London: The Good, the Bad, and the In Between

Tower Bridge behind.

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  Amazing, that in a little over two hours you can seemingly go from one universe to another.

  For me, riding the train through the Chunnel, to and from London, was the equivalent of going to another world. How can two places so close in geography be so different in culture and atmosphere?

  I guess when one of those places is one of the largest international cities in the world, you're bound to get an incredible experience not seen many other places. 

  Here are a few highlights (and the always unavoidable low-lights when traveling) from my two-plus days in London this weekend:

The Good:

A look down onto the river from London Eye.

• the view from London Eye -- even though it isn't cheap (almost £20, or $32), the ride on the giant ferris wheel is a must for everyone!

• Tower Bridge -- loved the setting. The detail and the color is much different when you can see it in person! Very cool. 

• Borough Market -- would love to have spent more time at the farmer's/food/everything market, and maybe had a quick meal. But we got there late in the day, when things were closing up. Reminded me a bit of Seattle's Pike's Place Market (with less fish).

St. Katharine's Docks.

• St. Katharine's Dock -- right off the Thames River, and under Tower Bridge. An area we sort of stumbled up upon, where we found the coolest Starbucks I've been to -- in an old gazebo-type building in the middle of the marina, and some beautiful (expensive!) yachts that were docked there.

• Barclay's Cycle Hire -- we rented bikes for £1 per bike for 24 hours, and explored Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens by day, and rode back to Covent Garden from Tower of London by night (2.5 miles). A fun/different way to see and explore the city. Gave our tired legs a much-needed rest.

• being in a International/Global city -- on any given street corner, store, or restaurant you can hear seemingly every language EXCEPT English. Also you're able to find any type of food you may have a craving for. 

• stumbling upon cool parts of town you didn't necessarily intend on finding (St. Katharine's Docks, Borough Market and surrounding area, Kensington Palace Gardens - one of the most expensive residential streets in the world).

• Tower of London -- visited twice the castle twice. Amazing views all around the grounds. Didn't go in, however. Would have cost another £20!

  

  Sunset on the Thames. London Bridge.

• Covent Garden  -- another lively district, where you can find fruit and vegetable stands, along with various other types of foods and goods to shop for.

• sunny weather! -- it's London, if the sun comes out, it's a good day. We had 2 straight days of sun.

• happening to get to Buckingham Palace right as the changing of the guard was getting underway. Hoards and hoards of people gathered to watch and catch a glimpse. Made me wonder what it was like last Spring during the Royal Wedding.

• Niketown London -- cause I enjoy anything Nike. 
  

  

  Buckingham Palace at the changing of the guard.

• walking the Thames River at Sunset.

• Big Ben & House of Parliament (Palace of Westminster) -- loved the detail you could see in the buildings, and hearing Big Ben gong. 

• the Tube -- London Underground is easy to use--didn't get on the wrong train one time! And of course, 'Minding the Gap'.

The Bad:

Big Ben, of course!

• Pound to U.S. Dollar conversion -- buying anything, then converting how much you've spent to dollars, realizing you're grossly overpaying ($25 for an Italian pizza, $6 for a 1/2 pound of Starbucks coffee, etc..) 

• being unable to explore the neighborhoods in Notting Hill and Kensington because you realize you need to ditch the previously-mentioned Barclay's bike rental bikes -- but not having a docking station anywhere in sight. We then found two different docking stations, that were not yet operational! One hour and several miles later, we finally got rid of the bikes! 

• having tired/swollen legs & ankles (the life of a tourist!).

• lots of construction -- understandable because London is preparing for the Summer Olympics (the Underground, Plazas, and various monuments were all being worked on). 

• not knowing enough (ANYTHING?) about British & Royal history -- it's hard to fully get a grasp on the big picture when you have no foundation to start from. 

• not seeing the Queen.

Tower Bridge and Tower of London.

The Ugly:

• being in an English-speaking country and understanding, at best, 1 or 2 words out of every 7 spoken by a Brit. After constantly saying what?, at some point you just nod, and pretend to understand. I guess 'British' and 'American' really ARE different languages!

• breaking your camera on the first day, and having your phone (which served as my back up camera) die by 6 pm each evening.

• not quite trusting the 'look right' or 'look left' signs painted on the crosswalks, and standing on the corner, looking five times, both ways, before crossing the street.

  

  The cool Starbucks. Of course we went in for a drink!

  
  

• being unsure if the British tip in restaurants -- they don't everywhere else in Europe! Yikes (we later found out that they do tip)!

  Anytime you travel, you'll have some great, and not-so-great moments. Thankfully the great moments were far more-frequent than the latter!

  Those are some of the moments that stuck out for me the most about London!

  All in all, I had a great time getting a little taste of the capital of England, and am hoping to make it back in the near future.

  Enjoy the pictures and video!

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 Panorama view of London from London Eye.

They're nice to help us outsiders cross the street without getting hit.

Me with a few friends at Buckingham Palace.

End of the Changing of the Guard ceremony.

Required London Underground picture.

Looking up Westminster Abbey.

Westminster Abbey.

Big Ben and the House of Parliament.

Top of the House of Parliament.

Thames River, with London Eye behind.

Looking up Big Ben.

Big Ben and House of Parliament from the bridge.

V and I heading up the London Eye!

Almost to the top!

Still inside London Eye.

Tower Bridge.

The infamous bike!

Kensington Gardens.

Found the Peter Pan statue!

Kensington Gardens.

V telling me how tired she is. ;)

Kensington Palace Gardens.

Riding bikes in Notting Hill. Taken while riding my bike!

Finally found a docking station to get rid of that bad boy.

Niketown London. A must for this Portland girl.

Covent Garden. A big bowl of Paella.

