Well, we only got two days into the trip before I forgot my power charger at the hotel in London. So this post will be trying to make up for lost time!
Day Two in London was surreal. I’m not sure if I ever truly got my bearings of the place, as we did so much walking and saw so many different things that day that the city became a straight line for us as we moved from point to point, objective to objective.
First on the list was James’ plan to make a little extra spending money for our trip. I won’t trouble myself (or bore you) by explaining the details, but if you’re interested you can read more about that kind of thing elsewhere on the blog. Everything went pretty smoothly at first, but we encountered a few technical hiccups that culminated in a frantic dash to what we thought was the nearest Paddy Power betting shop, but what turned out to be the company’s head offices at Euston Station. Luckily we managed to figure out a solution, which had us rooting for Liverpool FC to win that evening’s match against Tottenham Hotspurs.
That having been seen to, we set off in search of some sights. These were easy to come by, really, because Central London is a virtual carousel of architectural style. We walked through the grandeur of Fitzrovia, past the campus of University College London (London’s “Global” University!) and the British Museum, through the packed streets of the theatrical West End, and on and on until we stumbled out into the immensity of Trafalgar Square.
After getting our bearings again, we headed in the direction of Parliament and London’s iconic clock tower. We were unprepared, it turned out, for how ornate the façade was in real life, and so we spent a little while admiring everything before continuing our walk. From there we walked over the Thames—an impressive thing in its own right—and made a beeline for the famous Harrods department store, intent on a steak dinner in the upscale cafeteria. What a dinner it was! We chose our meat from the butcher’s counter, then sat down at the bar seats to watch the steaks cook; when the meat arrived, accompanied simply by some cherry tomatoes, béarnaise sauce, and some creamed spinach, we eagerly tucked in and spent the next half hour in foodie bliss.
Over dinner we decided on our evening plans: we searched out a clump of Liverpool-supporting pubs, and had a blast watching the match (which Liverpool won, 2-1) with actual fans. “Right chuffed” by our good fortune, we wandered around, popping into a pub or two as they caught our attention. Later, in search of a nighttime meal, we continued to amble, at one point ending up on the 40th floor of a building in downtown London that provided a spectacular view of the city at night. Before heading back to our hotel, we finally found some food in the form of a late-night full English breakfast, which was a delicious (if heavy) way to end our massive day of walking.
The next morning, feeling tired from our short rest and a little worse for wear, we checked out of the hotel, caught a series of trains to Stansted airport, and were soon in the air to sunny Spain!
