The 2nd Day in London

 This morning, my daughter was going to take me around some tourist spots in London. Our meeting point was Piccadilly Circus at noon, so I left the hotel a little early. When I passed the Natural History Museum, many visitors were already lining up at the entrance. I made a short detour to South Kensington Station. The area in front of the station felt beautiful and pleasant, and Exhibition Road looked almost like a pedestrian street. Since the Science Museum wasn’t very crowded, I decided to go inside.

Afterward, I walked east along the edge of Hyde Park. I spent more time than expected enjoying the exhibits at the Science Museum, so instead of walking all the way to Hyde Park Corner Station, I gave up and took the Underground from Knightsbridge.

  

Natural History Museum

South Kensington Station

Science Museum

Exhibition Road

at Hyde Park


I found my daughter quickly in front of the Eros statue at Piccadilly Circus. First, we went to a nearby restaurant for lunch. In London, breakfast is served until noon, and I think the portion size of the breakfast menu suits Japanese people well. 

 


She withdrew £200 from an ATM and gave it to me for my immediate needs in London. Then we walked to the National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, and Westminster. The area around Big Ben was the most crowded—London felt like a huge theme park. It’s clear that visitors come from all over the world. After that, we headed to the Tower of London by tube (I’m not completely sure).

  

National Gallery and Trafalgar Square

Big Ben



 After visiting the Tower of London, we walked across Tower Bridge. On our way to Angel by bus, she showed me how to buy a ticket from a ticket machine at Liverpool Street Station.

 

Tower Bridge

Traitors' Gate

Anne Boleyn's execution here


In the evening, she took me to a pub in Angel, and we had dinner there. I often see many people in London pubs drinking only beer without ordering food. A Spanish group at the next table drank only beer and left quickly. I had some beer too, though I didn’t know the brand.

  

a pub at Angel

King's Cross Station


We got off the bus at Oxford Circus and walked down Regent Street back to Piccadilly Circus.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Flowers at Dusk

Image
They say, in Japan, that cherry blossoms, the sakura, is the symbol of the joyful moment and the transience, which is associated with Buddhistic influence. The flowers in full bloom come suddenly and fall soon. It is epitomized as " mono no aware ". Cherry blossoms also can be the symbol of sadness. Ichiyo Higuchi depicted the saddest scene with falling flowers in her first novella, 'Flowers at Dusk' . Flowers at Dusk (Yamizakura) by Ichiyo Higuchi, 1892. Ryonosuke is 22 years old and Chiyo is 16 years old. They grew up together as childhood friends. At dusk on the Day of the Martial Guardian in February, they go out to enjoy browsing at community events. Chiyo clings to Ryonosuke's arm as they stroll along. And then her girlfriends see them and tease, "You two certainly look friendly! What are you up to?" Since this happened, Chiyo has become aware of yearning for him. However, Ryonosuke hasn't noticed her love. Chiyo gets sick. She s...
Read more

Writing English

Image
It has been four months since I began this blog. In the beginning, I often wondered whether my English was correct. Although I’ve managed to write every post in English, I can’t say my English has improved much. For many Japanese learners, articles and prepositions are particularly challenging, largely because they don’t exist in the same way in Japanese.    My younger daughter took this photo in Shanghai. The Japanese on the sign is a little odd, but perhaps it’s still better than my English. Writing in English can be frustrating. Yet at the same time, I sometimes feel an indescribable sense of freedom—as if, by writing in English, I’m momentarily released from the Japanese language and culture that shaped me for so many years.  
Read more

The Shadow of the Wind

Image
The Shadow of the Wind is a novel by the Spanish writer Carlos Ruiz Zafón, originally published in Spanish in 2001. It has since been translated into more than forty languages, published in over fifty countries, and, according to the author’s website, has sold more than twelve million copies worldwide. I read the English edition. In 1945, in post–Civil War Barcelona under Franco’s regime, ten‑year‑old Daniel Sempere is taken by his father to the secret Cemetery of Forgotten Books. There, Daniel is drawn to a novel titled The Shadow of the Wind and becomes fascinated by its mysterious author, Julián Carax. He reads the book quickly and is deeply moved. Daniel soon meets Clara, a beautiful twenty‑one‑year‑old blind woman who knows Carax’s works well, and he develops a romantic interest in her. One night, he encounters a faceless figure in the dark—Lain Coubert, the devil in Carax’s novel. The stranger offers Daniel a large sum of money for his copy of The Shadow of the Wind , intendin...
Read more