V's excited. Or tired. One of the two. In Covent Garden.

Minding the Gap on the Tube.

Tower of London.

Tower of London.

Sunset at Tower of London.

V ready for round two on the bikes!

I'm going to London -- To see the Queen...

London!

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  No weekend game means a weekend off! It's the first time since I've been in Dunkerque that we've had a free weekend (with the exception of our break over Christmas -- when I went home). Many of my teammates are hopping on a train, and headed home. I, obviously, am unable to do that. So instead, I'm hopping on a train, headed to London!

  Of all the 'big' cities in Europe, London is one of the few that I haven't managed to visit just yet. But I'll be able to check Big Ben and the Tower Bridge off the 'European Bucket List' soon!

  Two days isn't nearly enough time to see all the sights in a city like London, but I'm hoping to at least get to the major attractions. I've done my research, and have asked anyone who is willing to listen, 'what do I NEED to see?'. So I have a pretty good idea of where I'll be going, and what I'll be seeing. Now it's just a matter of getting out there, and seeing it all!

  I know my travel buddy, V, has her mind set on finding a Starbucks, so I'll be happy to help her find an infamous green and white awning. And I certainly won't be mad if we stumble upon Niketown London either. Outside of those two things, I'm hoping our trip to London will be strictly British. (I DID just find out there's a Whole Foods in Kensington, so I might need to make time to buy a few groceries too!)

  Here's a not-so-short list of sights that need to be seen (and I'm sure there's even more that haven't made the list yet):

Oxford Street -- Europe's busiest shopping street, with roughly 300 shops
Tower Bridge -- The original crossing over the Thames. One of the most-recognizable London sights.
Tower of London -- also known as Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress. A historic castle on the River Thames.
Trafalgar Square -- public space in Central London. Location of numerous community gatherings and demonstrations.
Big Ben -- the famous clock tower at Westminster Palace.
Buckingham Palace -- the official residence of the British Monarch. Located in Westminster.
London Eye -- the giant Ferris Wheel (standing 394 ft/135 m tall) is the highest in Europe. On the River Thames, provides incredible panorama of London.
Piccadilly Circus -- another public space, in London's West End. A mini-Times Square??
Notting Hill -- made famous because of the Julia Roberts movie. An upscale, affluent neighborhood.
Hyde Park -- one of the largest parks in Central London. Contiguous with Kensington Gardens -- where I've been told to find the Peter Pan statue. :)
Borough Market -- read about it in a travel blog. Apparently you need to visit early, bring cash, and go hungry. Sounds like a good place to find a snack!
Westminster Abbey -- built in the 1066. A mainly Gothic church, and site of traditional coronations and burials for the British.
'Jack the Ripper' Walking Tour -- no further explanation necessary!
London Underground -- will be our primary means of transportation (other than our feet!)                                                                                                                                  And of course, The Queen -- Can't go to London, and NOT see the Queen, right?!? ;) I'll make sure to wave if I bump into her this weekend :)

  That said, I'm looking forward to putting my tourist hat on (so to speak), snapping a ton of pictures, and seeing as much as London as I possibly can! You can be sure, that I'll have a blog about our trip ready to read next week!

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No Time For Travel, Yet

A tiny village called Mijas (Spain) where my aunt and uncle lived.

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  When someone first finds out that I play basketball in Europe, more often than not, their first assumption is all I do is travel and sight-see. That, I must spend every free moment traveling to each corner of whichever country I happen to be in at the time.

  My answer? 'I've seen nearly every gym and airport in Europe, if you consider that sight-seeing.'

  What else is there to do in Europe besides sight-see, after all? 

  They forget that I'm here for work. It's my job to be prepared, both physically and mentally, for each and every game and practice my team has. In a normal season, my team has one game each and every weekend (Saturdays this season). Sundays are off. And every day during the week, we have one or two practices a day.

  That's how it's been every season I've played in Europe. One day off to recover from the game, and then you're back at it. One day doesn't allow much time for travel, does it?  

  That is not a complaint. It's just reality. 

Venice!

  On those rare occasions where your team has a bye over the weekend, you MIGHT get the entire weekend off. But there are no guarantees. Or once in a blue moon, your coach MIGHT give you a surprise extra day off.

  Even in that situation, you can't really plan anything. I did that on one occasion in Germany, and ended up having to cancel plans because our game just prior didn't exactly go how it was supposed to go (and our extra day off was taken back).

  Since I've been in Europe for almost nine full seasons, I have friends scattered all over the place. I do always look for an opportunity to visit friends if they happen to live close. On that day off, if you can take the train or drive a couple hours to go see a familiar face, it does wonders for recharging the batteries. Those opportunities just don't arise very often!
 

Cross-country skiing in Sweden. My pants weren't covered in snow yet!

  For example, this season, I live about three hours north of Paris (by car. Faster, by train). In the five-and-a-half months I have been in Dunkerque thus far, I have been to the City of Lights exactly zero times. The same can be said about London (which is close as well, just on the other side of the North Sea).

  HOWEVER, in a couple weeks, my team has a free weekend. So, I'm planning quick trip to London with a friend. I've never been to London, and I'm thrilled! We're still in the planning phase, which is exciting, but I can't wait to get there and see Big Ben and the rest of the sights. Even though we'll only be there two days, it'll be a great time! You can bet I'll have a blog about it the week after we get back.

The Spanish Steps in Rome.

  Don't get me wrong, I have done my fair share of traveling and sight-seeing while in Europe. But I would say 97% (how's that for a number?) of it happens after my season has expired.

  In fact, that has turned into one of the things I look forward to the most as my season winds down. Rough drafts for this year's post-season R&R have already been made, and I can't wait!

  Hope you all have a great weekend!





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