the life of david volz // a david and tiffany travel blog » london

UK_Travel//9.24.09

david — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 02:11:29 +0000

7:30a. As always, we wake up. Yawn. Stretch. A bit of BBC news. This hotel has been very good. Centrally located in the city. Very close to train station. No to close though. Check-Out. And we’re on the streets. Walking toward the rail station. At station. Breakfast. Cinnamon roll, croissant roll, and orange juice. Train leaves at 9:22.We have to wait for a later train this morning. We are traveling from Bath, England to Cardiff, Wales! Third country in the UK. Awesome! 9a. Smaller station. Train is here. On board. Found a table seat in the middle. Packs are securely stuffed in the luggage racks. Train is off. 1 hour 20 minute ride. Read Doctor Who book. Wait. Getting close. I think. CARDIFF, WALES! Off the train. Medium sized station. This is the Capital city of Wales. hmm. No signs. A bit of an odd station really. Turn right. Past turnstiles. Ask station employee if they have a left luggage. NO! Nice. We’ll be carrying our packs around town today. Exit station. hmm. Kinda lost. We are looking for the bus stop. Need to find the BayCar. It’s a bus system that runs a circle route from the city center to Cardiff Bay. Two pounds per ticket for a return trip. Walking around always helps us get our bearings. Found the bus stop. Wait. Pay. On the bus. Long narrow bus. Super clean. 10 minute ride. And we’re at Cardiff Bay. Got off Bus at the Red Dragon stop. Cardiff Bay is great! Large Pier. Walk. Seaside. Lots of boats. Walk around the docks. Packs are heavy. Found a map! Yes. Information Center is on the Sound side of the bay. Worth a visit. Short film on the history of Wales. Pretty great. Explore. Time passes. Back on Docks. Mermaid Quay. Kinda a food and shopping area. Outdoor mall overlooking the water. Super nice. Rest on bench overlooking the bay. Lovely. Lunch. Pizza. Delicious. Two cokes and cheese and pepperoni pizza. Eat outside. Massive packs are in the corner. Waiter asked us not to setup camp. hehe. Love it. Finished eating. Off for more exploring. There is another Doctor Who exhibit in the Red Dragon building. Awesome. Enter. Dalek. Cybermen. Brilliant. Killer exhibit. Purchase a Doctor figurine. Off to explore a bit more of Cardiff, Wales. Finished our quest. Found a closer BayCar. On bus for return journey to train station. Fast bus ride. At station. Ahh. Nice. We left through the back exit of the station before. There is a nice front entrance with maps. Should have turned left. Tarin leaves at 2:25p. We are heading to Paddington Station in London, England. After this, we will have vistied the three major train stations in London. “Kings Cross”, “Waterloo”, and “Paddington”. Brilliant. Still waiting for train. Train is here. On board. Found some seats near the back of the train. Perfect. Time to read. Train is getting full. And we are moving. Two and one half hours from now we’ll be in London again. This train is super fast. Calling at Bristol, England. Lots of people got off at this station. Getting closer. Scenery is shifting back to the flat green of London. Almost there. Tunnels. And we ahve arrived. Station is big. Grab packs. Off train. Looking for the underground. Found it. On Circle (Yellow) line. Tube is great. Long ride to Tower Hill. This tube is crowded. Standing. Arrive at Tower Hill Stop. This underground is super close to our hotel. Up steps. On streets. Examine map. Found hotel. Check-In. Free wireless. Lovely hotel. Room 503. Rest for a bit. It’s been a busy day sofar. Unpack. Three day stay before we pack up and leave for the states. Time to explore this new area of town. On the streets. Walking toward the Monument commemorating the great fire of 1666. Found a grocery store. Purchased some food for the next few days. More exploring. Walking across London Bridge toward South Bank. Turn East.. Loads of shops and cafes. London City Hall. All sorts of fantastic architecture. Across tower bridge. Photos. Video. Lovely sunset. Now for something to eat. Opted to go back to grocery store and buy some food for a third meal. Bought some pasteries for breakfast tomorrow too. Awesome! It’s dark now. walk back to hotel. Up elevator. Rest after a long day. Read. Write. 11:30p. Good Night! Only a few days left in the UK. Peace.

