London part 2

Hit the bars

Met an funny arabic dude on the street. The culture of hit the bars is essential in western world, so I tried to teach my friends that we should visit as more bas as we can since there are so many funny things occurs in the bars everyday! And there you go, we met a funny arabic guy in an annonymous bar, he couldn’t stop introducing Dubai or arabic world to us and that’s such an eye-opener! They can marry at most 4 wives, despite of the age. The way they hook up girls must through his mother. (Girls wear veil so that the face cannot be seen on the street.)

When a man has more than one wife, the relationship is called polygyny; and when a woman has more than one husband, it is called polyandry. If a marriage includes multiple husbands and wives, it can be called group marriage.

=======================

Hyde Park

 

I spent whole the 2nd day morning just hanging around the park instead of paying a visit to the British Museum. They say I must go crazy that miss the most great museum in the world, but I was satisfied with no regret.

 

The weather was not that good, it was kind of chilly yet drizzle a little in the morning, which made the air smell fresher than normal. The leaves kept falling to the ground made the park more poetic. Besides, there were so many poultry playing around the pool, I have to say Hyde park is the oasis of the city.

Brought McMuffin, orange juice and plums from market, sat on the bench by the river, enjoyed my breakfast alone. One adorable dog just ran into my coz my McMuffin was too tasty.

Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, England and one of the Royal Parks of London, famous for its Speakers' Corner.

=======================

Harrods

Harrods is a high-end department store located on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England. The Harrods brand also applies to other enterprises undertaken by the Harrods group of companies including Harrods Bank, Harrods Estates, Harrods Aviation and Air Harrods, and Harrods Buenos Aires.

Harrods is located near the Knightbridge station, which is right next to the park. The store itself is quite a famous site to visit, especially the Egyptian escalator.

It’s not just a place for selling, the idea and attitude Harrod’s provide was elegant and graceful. That’s not the major reason I spent 2-3 hours over there (But not Kensington Palace). I planed to go there to buy some souveniors but just stuck in there.

It turned out that I spent more money than I expect. I bought a jar of candy, a box of cookies, 3 bears and a purple crown key holders for Cat (in response to her wonderful metal green guitar)

=======================

Craze for Jap food

I hate to say it but you can not find “British” food in London cause we don’t call fish and chips as proper food that should serve on the restaurant table. The streets of London was full of chained shops and restaurants. (similiar to Asia, but not France) You can see starbucks, H&M, McDonald’s everywhere on the major street. For me, the most weird thing is that there are so many Japanese restaurants in London and most of them are franchised. As you seen on the picture, it was noon and people waiting in the rain for grab a lunch box with Japanese food. Take a look at the poor french diner next to it, nobody’s there.

=======================

Mr. Topper’s

It’s definately not a tourist site in London, but I paid a visit over there. It was a barber cheap shop in soho district. The price of 7 GBP for doing a hair is quite similar to I pay the same price to a chic salon in Taipei.

But the major reason I went there is that I couldn’t endure my long hair. If I decided to do my hair in France, it cost at least 17E(not including tips) with a non-English speaking stylist. I am not looking for fashion or edge European style, all I wanted was a clean, short hair. I spent just 1 hour, 10GBP(coz I asked not the use the shaver) over there to get my hair done. It’s kind of risky, but I like the new look and asked my hairlist took a pic of her and me.

=======================

Piccadilly Circus

Big LED billboards, crowded of people and shops consist of Piccadilly circus, one of the most famous shopping site in London.

Piccadilly Circus is a famous road junction and public space of London's West End in the City of Westminster, built in 1819 to connect Regent Street with the major shopping street of Piccadilly. In this context, a circus, from the Latin word meaning "circle", is a round open space at a street junction.

I have to admit that I had the plan to go National Gallery after I left Harrods but the fantasy lights seduced me to linger around shops to shops. Thankfully I didn’t spent too much money on that. This is the first time I see the Xmas sale, walking along the Regent street, window shopping was enough.

=======================

Oxford Circus

I liked oxford circus coz the shops were more close to each other. I found that the department stores in London was way better marketer than french. They put a lot of bargains on the aisles and even me had a serious debate in my mind: Whether should I buy this lamp back home? It’s half priced!

=======================

White Lion

The restsurant/bar was recommended by an online forum and they said that the value/price value was a good deal. So we sent Covent Garden for the food. It was names White Lion, after the famous Richard I of England.

Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 6 July 1189 until his death. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Lord of Ireland, Lord of Cyprus, Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Count of Nantes, and Overlord of Brittany at various times during the same period. He was known as Cœur de Lion, or Richard the Lionheart, even before his accession, because of his reputation as a great military leader and warrior.

I have to admit that the delicacy or bad tasted food in London made no difference. The quality of food was poor and expensive as usual. After I checked the posters of food in every diners, I found that they served the same food in every bars or restaurant, which means I paid 10 GBP for a frozen steak. Everything’s good except food in London. I’d rather stick to my Happy Meal.

