My second day in London, I had a few main goals: 1) unpack, since I was too tired to do so when I arrived; 2) Buy towels and bathe, because I stank to high heaven after two days of travel and adjustment; and 3) get thoroughly lost in the city and find my way back. And I completed ALL tasks on that list. After finally getting ready for the day, I ventured out into London's crowded streets. I decided to first head in the direction of King's Cross Station, since everyone says it's really close to my dorms. I arrived no more than five minutes later and beheld a grand site of two beautiful stations side by side, one for its fame and one for its architecture. It is truly a site to behold and I will include a picture.
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Next, I decided to just wonder off in a random direction and hopefully find some shops since I really needed to buy some necessities like a power chord and tissues. Unfortunately, none of the stores I passed were ones that I required, so I kept walking straight ahead. After some time, I came to pass a construction site who's barrier walls were painted to look like bushes which was different and not something we do in America. I continued down a road that was packed with people heading to different destinations but blocked to cars. I crossed a bridge which ran over Regent's Canal and found a strange building. It was a University for Art, I believe dubbed "The House of Illustration" and yet the building looked like it could have been an old factory in another life. Very un-artsy looking. There were these incredible fountains that weren't really fountains by the buildings front entrance. I will post a picture because these are truly difficult to describe. They are flat and spewing straight onto the pavement and then draining again after a certain distance. There is no structure for a fountain there. They were rather bizarre.
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One of my favorite spots that I found was only a few feet away. Concrete steps covered in turf led down to the Canal's side path. There were many people just lounging about reading, talking, or as one man I saw, napping. It was a little pretty spot in the center of an industrialized city setting. A nice getaway, which led me to my next discovery. The Canal path itself went on for probably a couple of miles, and as I walked I began to see these little boats tethered to the side of the path. The farther I walked, the more their numbers grew. It was astounding to see so many characterized boats. Some were handsomely decorated and others looked dilapidated and old, just as houses. And that's when it occurred to me that these were no ordinary boats but people's floating houses. Again, I was stunned; this seemed like such a lovely place to live in a city like London. It would be a very different lifestyle to try to imitate.
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I continued on and chose one of the many paths that veered off and back onto the city streets. I can't remember the name of the place, but it was some kind of animal park that an elementary school decorated. It was so lush and green that it was captivating for the area. On my way onto the street, I was stopped by the sight of possibly 20 or more giant spider webs all elaborately displayed at the exit. At the center of each was an enormous spider, which is odd because spiders only enter the center of their webs when they have caught something, otherwise they lie in wait at the edges. But not these ones, they were boldly standing front in center like guards to intimidate those who venture too close. I was left full of awe, and you better believe I took pictures. (Note: Not for the faint of heart for those who fear spiders!)
~pic~
I found myself to be on one of the main streets in Islington but at the time I was utterly lost by this point, in that I hadn't a clue where I was. I could still backtrack so I suppose I wasn't that lost yet. My British lifeline, Kim, had told me earlier that she would be in this borough so I decided to stop at an internet cafe in order to text over WhatsApp. I sat down at the table and fiddled with my phone trying to get a strong enough signal when a scraggly looking man in a red shirt sat down at the other chair with only the table between us. I had one ear bud in at this point when I realized he had said something to me. "Pardon?" "I said 'I hope ya dun mind the smell a weed." And with that he lit up a joint right next to me in broad daylight, on one of the busiest streets in Islington. I suppose you could call this moment culture shock. Luckily, I do have a picture of what my face looked like in response to this:
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Alright, joking aside, this was pretty shocking to my sensibilities, I'll be honest. After managing to collect enough of a signal to send two messages, I got up and walked away. I have recently been informed that this is NOT legal in the UK as I had previously been led to believe. After this encounter, I continued walking and turning down different streets until I was truly lost and could not retrace my steps if I tried. I could not use the map since I did not know where I was (I could use landmarks either since I was in residential housing, there were no shops around anymore.) I never actually became concerned because there was no where that I HAD to be or anything. I could be out as late as I wished, and I could throw out a lifeline and ask someone directions if things got dire enough. My phone had died too at this point which is why I have no more pictures now for this day of the article. I apologize.
I continued to wander until I saw a tall building in the distance and construction cranes surrounding it (there are many of those in sight just outside my window.) So I figured this would be the best possible avenue to take to get me home. I headed for the building. I eventually circled back around to the main street with the weed smoker in the internet cafe, and by God he was still sitting there. I continued until I reached a building that read King's Cross on it. Next to it was the building that had led me back. I looked up at its tall height and thanked it for leading me home. I sat down underneath its shadow and took out my map for the first time that day. I decided it was time to get my bearings. I am much more familiar with this place then I was on day one because of it. I then got back up and entered one of the nearby underground stations and saw this:
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I lied I had one more picture.
I descended into this light show in hopes of obtaining an oyster card, which for those who don't know is a card that basically decreases the cost of all modes of transportation for the holder in the city of London. I could not figure out how to get one, and it was full of people. Feeling like I hadn't really accomplished anything that day, I walked towards the exit that was King's Cross Station and found myself face to face with a sign that read:
<-------------- Platforms 9, 10, and 11
I had to go. I had to see it before I ended my adventure with lunch. I quickened my pace in the direction of the sign's extended arm. I saw 9 and 10...but where was it. I couldn't walk over to the station because there were gates blocking nonpaying passengers from boarding. I turned around to go when my eyes beheld it. A store in the corner of the station: Harry Potter Platform 9 3/4. I found it. I rushed inside and the sight was glorious. Each House's uniforms, every characters' wands you could want, and....keychains. My fourth goal of the day. I left my keys at home since I wouldn't need them here, not knowing I would be given two kitchen keys that are still jingling around in an envelope on my desk. I obtained an official keychain for my keys. Isn't it beautiful?
And so ends my adventurous day. But the following day was just as fun though not as busy. I woke up at 11 am due to going to bed the night before at 2 am because that's when I could talk to those in America. I desperately required a coffee. And look at the size of the water I bought! I love it!
It was Nick's day off and I waited for him most of the afternoon to get online so that I could talk to him. In the meantime, I talked to his friend, Dave. By six o'clock, it was time to meet Kim for dinner and shopping. We stopped for some coffee and talked a while, then we got my shopping list and hit some stores, allowing me to obtain what I needed most. We then stopped at an Italian place for dinner which I swear had the greatest lemonade that I have had the pleasure of tasting anywhere. It was actually sour and caused me to pucker a little when drinking it. Unfortunately, I had been feeling a little faint but thought that the feeling would pass. I ordered ravioli which, I was surprised to find, did not come in slathered in marinara sauce. It was just just plain. I began to eat and nearly choked on what I thought to be spinach but to my grave misfortune learned too late was actually basil leaves sprinkled on top. They had to bring me another lemonade. We then walked back to Nido and the parted ways and I began my other big misadventure.
The Unintentional All-Nighter. It started with some form of headache, which I believe turned into fever, and before you all ask (mom), I did not have Tylenol with me. I tossed and turned for four hours until I finally gave up and decided to join the dead and drunk that populated the late hour. I talked to Nick, played a game, and now here I am writing for today. Because of not feeling great, I did not do anything eventful. I didn't even leave the Nido building but there will be more to read about soon. Don't you fret, Lovelies. Thanks for reading, and don't be afraid to leave a comment below! I promise I will comment back if you have any questions.
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