Does it rise out of the ground?

Original post date: Friday, March 21, 2008


Does it rise out of the ground?

Tuesday - Day four

Today we started the day with Steph making us breakfast, delicious eggs and potatoes, it was very yummy. We got dressed and took the walk that Jason usually takes when he goes to work. This was through a very pretty park and then to the tube. The day started out without much promise for good weather. We were already getting sprinkled on and we had just left their flat. Oh well we had umbrellas. We exited the tube into the heart of London.

Jason and I went to the discount ticket counter, this was cool because they sell unsold tickets the day of the show at half price, so we got great seats to "Spam-a-lot" for cheap. We then walked into the National Portrait Gallery to make reservations for high tea, come to find out you don’t need reservations.

We took the foot bridge across the Thames to a store that Stephanie wanted to go to, and while on the bridge it started raining on us, the wind picked up and our hearts started to sink because if this was the sign of the day we were doomed. Our day was a walking day and in the rain that would be bad. As we were crossing the Thames you could hear a fun sound, it was a trumpet, accordion and a jimbay. It was quite fun. The musicians here have to audition to be able to play in the streets or the tube, so they are all pretty good which is quite refreshing. They are called "Bruckets" or crap it is some "B" word, I asked Jason like ten times and I still can’t remember. We left the store and went to grab a bite to eat at Wagamama, it is a noodle shop. It was quite good - Jason said it was his Moe’s over here in London, this is quite a comparison. After our lunch we walked in the rain and saw quite a few street performers, and the only convincing one was a guy playing a statue, he was doing such a great job the pigeons wouldn’t stop landing on him. It was pretty comical because when he would move he would shoo them away but then they would fly right back onto his shoulders. We passed some really bad performers that it was really amazing they were actually allowed to perform on the street, a gecko on a bouncing bike, a gold "cowboy" yielding a lasso who couldn’t even loop it over his head, they were all really pitiful. So we approached the Eye of London.

Should we all do it or just Heather and I, with little convincing we all went on the Eye, a very large Ferris wheel which lets you see London from a birds eye view. It was beautiful, we could see Parliament, Big Ben, and the Palace and the numerous parks. All highlighted with the suns peaking rays as the clouds started to clear. From the Eye we went and walked past Parliament and Big Ben to get closer looks. We went to Westminster Abby, we didn’t go in because it was expensive to see a bunch of dead people, well their graves anyways. From there we headed to the palace, but due to sore feet we didn’t make it and headed back to the portrait gallery for high tea.

High tea is served between three and five and it is what is sounds like, an afternoon tea with cookies and cakes. This is a really common thing and it is quite fun, we sat on the top floor of the gallery in a restaurant and looked out the windows drinking tea and watching multiple union jacks flutter in the strong wind. The cakes and cookies were delicious, our favorite, warm banana bread with crème fraishe and honey. After high tea we walked around the shops that were in the movie "My Fair Lady". That was neat to see all of the shops, then we just shopped going into fun stores that they don’t have over in the states. Heather and Stephanie continued to shop as Jason and I went on to grab a bite and see "Spam-a-lot".

The show was great and quite funny, if you like Monty Python you would love it, if you haven’t ever seen Monty Python watch some "Flying Circus" before you go and see it to make sure you would like the humor. I thought it was great. But the real show started after exiting the show. Jason and I were ushered out of a side exit so we walked around to the front of the building and I walked passed this weird structure in the middle of the exiting crowd directly in front of the theatre. I looked at Jason and asked what it was, he didn’t know, so I circled it and was still confused and ran to catch up with him across the street at the bus station. Still intrigued I watched from across the street. This structure was about nine or ten feet in height, brushed steel with three sides and it looked like it was able to rise from below ground. It was round in shape with concave sides that had what looked like little sinks at just below waist height. Honestly it looked like a three sided urinal in the middle of the sidewalk, but really why would that be? I watched from a distance as two men walked up to the concave sides and appeared to urinate while large crowds walked around them. There were a few bike taxis there and one of them used this contraption and road away. I ran across the street and asked a fellow driver of his, "What is that?" He looked passed the structure and I pointed, "No, that thing, is that a urinal?" He looked at me with a dumbfounded look and said yes. Like it was a normal thing to have a urinal right out in public in front of a theatre. I am still amazed at it. If you want to see it Jason has some pictures on his blog titled Warren and Heathers Visit...check it out.

Jason and I hopped on the bus still flabbergasted and met the girls on the south bank of the river Thames and had a drink and laughed and talked and then left to head home. Riding the tube I am starting to get the hang of their mass transit system, having never lived in a city with anything even close to mass transit, I find it quite fascinating. So, walk, ride, walk, we were home at their flat and got ready for bed to start another day of fun.