Summary of three days because I am slack at this blogging thing.

Ok so it turns out keeping this blog up to date is a bit harder than I imagined, as in the morning I sorta want to get up earlyish and beat all the crowds but then at night I basically crash in my bed as soon as I get home. So its 9am on Friday at the moment, hopefully can do this relatively quickly and then be on my merry way over to East London to do a bit of shopping and more sight seeing.

So!! Tuesday I planned on looking around the back streets of Soho/ Covent Garden… unfortunately didn’t really turn out that way, ended up getting lost amongst the DSLR-carrying-backpack-wearing tourist crowds in the Piccadilly area. I did manage to see an Impressionist exhibition at the Royal Academy, which was rather cool – however it was a bit distracting hearing gaggles of middle aged women loudly discussing the ‘voluptuousness’ of Renoirs figures and other sorts of inane analyses whilst standing directly in front of the picture frame, so any quiet viewing of the collection was unfortunately rather impossible.

After lunch I consulted my phone app called “Banksy London Tour” (nerdy I know) and headed over to West Central Street in hope of finding some Banksy artwork, but unfortunately after wandering up the semi-dodgy alleyway 3 or 4 times there was no Banksy to be seen. I did spot this Invader artwork instead though, a picture of which I posted on my Tumblr here.

The following day I went on a day trip to Oxford to see my two favourite McGlashan twins, Pat and Jono, who I know from NZ but who happened to be over here at the same time as me. It was nice just to have some company whilst sightseeing for a change, as being by yourself does get a bit lonely after awhile and also quite difficult for security reasons, as everywhere you go you need to take all your stuff with you!! And I also now actually have some people I know in my photos instead of just randoms, which is a bonus. But anyway, Oxford was just as stunning as my Mum had described it, with miles of photogenic buildings and cobbled streets. Unfortunately we got a bit lost so didn’t quite make it to the university, but I had quite a delicious burger and cider at a traditional English tavern that was hidden down an alleyway so that definitely made up for our lack of orientation.

The next day I got up a bit earlier to take a look around the National Gallery, where I spent approximately four hours gazing at pieces from the likes of Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Van Gogh and Monet. Unfortunately I wasn’t allowed to take photos, so instead I bought about a zillion post cards of the pieces that I liked which ended up costing a small fortune but thats ok! I then took a wander down to the River Thames, where I thought of the genius idea of hiring a bike so that I could cover ground more quickly whilst still seeing the sights of London. However, this genius idea soon developed into one of my more average ideas, as I realised immediately after I had paid that I was wearing a skirt and also that no helmets were provided. A mild panic attack ensued, as I envisioned myself being hit by one of London’s crazy cab drivers whilst simultaneously flashing hordes of innocent bystanders. But I managed to pluck up some courage and get on a bike, as I had paid a whole pound to rent it out and it wasn’t going to go to waste. Fortunately as I was cycling I realised London’s cab drivers aren’t so crazy after all, most of them slowing down and giving way to me; one even yelling out of their cab window if I ‘was ok’, so clearly I must have looked somewhat terror-stricken throughout the duration of my cycle. But I did eventually manage to find Buckingham Palace and then take a tour through Hyde Park, before heading home and collapsing on my bed from complete and utter exhaustion.

So that small essay just about sums up the past three days, heres a list of a few other things I’ve seen and then some photos following:

1. Someone being arrested in Oxford (this was in fact the first thing I saw after getting off the bus, talk about getting a great first impression of a place)

2. A Banksy piece seen post-cycle yesterday (photo below)

3. A billboard for the ‘Rock of Ages Musical’… Really!?! Was the film not bad enough?!

4. The London Eye + Big Ben + Parliament + Buckingham Palace all seen in one afternoon – whatsup London’s number 1 tourist!

More photos will be put on my Tumblr later on today when I can be effed. Thanks for reading!

Pat and Jono in Oxford.

Oxford.

Oxford Bridge of Sighs.

Fashion McGlashan and his man bag.

Banksy’s ‘Shop til you Drop’ in Central London.

The National Gallery.

Cycle around Hyde Park.