A day to relax - Blogabond

While my London agenda had been fully packed for the 2 days we were here, I failed to account for the effect of jet-lag on our desire to do and see things. We slept in, and so we missed the chance to see the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, but we did see the Horse Guard change yesterday, and it’s not like it would have been much different today. Instead, we checked out of the hotel, had them hold our bags, and went down to Hyde Park to walk around (it’s much nicer than Chicago’s Hyde Park). The park is massive, beautiful, and more like a forest than a park. Many, many trees, some open areas, and lots of wild, untamed growth.

We met up with a college friend of the girls who walked through the park with us, and took us to a place to grab some lunch. As it turned out, it was Guy Ritchie’s pub, called The Punch Bowl, and was quite nice inside. Then we saw the menu. Apparently, Sunday is “Roast Day” in London, and so the usual pub food was pushed aside in favor of rather exquisite-looking dishes with prices to match. Not wanting to just walk in and walk out again, we had a drink before heading out in search of a place with cheaper food and TVs to watch the football. We found one right near Piccadilly Circus, which is the closest thing to Times Square that London has to offer. If there is one word that describes London right now, it would be “construction”. I have to imagine it is all in preparation for the 2012 Olympics that will be held there in 2 years. It’s a bit unfortunate, as a good chunk of Piccadilly was covered in scaffolding being used for renovations along with many, many other areas around the city. I suppose perhaps this is the upside to Chicago not getting the 2016 games, although the city sure could’ve used the extra money to renovate certain things.

Following the meal, it was time to head back to the hotel to collect our things and head off to the airport, where I am currently watching Germany run circles around Australia as we await our 11-hour flight to Jo’burg.

I have to be able to get some sleep on this flight, right?

written by

nucappy on June 13, 2010 from London, United Kingdom

from the travel blog: London and South Africa - World Cup 2010!

Send a Compliment

comment on this...