Covent Garden (pronounced /ˈkɒvənt/) is a district in London, England, located on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is mainly associated with the former fruit and vegetable market located in the central square which is now a popular shopping and tourist site.

=======================

Buses

Taking buses on the road was the other pleasure. Esp. when you sat on the 2ns floor, front seat, the whole view was awesome. I liked to take bus than metro since I was not in a rush and by stuck in the jam I could take a look people on the streets.

But one thing for sure is that be careful when you need take the night bus! The teenagers in London was sick, they would jump on the bus, open the window and yell to people on the streets. Or throw things to other passengers, esp. the ones who looked nice, eg. Asians. We’ve been thrown bottles or paper balls on the bus.

=======================

Antique cars

On the 3rd day of our visit, we spent a whole morning in Piccadilly circus waiting for the antique car race. The term antique cars is referred to cars produced before year 1905.

People drove their precious cars on the road every year. It’s a nice chance to see so many interesting cars at the same time. And they would wear ancient dress to fit the year of the car were produced.

=======================

Hamleys

There is a toy store located on the Regent street, and they are celebrating their 250th anniversary. Yes! 250 years of operation was amazing, even elder than Taiwan :/

Hamleys is one of the world's largest toy shops. Its flagship store is in Regent Street, London. The flagship store is considered one of London's major tourist attractions, and receives about five million visitors a year.

I wish I were a kid, than I’ll be spoiled in the world of toys, games and stuffed teddy bears.

The teddy bear is a stuffed toy bear. They are usually stuffed with soft, white cotton and have smooth and soft fur. It is an enduring form of a stuffed animal in many countries, often serving the purpose of entertaining children.

=======================

Borough Market

 

This market was called Borough Market, located on Southwark Street and Borough High Street just south of Southwark Cathedral on the southern end of London Bridge, is a successor to one that originally adjoined the end of London Bridge. The Act allowed for the local parishioners to set up another market on a new site, and in 1756 it began again on a 4.5 acre (18,000 m²) site in Rochester Yard.

I had 3 raw oysters over there for 1 GBP each. Quite economic and amazingly delicious! The market itself became a tourist spot for visitors but not locals. So the price over there are always expensive than supermarkets.

But still, you can find some bargains. I bought 2 packages of strawberries for 1.5 GBP, which were sweet and fruity. As my lunch, the hotdog, cost me 4GBP but a sausage, breas and pickles.

=======================

London Bridge & Tower Bridge

We took the photo on London bridge and the bridge behind us, was Tower bridge. Yes, it was the bridge the song described.

London Bridge is broken down,
Falling down, falling down.
London Bridge is falling down,
My fair lady.
Build it up with wood and clay,
Wood and clay, wood and clay,
Build it up with wood and clay,
My fair lady.
Wood and clay will wash away,
Wash away, wash away,
Wood and clay will wash away,
My fair lady.
Build it up with bricks and mortar,
Bricks and mortar, bricks and mortar,
Build it up with bricks and mortar,
My fair lady.

London Bridge is a bridge over the River Thames, connecting the City of London and Southwark, in central London. Situated between Cannon Street Railway Bridge and Tower Bridge, it forms the western end of the Pool of London. On the south side of the bridge are Southwark Cathedral and London Bridge station; on the north side are the Monument to the Great Fire of London and Monument tube station.

It was the only bridge over the Thames downstream from Kingston until Putney Bridge opened in 1729. The current bridge opened on 17 March 1973 and is the latest in a succession of bridges to occupy the spot and claim the name.

In 1014, according to a much later skaldic tradition, the bridge was pulled down by the Norwegian prince Olaf, as he was aiding King Aethelred in what, if true, was a successful bid to divide the defending forces of the Danes who held the walled City of London plus Southwark, thereby regaining London for the Anglo-Saxon king. This episode has been thought to have inspired the well-known nursery rhyme "London Bridge is Falling Down".

The tower bridge connects the 2 sides of river. We didn’t go up to the museum but spend a little bit of time roaming on the river. The weather was amazingly nice, no raining but sunny with cool wind.

 

Tower Bridge is a combined bascule and suspension bridge in London, England, over the River Thames. It is close to the Tower of London, which gives it its name. It has become an iconic symbol of London.

=======================

London Tower

It’s like a bad tradition, we didn’t pay too much time on the bridge museum nor did we enter the London Tower. My family must angers at me that even if I spent time in London for 6 days but pay no visit in the most important spots.

Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space known as Tower Hill.

=======================

St. Paul’s Cathedral

St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral on Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the City of London, and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The present building dates from the 17th century and was designed by Sir Christopher Wren. It is generally reckoned to be London's fifth St Paul's Cathedral, all having been built on the same site since AD 604. The cathedral is one of London's most famous and most recognisable sights. At 365 feet (111m) high, it was the tallest building in London from 1710 to 1962, and its dome is also among the highest in the world.

We dashed a while before the cathedral’s official close time, 6pm. But on the day we visited, it was closed already for a private event. It’s kind of pity that we missed almost all the prestigious things in London.

I comfort myself that “That’s OK, we can back here next time, with your spouse or beloved.”

(To be continued)