UK_Travel//9.22.09

david — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 21:58:59 +0000

8a. Wake up. Well, more like 7:45a I suppose. Get ready. BBC News (as is tradition now). A gorgeous day in London. Leave. Down three floors. On the streets. Now then, whats for breakfast. Long walk to the Square (Trafalgar). Food? The “Pret”. A popular health chain over here. Two rolls. And two orange juices. Eat in cafe. Done. Explore. Walk up to Regent street. A shopping district. Long walk. London is great! Very big. Getting hot. Sun is out. Apple store London! Explore shop. And more shops. Changing of the guard is at 11:30a. We want to get their a tad early. Better catch a tube back that way. No way we’ll make the walk in time. Down three flights of staris. Way. Way Way. Underground. Swipe Oyster card. On tube. Pass is great. Southbound. Bumpy train. Arrive. Off tube. Up lots of stairs. On street. Now to palace. Follow crowd. Yikes. Lots of people. Changing of the guard starts soon. 11a. 11:15a. I can hear some kinda marching band. And it begins. Lovely tradition. 30 minutes later. It’s over. A bunch of people turned up for the event. Explore. Photos. Video. Almost 1p now. Take tube up to Tottenham Court Station. Walking to British Museum. Following signs. And we’re there. Fantastic architecture. The building is great. Free. Awesome. A dome. BTW: we ate a quick lunch at Costa Coffee on the way here. Museum is enormous. Biggest one I’ve ever seen. Rosetta Stone! 90 rooms. Egypt. Greece. Rome. Assyria. Japan. Africa. Europe. Americas. Just to name a few topics. Really an incredible place. Explore. Done. Time to rest. Found a small park. Sit. Rest. The city is so large that we aren’t able to venture back to our hotel for a break in the afternoon. And we’re walking back towards the tube. One Tube. Stop at Leicester Square. Exploring square. Stanfords travel store. This is the theater district. Maybe we’ll see a show. Opted not to tonight. Walk to Little Italy. Again with the Italian for dinner. Loveing it. Brilliant. Eat. Very good. Waiter was very good. Sounded like an Italian accent. Take a couple tube lines back to hotel for the evening. hmm. Something is happening at the Tate Britain. Investigate. A Fashion Show. Kinda High-End. Lots of photographers. Exclusive. Whoa! London is having Fashion week 18th-22nd. Victoria Beckham is at this show. And Emma Watson. And Liv Tyler. Wow. I’m snapping Photos. Paparazzi are everywhere now. Crazy. Event is over. Everyone is one the street. Must be an after party down the street. Walking with crowd, as our Hotel is the same way. Some super fashionable ladies are commenting on my style from behind us. “He looks like a surfer with trainers on.” hahaha. Awesome! Out of the crowd. Back to hotel. It has been a crazy day. 12 hours of non-stop exploration. Bed.

UK_Travel//9.21.09

david — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 21:18:41 +0000

7a. Alarm goes off. I had an odd dream last night. I dreamed that we missed our train. And something else. Amazing how quick you forget your dreams. Train to London today. Yes. Excitement! Pack up my gear. I’m getting quite good at packing this bag. Brush teeth. Drink water. Check-Out. Five minute walk to the train station. York has been brilliant! Two coffees. Two cinnamon rolls. And a bottle of water for the train. Wait. Platform 3. 8:36a. On board. Train is packed. This cart is full. Walking through train. Found two seats. riding backwards. Free internet on National Rail trains. Love it. Stuff our packs above our seats. And we’re off. Lots of business people. I feel a bit out of place. Heading to London’s Kings Cross station. One of many in the city. Two hour ride. This is our 8th rain experience. No, 9th. Beautiful countryside. When we get to London we’ll need to catch the tube to Westminster. Our hotel is near the Tate Britain. Half way there. Almost. Arrive. We are in London!Ahh. Station is massive. biggest yet. Now to find the tube. But first. Platform 9 3/4. Awesome! There is a sign and everything. Gotta love Harry Potter. hmm. Tube. Follow signs. Found it. Oyster card with 7-day pass. Unlimited subway (tube). Zones 1 and 2 only. Beautiful. Press Oyster card to yellow dot. And we’re through the turnstiles. Looking for Blue (Victoria) Line. Found sub. On board. PACKED! Tiff and I are jammed in here with our packs on. Crazy. Tube is moving. More people squeeze on.Nice. We are looking for the 6th stop. Observe the people. And we’re there. Off. Follow signs. Street level. More signs to Tate Britain. Hotel? Found it. Whoa. Lovely. Check-In. Room 334. Great stay. There is an iMac in every room. Doubles as a TV. Unpack a bit. We’ll be here for two days. Time to explore London! Gorgeous. We a rein the business district. Let’s go North. Big Ben (Clock Tower)! WestMinster Abbey! 10 Downing Street! The National Gallery! Stuff everywhere. Incredible. The London Eye. Parliament. What to do first? Westminster Abbey. Purchase tickets. A bit pricey. Free audio tour. Wow. This is a great audio tour. Westminster abbey is remarkable. Truly. 960ad. Coronation chair for the Kings and Queens of Great Britain. Many Kings, Queens, Poets, Authors, and Musicians are buried here. Massive building. Grand. A bit smaller than York Minster. But much more history and content. Sculptures and paintings everywhere. Literally. Hundreds of statues. Back on the streets. Food. Egg sandwich and two sparkling orange juices. And a slice of carrot cake for Tiffany. We ate atop the Lord Nelson Monument in Trafalgar Square. Lovely area. Indeed. Photos. Explore. National Gallery. Free. Big. Real Big. Raphael, Michelangelo, Leonardo, Rembrandt, Picasso, VanGough, Monet, Caravaggio, and many more. Maze. Lots of maps. Done. Back in square. Time to find the British Library. Tube. Black (Northern) Line. From Charing Cross to Euston. Super fast. Tube is great. Off the tube. On the streets. Follow my nose. And we’ve found it. A billion books. Maybe? Either way their are a bunch. Two of four copies of the Magna Carta. Original (Hand written) sheet music from Handel, Beethoven, and Mozart. Gutenberg Bible. Hand written original Alice in Wonderland. And loads more. Explore. Done. Back on Tube. Buckingham palace! Amazing. Stone faced guards. Walk down mall street. Past Big Ben. Explore. Now to find food for dinner. Italian. Delicious. An altogether killer day. Walk back to hotel. A bit dark. Kinda lost. Found it in the end. iMac. TV. Read. Blog. And Bed.