The Londoner

Okay, so spending 1 day in London is probably not a sufficient duration to adopt "The Londonder" hat, but the title sounds so much better than "The London Lover."

So I am here in London, after several months of planning and waiting and working, a hectic period of life from which I have been allowed a week's respite. I haven't blogged in a while because of the tumultuous lifestyle I have led teaching, fulfilling non-instructional duties, taking night classes, and keeping the house clean.

Nonetheless, I am here, back again, and this time, I would like to talk about my sojourn across the sea. For starters, my husband and I flew here in the night Thursday, and I thought I would be able to sleep well in the plane, since we had purchased these cushy neck pillows and feather soft fleece blanket; I was wrong, after getting what I am assuming to be about three hours of sleep, we took the Gatwick Express from the airport to Victoria Station, and from there we pulled our luggage for a couple of blocks to our beautiful hotel, The Rubens at the Palace. My first thoughts of London: it is cold, the people are incredibly fashionable, and I cannot wait until my head hits the pillow of that king sized bed awaiting me.

Yet, Phil and I held fast. Though we wanted to sleep, we pressed on until 9:00 P.M. We visited the Tower of London, as well as the Tower Bridge Expedition, and then, my favorite part of day, we shopped at this department store called Debenhams, which I researched and selected because of its reasonable prices for quality merchandise.

What can I say about the Tower of London? Medieval, stone, cobblestone, which killed my feet as though it were a royal guard poking its dagger into my soles, parapets, golden weather vanes, rustic, yet regal. We toured the Bloody Tower, the White Tower and the Traitors Tower. At some point, we saw the area in which King Richard, the lion-hearted dwelled, yet the display was not authentically original, for much of what has survived reveals little of what once existed. We viewed the crown jewels, which were amazing, and the armor of King Henry the VIII, which grew in proportion as he filled out through the course of his life.

I must say, however, that my knowledge of British history has too many gaps, and though I am intriguied by the historical artifacts I have seen recently, I feel that I have much study to undergo in order to have the appreciation for these sights which I desire.

More to come (that's, of course, providing I give myself another break from sight-seeing).