Today was a rough day on many accounts, even though it was one of the days I was most looking forward to. It was our day to do a tour of the East End and especially Brick Lane, what some people often refer to as Banglatown, because of the Indian and Bangladeshi populations there. We had read three books on this subject before arriving in London, Salaam Brick Lane, Brick Lane, and White Teeth. All three I enjoyed immensely and thus I was looking forward to today.
Unfortunately, in the past few days I have caught cold here in London and so have been trying to keep up with the pace of a full day. Today though, all of my valiant efforts to be strong and push through hit me hard. After a 3 hour walk around the East End I realized I was completely wiped out. Our professor also stopped the tour in the financial district where there was no food to be found. So after an hour of trying to find the Tubes, riding on the Tubes, and eventually finding a place to eat, I was not feeling too good.
Refreshment did me little good and I sucked it up for the St. Paul's tour we had after lunch. The tour was a bit rough, but the tour guide was excellent and made it bearable. Some classmates chose to walk the 200+ steps up to the top of the dome, but I decided it would be best for another day. We all then went back to the hotel and got ready for dinner and the play tonight.
After I had some yummy pub food, I felt in better spirits. A few of us headed off to see the Shakespeare play, Alls Well that Ends Well at the National Theatre. We had seen the set for it the day before with our backstage tour and that convinced most of us that we wanted to see it. The play was good (what I saw of it) but slow moving at some parts. I left the play early to get back to the hotel so I could rest up for another long day tomorrow.
Tomorrow we head off to a Sikh Temple by train. Both men and women must have their heads covered and be presentable in order to enter the temple. Most of us are looking forward to the experience tomorrow. I hope I shall feel better by then!
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Travelling and being sick is no fun. I'm in Switzerland now - Spain on Sunday. I envy your English experience, except for the illness part. It's been 15 years since I lived there, and I have yet to return.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the well-wishes! I'm jealous that you are in Switzerland...somewhere I want to go! Can't wait to hear all about Spain!
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