Yesterday was a great day.

I got to be a tourist and walk around with my flatmate (a fellow new employee and import from the States) and his girlfriend. We live in Ealing, which is about five miles west of London, but we’re right near a Tube station so it was easy to get into Central London.

Observations about the Tube: It’s much cleaner/safer/more efficient compared to SEPTA (although let’s be honest, not a lot of public transit systems lose in a head-to-head vs. SEPTA)

Short list of things I hit up today:
Piccadilly Circus, Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, St. James’s Park, Buckingham Palace, Green Park, Soho, Soho Spice, Bodean’s BBQ, Chinatown, Millennium Bridge, London Eye, Waterloo, Leicester Square, Covent Garden

Photos from the day’s events are found in the Gallery.

Extended thoughts on things I hit up:
Piccadilly Circus – Not an actual circus, but according to Wikipedia (De Simone will hopefully appreciate the use of Latin), “the Latin word circus (meaning circle) refers to a ‘circular open space at a street junction’”. It’s one of the main intersections of London.
Big Ben – Here’s your quizzo fact of the day: Big Ben is NOT the name of the tower. It’s actually the name of the bell inside the tower. That aside, it’s tall, and it looks cool. When we first saw it, the clock’s hands were spinning really fast, but eventually it spun to the correct time. I don’t know if it’s a common thing for the clock to do that, but it was entertaining to watch.
Parliament – Next to the clock tower. Not as tall and not as full of clocks, ergo less interesting.
Westminster Abbey – Beautiful church near Parliament.
St. James’s Park – Large park you walk near to get to Buckingham. Got some nice pictures.
Buckingham Palace – Beautiful building, but we couldn’t get anywhere close to the courtyard where the guards were (sorry Stephanie), however I managed to get some far-away pictures. Apparently if you go to St. James’s Palace, you can get a lot closer to the guards.
Green Park – Ate a tuna and sweetcorn sandwich. The Brits like to mix corn in with tuna, and it’s delicious. Made friends with some pigeons.
Soho – Trendy neighborhood just north of Piccadilly Circus.
Soho Spice – Read my lips: Best Chicken Tikka Masala Ever. See sidebar for my rant on Soho Spice.
Bodean’s BBQ – Plus: it’s an American BBQ place that also has NASN (North American Sports Network), so I was able to watch hockey and NCAA football. Minus: a can of cream soda cost me £2 ($4). Sidebar: I couldn’t remember the name of this place, so I kept thinking it was called Boolean’s BBQ. Even though it wasn’t, I think that “Boolean’s” would be a great name for a restaurant. You can serve things like Boolean Onion Rings and Pythagorean Grilled Cheese Triangles.
Chinatown – This was near dusk, so all of the lanterns that they had strewn over the streets looked really cool. Also, all of the vehicle traffic was prohibited so it was a very festive atmosphere.
[Golden Jubilee Footbridge] – Footbridge that crosses the River Thames. Awesome architecture and a great view of the city from it [Incorrectly called the Millennium Bridge on the original post].
London Eye – The ferris wheel located on the south bank of the Thames. I got some beautiful shots of the city at night that I’ve put into the Gallery.
Waterloo – One of the train stations in London.
Leicester Square and Covent Garden – A lot of bars, clubs and nightlife. By the time we got here though, it was 11pm and I was quite sleepy from all the walking.

Fun story of the day:
After all of our adventures, we got on the Tube at Leicester Square, where a small group of women who had to be in their early 40’s were waiting on the platform, all very inebriated and all dressed like they had just gone clubbing. They had open cans and bottles of whatever they were drinking, and of course they got in the same train car as us. While on the train they started doing cadences, where they took turns shouting things about each other like “Here’s a lady in purple | And she (insert inappropriate comment here)”. This went on for a few minutes, and then they broke into a doing the various chants of “Shout” (“Hey eh eh eh”). Everyone on the train was very entertained. Troy (my old boss) had a term for people like this: “Train Wreck”. This phrase took on new meaning given that we actually were on a train.

Sidebar: Soho Spice
Hands down, the best chicken tikka masala meal I have ever had. It’s located on Wardour Street in the Soho section of London (In case any of you ever come here). My meal started with some crispy bread items and some dipping sauces, which included mango chutney, mint sauce, and something delicious that I think was a vinegar/vegetable purée. Complimenting the meal itself were two side dishes, one a spicy bean dish and the other a tangy zucchini dish, plus rice and naan. The flavors of everything were so overly rich and delicious. The plating was also very interesting, including the small half-sphere of rice which completely fell apart when I put my fork to it. While I was sitting there, I had one of those moments of reflection. Here I am on the start of my post-college life, sitting in a restaurant in a foreign land far away from my home enjoying one of the best meals I’ve ever had, and all I kept thinking was that my life is incredibly awesome, and I’ve been very lucky in the things that have happened in my life so far. Plus, I was wearing a tweed jacket, so clearly I looked good too. Overall, the entire thing was one of the greatest meal experiences that I have ever had.

Well, that sums up my day trip. I hope you enjoyed.

PS, I want to give a shoutout to Amanda for recommending the Rick Steves’ series of guidebooks. The one I bought about London was immensely helpful as I half-haplessly stumbled around London.

PPS, Patrick Stewart is starring as MacBeth. Patrick Stewart Owns You.

PPSS, Stormtroopers are taking over London. Patrick Stewart + Stormtroopers = Ownage.