I arrived at Gatwick and took the train into Victoria station, where I had to figure out how to get to my hostel in Greenwich. The tube system was completely confounding at first glance. I couldn’t even really buy a ticket without feeling like an idiot. The station was just packed with people, the lines for the automated machines were epically long… If I’d been in a slightly more foreign country, for instance if I didn’t speak the language or if I really stood out as someone who didn’t belong, it might have been overwhelming enough to give me a panic attack.
I did get my ticket, and took the tube. It turns out that’s not the fastest way to get in, but who would have known.
I left my stuff and took a walk around Greenwich. I found the Royal Naval College, where it looked like people were getting ready for a graduation ceremony.
I also headed up to the observatory, and got the requisite picture of me in both hemispheres!
The next morning I headed in to town for the “free tour.” Laura Paul had told me about these tours; she had taken the Paris one and highly recommended it. I saw the London tour advertised in the hostel. It turned out not to be the same company that runs the tours in Paris (as well as those Amit and I took in Munich and Berlin) but it was a great tour nonetheless.
The tour started out with us watching the changing of the guard at Buckingham palace:
We got some pictures with the palace guards:
For Saket:
After the tour was over, I met up with Greg and we headed back to Cambridge together. I hadn’t seen Greg since we moved out of our apartment last summer, so it was really great to catch up.
is that how your facial hair naturally grows in, with an emphasis on the chin?
I like the picture with the guard.