England

You deserve to be in environments that bring out the softness in you, not the survival in you. ~ a quote I saved on my phone when I was wandering London

After a very difficult, sleepless night, I went by myself back into central London on the bus, train, and tube. I passed through…

…and arrived at…

Loved the vibes here. It was really fun to just be fully present and walk around.

I tried these fish and chips there because a friend told me they were so good. Meh. Haha, I feel like such a Debbie Downer. Maybe I just need to go back to London and have a different experience ;) I drank some green juice to wash the grease down.

Once I felt satisifed with my time there, I walked west along the River Thames, taking in the beauty of the people moving about and the architecture.

Almost daily, I wonder about strangers’ stories—what brought them to where they are today. Are they happy? Are they having a good or bad day? Do they have people who love them and care for them? What do they do for work? I think about how Heavenly Father loves each one of these people just as much as He loves me. That He knows each one of us as intimately as the next. That we are all His children.

Above, clockwise from top left: (1) I love how London blends the old in with the new. Like repurposing this building for restaurants like Nando’s. And letting trees and shrubs grow on it. (2) Or these walls of Winchester Palace ruins merging with a current school. (3) View from The Old Thameside Inn. That building on the right is officially called Sky Garden, but colloquially called the Walkie Talkie. (4) Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre.

I crossed the pedestrian Millennium Bridge and headed back east along the river towards the Sky Garden. You can go up to the top and see absolutely incredible views for free! At the time of this writing, you just have to sign up for a particular time entry for crowd control.

Above, clockwise from top left: (1) View from Queenhithe Dock. There is a 30 meter long, beautiful mosiac that outlines the city’s history. (2) Leadenhall Market. Awesome architecture. It felt like a maze of alleyways getting out of there, which was fun. (3) Me up in the Sky Garden observation deck! A couple cloudy views from there:

I then rented (or “hired” as they call it) a Santander bike (locally known as a Boris bike) and rode it around central London. Unintentionally, this ended up being great practice for driving on the other side of the road (which I’d start doing the next day) and understanding local traffic laws. This was probably my favorite part of my time in London. I covered quite a bit of ground, and cycling always makes me happy.

Above, from left: (1) Flagship Twinings store on the Strand. Crazy how it’s smushed between the two buildings, no? (2) St. Paul’s Cathedral. (3) The Royal Courts of Justice.

I went to Covent Garden with the intent to visit a little nook called Neal’s Yard (top right of collage above). I had heard it was very picturesque. It did not disappoint.

Unplanned, I happened upon Neal’s Yard Remedies. I believe in the power of healing through touch. My nervous system was utterly shot before and during this trip. I knew a massage was just what I needed, and I felt a prompting to see if I could get one. They were able to fit me in as a walk-in a bit later so I rode my bike to a place in Soho where I could dock it and walked back. Such a beautiful part of London. Again with the hanging baskets and that plant wall in the photos above! 😍

When I sat down for my massage consult, Lina asked what I needed work on. I asked her how attuned she was to emotional or psychosomatic interactions, rather than just tight muscles. “Very.” “Perfect.” I went on to explain where I felt things were stuck in my body that were ready to release. As someone who gets and gives massages regularly, I found a few things interesting:

• Effective draping is not important here like it is in the US. There were no sheets or blankets for covering up, only small towels. That definitely did not stay put haha.
• The therapist did not wear scrubs or yoga pants. She wore a beautiful dress, her hair was down and done, and she wore makeup. Like she was going to the theater.
• She spent more time on my back in a transverse motion rather than longitudinal. That was a first for me.

I bawled my eyes out throughout the massage. She supplied me with a steady stream of tissues and would hold up the wastebasket for me every time I blew my nose. Of all the forms of therapy I’ve gotten to know, massage therapy continues to be my favorite. I am most comfortable during massage.

She worked on various parts of me in a way that was refreshingly different from what I was used to. She was Scottish and trained in Australia. She relayed some things she noticed that really struck home for me. And spoke to me with the familiarity of a best friend and the love of a mother. And gave me a tight, long hug when I left. I am so grateful for kind people who use their talents for good, wherever in the world they may be.

After the massage, it was getting late and I WAS TIRED. The massage and release of emotions mixed with sleeplessness had wiped me out and I wasn’t sure how I would get all the way back to the hotel when all I wanted was to just drop into a bed right then and there.

BUT I had one more thing I had to do. See the exhibits at the British Library.

Since I was passing through Kings Cross anyway, I decided to see Platform 9 3/4. It’s not actually between platforms 9 and 10 haha. It’s out in a main corridor. I wasn’t expecting that. There was a looong line to take a picture. Pass.

Even though I was barely awake, I was determined to see the special exhibits at the British Library (literally their public library). Some of what I was excited to see was not on display when I was there. 🙁 But I did see some cool things like a Gutenberg Bible, the Diamond Sutra (oldest dated complete printed book in the world; commissioned in 868 AD), two versions of Magna Carta, Tyndale’s New Testament (he was burned at the stake for translating it into English)—this copy belonged to Anne Boleyn; Shakespeare’s First Folio; original music sheets of Mozart and Handel; a 1410 version of The Canterbury Tales; a handwritten draft of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest; and original papers drawn on by Michelangelo and Da Vinci. It was definitely a geek out moment for me.

I was dead at this point, but realized this was my chance to eat. Pulled up trusty Google Maps to find the nearest Greek restaurant (only a block away!). Because I’m always in the mood for Greek. I wasn’t super hungry though. Beet and feta salad, pita, and hummus for the win!

I made it back to the hotel and crashed. Cheerio, London!

What surprised me most about London was that, to me, it looked just like the cities of the United States. If you were to drop me out of the sky into London and then have me guess where I was (without the obvious markers like landmarks and road signs), I would’ve probably said NY, Philly, DC, Boston, SF, or Chicago depending on what part of the city I was in. It felt very, very familiar. Maybe because everything was in English? haha But also perhaps because London is a modern city and because a lot of the “old” architecture of the US was built by people who came from here? Regardless, it was a really lovely place.

Three public transportation tips (at least at the time I wrote this):

1. It’s cheaper (and faster) to just tap your electronic payment at the turnstiles rather than buy a ticket or Oyster card at a kiosk (you can also tap on the buses). They cap you for the day when you pay this way at an amount lower than what a daily pass costs at a kiosk. Which makes no sense, but I’m not complaining. Super easy peasy!
2. The Citymapper app is amazing. It basically makes it impossible to get lost. We took buses, the tube, and trains and never had a problem. Disclaimer: I am good with maps and have a strong sense of direction, but still, I am very impressed with the people who created this app. It gives options, times, platform numbers, shows you how many stops are left before yours, and shows live updates on your current location on your lock screen. Incredible!
3. Flag down your intended bus even though you’re at a bus stop. I’m sure the locals understand the ins and outs of this, I do not. All I know is that they are not required to stop at all stops, so don’t assume they will. I learned this the hard way.