We went to two museums the next day, both of which I had previously been to, but both of which I would happily go to again. We went to the National Gallery, and got to see Rembrandt, Vermeer, Da Vinci, Turner, Claude, Degas, Cezanne, Monet, Manet, Renoirt, Van Gogh, and Picarro, as well as many others. We could have spent a good deal more time there, but they were closing and we were getting a bit tired. And we still had to go to the British Museum. We went through the Greek and Roman sculpture, and then to the New World art. We didn't get to go to the Asian art rooms because they were closed that day, but we had plenty to do in the time we had. (It was interesting to see who had what bits of the Parthenon. Heads in Athens, bodies in London, and some other pieces spread out around the world.)
That night, we asked Matt if there was anything we should see besides the typical sites, that London folk would be aware of. (Because we had already done much of the touring of London, we didn't feel we NEEDed to see it all again.) (Oh, and I can I just interrupt here and say how much I loved being back? It was good to be in a semi-familiar place amongst English speakers, where I could speak to the cashier and understand why the tube was closed or whatever.) He mentioned a market fairly close by that only happens on the weekends, and so, tomorrow being Saturday, we decided to check it out.
It looked to be a very nice day, but because of the lack of cloud cover, it ended up being quite cold. We packed egg salad sandwiches (I had been craving eggs for a few days) and headed to the market to browse before going off to the main of London for the traditional sites. Well, that was the plan at least. The market was INSANE! There were so many people crammed around so many shops. We wandered for hours, literally, pursuing merchandise, and dreaming of the houses we would one day own. If you stepped into the stalls to look at something more closely, it was quite a while before you could find a space to merge back into the stream of walking people. We found tons of fun little things, and even bought a few items. (We found these Indian pillow cases super on sale which was a highlight.) Amanda found a marigold colored hat to replace the one she had stolen. My favorite item was a dress I bought for my birthday (tomorrow). It's one in a style I've looked for for quite some time but never found. It's Chinese in style and blue and silver and fits me quite well. I'm excited to wear it.
So the market took so much of the day we decided not to spend the money on the Underground to go see the rest of London and instead head back to the flat for a cup of tea. We planned to go out to dinner with Matt that night at an Indian restaurant, and we were all hungry earlier than planned, so we went early. It was a very nice restaurant. One of the things I love about big cities is the diversity in ethnic restaurants. We had been craving Indian food for quite a while. It was the first sit down restaurant we had been to this entire trip. And he offered to pay, which was also very nice. On the way home, we picked up groceries, mostly things for cinnamon rolls.
The next day, we headed to London and you can read all about my birthday in another blog. The second day in Oxford, we walked around the town. We got to revisit many familiar locations and had tea with Simon and caught up. We also got Cornish pasties which are delicious. (Amanda says her mother makes very good ones and I'm hoping to get the recipe.) Amanda also went to this discount store she knew about to get some shoes. Then we met Jonathan for coffee one last time before catching the bus back to London.
It had snowed a bit in Oxford, but it snowed quite a bit more in London. And the people of London freaked out. Tons of places were closed, from trains to grocery stores, and Matt hadn't thought we would be able to make it back. (His flatmate was stranded in Zurich.) We didn't really have any problems however, and got back just fine.
The next day, (a Monday,) was our last real day in London. School had been canceled for many students even though it had stopped snowing and most things were clear. We headed off to the Tower of London, which Jayne, our friend from Korea, had surprised me by plotting with Amanda and buying our tickets to for my birthday. (We also found out she'll be coming back to England for a funeral, so we will be meeting up with her again.) It was really nice, because I had wanted to see the Tower of London, having not done it last time I was here, but I had been worried about spending the money.
Some parts of it were closed because of the snow (Londoners panic), but we accidently joined a free tour given by the only female beafeater, who showed us around and told us all kinds of stories about the place. We got to see the Palace Green, where the private executions happened. (Most of the executions happened on Tower Hill, so these were different.) Only 13 official executions happened there, including Anne Boelyn, Lady Jane Grey, Sir Thomas Moore, and a number of others. We also got to see inside a little chapel that housed many of the bodies of those famous people and hundreds of others. (Only 33 could be identified.) Four queens had been housed in the Tower of London, and only one ever left. (Do you know who it was?)
After the official tour, we walked through the older parts. It was originally built by the Normans. There was another part where Edward (the Hammer of the Scots), lived and decorated. We also had lovely views of the evening sun on the Tower Bridge before it got dark and the Tower closed.
After we left, we met up with two of our friends from our language class when we were in South Korea. We had our second sit down meal, but this one, our friend had a coupon for, so it was cheap. It was great to catch up with them, hear of their adventures and what they were doing, especially over bangers and mash.
We left directly from there to the broadway show, Wicked. We were very high up, in the cheap seats, but there were enough vacancies that we got to move down. Neither of us knew the musical or had read the book, but we thoroughly enjoyed it. It was quite long, over three hours, but very fun to watch. I really liked the show and the music and the whole idea behind it. I will have to get the music sometime. The girl we saw singing was probably one of the very best singers I have ever heard. She was spectacular.
After leaving the theater, we went to King's Cross Station. We went to the now famous Platform Nine and Three Quarters, and got to hold onto the luggage cart that is part way through the wall, which wasn't there the last time I was at King's Cross. (Harry Potter mania wasn't so big then.) We also found out times for our train to Cambridge the following morning. So that was our final, fabulous night in London.
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