Inspite of the lovely and wonderful time that I had in London, I came back home feeling all bloated, polluted, wasted, rotten, tainted etc.
In short, my unhealthy lifestyle slowly gets to me. Crap food, no exercise, cigarettes, sleep deprivation… how on earth should one feel healthy that way?
It’s time to clean up!
I’m fasting this week.
This is the last day, so it better be good!
After purchasing my tickets from the box office for tonight’s show (Dealer’s Choice), I KNEW it will be good! I got a seat just a few rows away from the first – for almost half the price, lucky me!
So today’s agenda was the Buckingham Palace and Camden Town (again). And the play of course.
I took the Tube to the Victoria Station and just guessed my way to the palace from there. It worked with no detours, but it was a loooooong walk. Remember, I’m not the sporty type, so anything beyond 500 meters is really a major challenge.
The weather was perfect, though. So that made up for all the struggles I had 
Had lunch in Camden Town, chilled and strolled a bit, and before I knew it, it was time for the show.
This wasn’t the last time I was here!
We set off for Greenwich to check out the Prime Meridian before we visited some other far-out London spots today. Unlike the past few days, it was cloudy, windy, friggin’ cold, and I was quite pissed. It’s hard to be cheerful while your inner organs are freezing.
All bad vibes aside, we arrived at the Greenwich station and actually wanted to see the Cutty Sark, a clipper ship used as a merchant vessel which was built centuries ago, but were downhearted to learn that the good old ship is currently undergoing restoration.
We then proceeded to pass by the Royal Naval College just along the riverpath. On the same grounds was The Queen’s House which featured some ancient paintings and artworks etc. “Photographing is not allowed, Miss”, the keeper warned me while I was taking a picture of Queen Elizabeth I’s portrait. Oops.
Did you know that One Tree Hill is not only a TV-series, but a spot in the Greenwich Park as well?
Some park impressions:
A few meters southwards was the Royal Observatory which also marked the location of the Prime Meridian. The Peter Harrison Planetarium was just right behind. Standing at the Royal Observatory, one can overlook the River Thames and the London Docklands.
We decided to check out the Canary Wharf on the Isle of Dogs before we had lunch. So we headed back to the railway station and found these on the way:
One Canada Square at the Canary Wharf: The tallest building in the UK.
It was waaay past midtime and my energy level was so absolutely down to null. Time for Lunch in Brick Lane, a.k.a “Banglatown” (the dishes offered at each restaurant will tell you why).
One cute encounter I had:
Oh Wenty…
Today’s tour started off at Covent Garden, a marketplace known for its Royal Opera House and street performers. We got off the station and were just about to check the happenings and some shopping spots before we set off to Westminister when we came across a huge crowd formed into a semi-circle. Standing amidst all the pairs of curious eyes and ears were two fine gentlemen dressed in suits, one soap box, and a unicycle which, as far as my eyes could have guesstimated from up close, was about 3 meters tall (that’s approx. 10′ for all you non-metric-unit-users). How lucky of us to just have arrived on time to witness some funky street stunt show.
First, the right guy started snacking on his apple, then he juggled two machetes. While snacking on the apple. The left guy then made some gross gag of eating the apple from the right guy’s mouth. I friggin’ swear. It was so yucky that it impressed me. A volunteer joined them later on to help hold the unicycle up, while the stunt man tries to get on the saddle. Actually, it’s child’s play. Watch:
I’d rather not try that one at home, though.
That performance was a real whackin’ and a wobblin’.
But that didn’t end there! Little Scott from the audience was asked to throw some pins for the unicycle-guy to catch. It took some minutes for Scottie to toss the pins right as his cast range was quite limited due to his height. Ooooh, now that made the audience’s heart melt. The two stooges ended their show with an exchange juggling act. The guy on the soap box threw his pins to the guy on the unicycle while juggling and vice versa. Great show.
The street performers got an enormous round of applause and a generous amount of donations.
So when then moved on to Leicester Square to purchase tickets for tonight’s show of Chicago *shriek*, checked out some souvenirs and headed to Picadilly Circus afterwards.
We passed by the Trafalgar Square and found the Admiralty Arch on The Mall. And as we walked down the Whitehall, we saw the Horse Guards surrounded by hundreds of wild picture-happy tourists (me inclusive, though it must have really sucked for the guard to be in such a weird spotlight as they are actually supposed to maintain a straight face while doing their jobs. And, of course, many made some nutty attempts to crack them up. Bozos 
. Lucky for them, the horse didn’t get pissed off. I felt with that guard, really. ).
Then we finally reached the Bridge St. to get a sight of the world-famous Big Ben, the giant clock tower on the Palace of Westminister. Today is Saturday, so there was a lot going on in the streets. Most of them stood on the bridge to snap some pictures of Big Ben and London Eye. We wanted to check out London Eye too actually, but the eternal queue turned us off. Besides, it was cooler to experience the sights from up close rather from up above anway – my humble opinion.
Later in the afternoon we took the Tube at the Waterloo station to drive to Camden Town and visit the street markets and Camden Lock.
That “Lost” billboard was practically everywhere in town, and there was no chance for one to miss it. Unfortunately, I did not see any Prison Break billboards 
Camden Town is one helluva ‘hood. The beauty of this town is its eccentricity. There was so much crazy stuff there, I was too busy gaping to take any snapshots (a thing I will regret until I come back here again). There was either a tattoo or a piercing studio (or a tattoo AND a piercing studio) on every block. And we met a gang of authentic punks hanging around enjoying themselves in front of the Camden Lock. Too cool for words. It’s a paradise for all punks, goths, and ravers. And yeah, regardless of the fact that I’m surely not one of the three, it was definitely amazing. A superficial peek into London’s subculture.
