Ok, back to England where I left off.
Monday morning D dropped us off at the train station in Dorking around 9 am and we headed in to London. We got off the train at Waterloo and decided to take a walk. The first thing we passed was the London Eye. Pictures were taken and we moved on, Frost noting as we passed the London Dungeon that he'd have to come back without me sometime.
Than we found the aquarium. Frost bounced and jigged and asked if we could go, so we did. It is a good thing he took as many pictures as he did because at that point I'd hit my "feeling reeeeally queasy" part of the day. I did, however, notice the shark tank. You walk over right as you enter the aquarium and can look straight down at all the sharks and fish swimming just beneath your feet. It's quite cool. They also have penguins.
After the aquarium we head over the bridge, past the Houses of Parliament, wandered by Westminster Abbey and marvelled at the absolutely huge queue, and carried on to St. James' Park. Where we saw lots of Canada geese mixed in with what I think of as regular geese, ducks, and other waterfowls.
Than we reached Buckingham Palace. More masses of people. I was strongly reminded of why I generally avoid the tourist season. Anywhere. We took some pictures and headed up the Mall to Trafalgar Square where we stopped to have lunch, and continued on our way. Partway to the British Museum we found what I believe was called the Forbidden Planet cult store or something similar. Basically it was a giant geek merch shop. Awesomeness. Needless to say, we went in. After a brief browse we came out with one thing each and kept going up the street, stopping every now and then to check the helpful street side maps to make sure we were still where we wanted to be.
And then we found the museum. It's huge. I mean massive. And it's completely full of archaeological treasures and curios. If I had been less sore and exhausted when we walked in the doors I probably would have done a little happy dance. Oh, and did I mention that the special exhibit at the moment is artifacts from Pompeii on loan from Italy? So much squeeing here! Sold out, unfortunately. The sad part for me is that I was so tired (and probably dehydrated too) that I couldn't concentrate on what was in front of me long enough to appreciate it. We went through the Egyptian wing and started on Ancient England when all three of us went "That's it. Sitting down now." We managed to find some seats on the main floor and got something to drink, had a brief chat with a local couple and their daughter and decided that as much as we would love to look around some more we were absolutely bushed. So we headed back to Dorking. I think this may have been the evening that Star Wars kinect was first brought up. Either way, it was decided that, as we were staying in on Tuesday we would see about getting the game working so Frost could show Im and Cal the dancing part of the game.
Tuesday morning we slept in, had a leisurely breakfast, and then headed out for a walk. We followed the public footpath up a couple hills and past farmers fields until we reached one of the nearby villages. I can't remember the name at the moment, but they have a very nice pub that we had lunch at and then walked back. After dinner Cal finished getting the kinect set up whereupon the dancing began! An aside; Never leave your travel plans too late in the middle of the Summer. The ferry I wanted to leave on was booked up, so, with help from D, I eventually got a bus ticket booked to Amsterdam for Thursday evening.
Wednesday I stayed in while Frost, Dad, and Im went in to London. I relaxed. When they got back that evening we got regaled with the stories of the day over dinner. They got tickets for the afternoon Wicked show and then went to Covent Garden where Im watched the magic show. They also had pizza and got Cupcakes, chocolate, and I can't remember if ice cream was mentioned or not. After dinner there was more dancing! Im, Frost, and Cal all traded off every dance or so until the bedtime instruction was given, at which point Frost decided to stay up until he'd unlocked the Deathstar dance party. I went upstairs to pack, as I was leaving the next evening for Amsterdam.
Thursday morning we hauled my bags downstairs and left for the Dorking station. The last time for me. We waited an hour before we got the tickets, because they're much cheaper off peak. Then we headed to Victoria station where we stuck my bags in the left luggage office and then went out again. I decided I was to nervous about time to try to squeeze a matinee in before I had to be at the coach station so we headed to the Early Music store and then had lunch. After lunch, we decided to try for the London zoo. So we hopped on the tube again and headed over to Regents Park. It took a bit longer than I'd bargained for, so instead of going to the zoo we meandered our way through the park and then back to the tube station. Back to Victoria and Dad made sure I had some food. We also managed to find an adaptor for my computer so I could use in the rest of Europe. Then we waited.
There are so very many people that go through the stations in London. I've been in crowded cities before but I don't think I've ever noticed the sheer mass as much as I did then. "A sea of people" quite literally. I sat against a wall, feeling exhausted and watching the people stream past me. It actually made me more tired than I already was, watching the bustle. It also made me want to be heading back to D and R's instead of going somewhere completely new and strange. Those last few days I had not been looking forward to this part of my journey, and it was building to a peak now.
We got my bags and headed to the coach station. And it was a mass of hurry up and wait. I had to check in and then find the gate the bus was coming to and wait some more. At this point Frost and Dad had to leave so they could catch their train. Dad cried. I didn't quite but the pressure inside grew.
The bus was late, but we left only about fifteen minutes later than scheduled and began the drive to Dover. There's a point on the highway that you know you're getting close when the dirt goes white. The route the bus took through Dover gave us a great view of Dover Castle all lit up for the night. The first was, of course, the French border where all the passports got stamped. then the wait to board the ferry and then the ferry trip itself. It was jammed with buses full of teenagers, some of whom were clever and found stairwells to try and sleep in. I decided it would be a good idea to copy them. Around one fifteen the ferry arrived in Calais and we started on the looooong drive portion of the trip. Mental note. If going back to England at any point this next year, try and avoid the bus. It's as uncomfortable to sleep on as some aeroplanes. There was a brief stop at a petrol station in Belgium and the journey continued. At about seven in the morning, after three other stops, the bus arrived in Amsterdam. I ended up taking another bus, this one a public transit bus, to the Amsterdam Rai station where F was meeting me. After we lugged the bags in to the car we headed to Blaricum.
We got to the house just as the youngest two were leaving for school. I got to say hi and had a short conversation with R (different R) and F and then I cleaned up and had a nap. When I woke up the oldest, Ti, was also up and it was lunch time. R took me to pick Ma up from his friend's house by bike, but the bike I was using was too big and I fell off twice, at which point we walked home. I had another chat with the parents as to what was going to be happening the next few days, and some of the basic "things you need to know" and then F helped me figure out how to call home. Which I did. And burst in to tears. I think I may have to do a separate post about missing family. After the phone call I went to bed, and slept 'til eleven the next day.
Saturday F got the bike I am going to be using and adjusted it so I could use it and I did a quick bike around the block. R, Ma, and myself went further afield to run the dog, and there were guests for dinner. The family who's au pair had been staying in the cottage, actually, but she left that morning to go home to South Africa. I talked to Mum again, and I think I may try to turn that in to an almost daily thing as it settles me and helps me think. At least until I've settled in here.
Sunday I slept late again, rode the bike down to Laren and back up to Blaricum's main shopping strip, took the dog for a run with F and Na, and typed this up.
I think the next post may well be about messy emotions and/or missing my family. I'm beginning to feel a need to vent.
Night all.
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