally, the very next challenge I was faced with, happened 5 minutes later when I was due to meet Jo and some other friends at 5:30 by the tube entrance at Oxford Circus. I can honestly say that this is the one and only time in my life where I have found myself feeling completely overwhelmed by the amount of people surrounding me. I swiftly felt the full power of what a stampede must be like. A human stampede of the business suit variety! This is one moment in my life I would have loved to have become a swallow and flown above it all and watched everyone marching and struggling along, fighting to reach their own individual destinations and freedoms from the masses.

I was trying to reach the North East side of the Oxford Circus intersection and as I walked east along Oxford street I was literally bombarded by a stampede of people all exiting the tube, heading in the opposite direction of me. I simply wanted to walk an extra 10 metres in order to reach the pedestrian crossing to cross the street. I struggled through the masses of people and found myself being pushed along with the barrage of people. I simply couldn’t escape its strength, so instead of fight it any longer, I simply turned and walked in the direction of the stampeding business suits!! I was completely overwhelmed by it. It took me about 10 minutes to finally make my way over to the North East side of Oxford Circus. I felt like I had become a very small insignificant Ant, within a huge Ant Farm. All day I had been completely overwhelmed by the amount of people in London. How could one place have such an enormous population?