The Camden Lock Market was a bit of a world market, with stalls and shops full of unique goodies and yummy food from all over the world. It’s an absolute must-see!
We drove back to Leicester Square later that evening to experience my personal highlight of today the whole trip:
One really gets dazzled with all that jazz .
Yeah, baby, I’m in London! The second largest city in Europe after Moscow – or so I heard. Today was a perfect day for a city stroll, and I couldn’t help but hum “London Bridge” while I was driving from Greenhithe to London Bridge by train.
So my first stop for today was London Bridge, which runs over the River Thames . I was desperately looking for its two iconical towers when it just so happened that I turned my face to the sun (which was on my right) and accidentally found the two towers I was searching for on the other bridge, standing there in all its grace. 
That was worth a slap on the forehead. So kids: Never mess up London Bridge with Tower Bridge. I repeat: London Bridge is not Tower Bridge. So I reset my course and aimed for the Tower Bridge, walking along the Thames path.
And it looked something like this:
My artistic attempt of the bridge (uh yeah I know – thanks anyway 
)
Then I had to pass through this path to get up on the bridge. Did I mention that Jack the Ripper used to live in the very same city a few centuries ago?
And this I did not ride. As fun, convenient, and as a “must-do” as it may be, the thought of my tropical buns sitting on the deck while the 2°C wind blows my sun-spoilt cheeks at approx. 30-50 km/h actually turned me off.
So I took the Tube at the Tower Hill Station and saw this sign on my way there:
Now that’s some sign. I was definitely on my way to West End (to save some theaters by patronizing them – though I wouldn’t exactly refer to myself as an angry star) when I saw it. I stared at the sign for about half a minute, then left with my head shaking and the edges of my lips moving upwards. What. A. Coincidence.
Upon arriving at Leicester Square, I grew tired of the constant map checks I was doing since London Bridge, so I decided to get a fix on my current location, mentally bookmark the few spots of my interest, and just simply rely on my geographical instincts and go from there. And yeah, it worked.
One good thing about strolling in a foreign city without having to pack out bulky maps out of pygmy-looking (yet mysteriously spacious) bags on every block was that you actually get to discover some neat spots by accident. Travelling this way, you practically always have to be ready for a surprise. And don’t worry about getting lost – that’s quite a hard thing to do in London. There are signs and maps everywhere! So unless you’re illiterate, or persistent / stuck on going for your own fixed agenda, I heartily recommend you to let your instincts guide and lead the way. It’s worth the kick.
So that’s what led me to Chinatown. AFAIK, it’s Chinese New Year so the streets were all decorated accordingly. I saw some half-crisped ducks hanging on some diner windows and well, it kinda stupefied me a bit. Not that I’ve never seen some dead animals hanging on the window before, mind you (hellooo, I grew up like, in, Manila?), but the sight just came so “in-your-face”-like. But then again, it was Chinatown, man! Chow of all sorts (dead, alive, or something in between ) was the least one should expect.
There was also this cute shopping center full of Hello-Kitty-goodies and all other kitschy stuff that ever exist. Some were even ludicrous. Like this one here (makes me wonder what ever led that guy on the shirt to do so in the first place):
I was gradually feeling some strain on my feet (I have been walking for about 5 hours) so I decided to slowly but surely head back home. Then I just took the next walking route which I thought would lead me to the nearest tube station. And, surprise surprise, I discovered The National Gallery at the Trafalgar Square. I was actually thinking of checking it out as they offered free admission that day (and I usually take advantage of such treats most of the time), but the foot ache I have been enduring since the last half hour advised me better not to. That, or I’ll just drop dead at the gallery. A tough choice for a Gemini to make, but I settled for the former.
Quite good for the first day, huh?
Now I really felt all warmed up for some real sightseeing the next few days.
Aaand another mental bulb lights up my head…
I’m still uncertain about what show to hit when I fly to London on Friday. A play? A musical? The Gemini in me was for a play and a musical.
Well, there’s Chicago, A Mother Speaks, Dealer’s Choice, Helter Skelter /Land of the Dead, Fiddler on the Roof, and Avenue Q among many others…
Really one is spoilt for choice.
To make up for this lonely and empty Prison-Break-less week, let’s just watch some features behind the scenes from last week’s episode. Here’s some dirty business:
Golly gee was I pleasantly surprised to learn that Sammy (Laurence Mason) actually speaks straight American English. Another accent talent besides Robert Knepper. Word up!
I was cleaning up my mailbox (which contained 4,331 documents that time) at work today when I stumbled upon an old e-mail from a business partner of ours in Mumbai, India.
I thought this note was so full of spirit and it sort of inspired me to focus more on the simple, yet valuable things in life again.
I just can’t help but share:
♦♦♦
The most destructive habit…………………………………..Worry
The greatest Joy…………………………………………………..Giving
The greatest loss…………………………………………………Loss of self-respect
The most satisfying work………………………………………Helping others
The ugliest personality trait………………………………….Selfishness
The most endangered species………………………………Dedicated leaders
Our greatest natural resource………………………………..Our youth
The greatest “shot in the arm”……………………………….Encouragement
The greatest problem to overcome…………………………Fear
The most effective sleeping pill……………………………….Peace of mind
The most crippling failure disease…………………………..Excuses
The most powerful force in life………………………………..Love
The most dangerous pariah…………………………………….A gossiper
The world’s most incredible computer…………………….The brain
The worst thing to be without…………………………………Hope
The deadliest weapon………………………………………………The tongue
The two most power-filled words……………………………”I Can”
The greatest asset……………………………………………………Faith
The most worthless emotion……………………………………Self-pity
The most beautiful attire…………………………………………SMILE!
The most prized possession……………………………………. Integrity
The most powerful channel of communication…………Prayer
The most contagious spirit………………………………………Enthusiasm
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