London (pre-trip)

Currently Listening: Civ 6 OST - England (Atomic)

You must be somewhere in London
You must be loving your life in the rain
You must be somewhere in London
Walking Abbey Lane

I'm flying to London next week!

Okay, so this trip is kind of a big deal for me (and it's only just hitting me now lol) for a few reasons:

1. First time traveling alone internationally. Well, technically I did arrive alone in Japan for maybe a couple of hours, which is the closest feeling I've had to this, but yeah, I'll be alone for a week this time. It feels kinda late for me to be doing this, actually, but I'm glad it's finally happening.

2. I actually chose to go Thanksgiving week as part of a deal I made with my parents not to come home for Thanksgiving (which I usually do for Dad's birthday) in exchange for coming with them to Indonesia over the summer (which I didn't really want to do, but whatever it's family).

3. I've been to London before, but the last time I was there was around 7th/8th grade so I don't really remember that much of it. I asked my parents what we did back then and apparently we spent most of our time waiting for other family members and then failing to make it in time to Buckingham Palace lol.

I do vaguely recall St. Paul's Cathedral and Paddington Station, and the Tube of course, but part of me is wondering whether those memories are made up recollections and ugh I have to ask parents again. My British second-cousin also introduced me to Theme Hospital on that trip, which happens to be my favorite Sim game of all time.

4. London's (and rather, a good chunk of the UK) been high on my wishlist for years now, in part because of my love/interest in:

- British history (seriously, I spent the better part of a year reading about the War of the Roses and the Tudors and I'm still nowhere near done with that era in my history-learning bucket list)
- British literature
- Museums
- Historical sites
- Theater
- Tea and scones

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Anyway, people are apparently surprised that I'm already complaining about not having enough time with 1 full week in London, so let me break down what I have planned and what I've already decided I don't have time for.

1. Museums
I have this travel bucket list/goal of seeing all the museums (okay, maybe not all, but at least most of the important ones) in the world, and London pretty much tops the list for me here (followed by Florence/Rome, Madrid, and then Amsterdam/Berlin/the rest of Europe because I'm saving Paris for last lol).

Museum of London
Felt it appropriate to start with an introduction to the history of the city. I did this with Chicago last time and it went pretty well, and London has even more history at that.

The British Museum
Apart from the fact that it's freaking huge, I'm really looking forward to the ongoing I am Ashurbanipal special exhibit. Past experiences at the Oriental Institute (University of Chicago) and the Met's regular collection have left me with a soft spot for ancient Middle Eastern history and this just hits the spot.

And yes, we can argue about the ethics of the British effectively showcasing stolen treasures from other countries... but I'm not planning to travel to Syria anytime in the near/distant future for obvious reasons, so I'm okay with this in this case.

Victoria and Albert Museum
Jade is in London right now and just told me today that this is now one of her favorites... so yeah, really high expectations for this one haha. Victoria and Albert is the world's largest museum about decorative arts and design, so for anyone so inclined into thinking about design, this is the place to be.

Also I can't recall the last time I saw a big museum do an entire special exhibit about Video Games... super hyped!

National Gallery
Because no trip to Europe is complete without seeing a shit-ton of European paintings. Also currently displaying the Courtauld Gallery's Impressionist works due to that one closing for renovations.

National Portrait Gallery
I never thought I'd be into looking at a bunch of portraits for hours, but then I wound up spending an entire day at the National Portrait Gallery in DC, and this is London which has even more historical figures, sooo this is a given haha.

Tate Britain / Tate Modern
Modern is usually the one that everyone talks about, but I'm actually more interested in seeing Britain simply because British paintings (pre-Raphaelites! JMW Turner! that Ophelia painting!). I'm kinda sad that they're not doing the William Blake exhibition till next year because I'd have to return at around the same time next year to see it and I've already got plans for next year...

Sir John Soane's Museum
If the website doesn't give it away, this house looks amazing. And those models! And I'm trying to squeeze in a tour here between two British Museum visits :(

British Library
Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms (Beowulf!) and a tribute to my favorite member of Monty Python (Michael Palin!).

National Maritime Museum
They recently renovated this with four new main exhibits, three of which cover subjects that I have had past/future obsessions with: Pacific Encounters (Captain Cook!), Polar Worlds (Robert Scott!), and Tudor and Stuart Seafarers (Francis Drake!)

Royal Observatory
I'm starting to add an astronomy requirement to all my trips now. Lbs (...thanks, Chester) but seriously, when there's an observatory, there's an opportunity to see stars.

What I had to cut:
Imperial War Museums
Not that I'm not interested in war... but this felt more appropriate for a return trip; I'm still kinda high on pre-20th century British history right now. Similar to how I'm holding off the Holocaust museum in DC for the next return trip and ugh I need to start planning that.

Natural History Museum
Think I got enough coverage/overlap from the ones in NYC / DC / Chicago / LA for now, but I'll probably see this next time.

2. Historical Sites
The Tower of London
Doing a special evening tour. I think it fits the reputation this place has haha.

Westminster Abbey
I have another soft spot for historical religious sites and also the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Galleries.

Shakespeare's Globe Theater
Technically a reconstruction, but I've always wanted to see a Shakespeare production in its original context (see also Shows section below).

Oxford University
Doing a custom Literary Oxford walking tour with this agency. Lewis, Tolkien, Carrol, Pullman, Sayers, Eliot, aaaah!

What I had to cut:
St. Paul's Cathedral
Not open on the day I was hoping to see it and too hard to squeeze in elsewhere. :(

Churchill War Rooms
Too much extra planning involved, but I'll probably combine with the Imperial War Museums next time.

Houses of Parliament
I have to come back when I have an open Saturday >_>.

3. Shows
Company
Oooh, a gender-flipped Sondheim. And OOOH, THEY ACTUALLY DO TICK-TOCK-- sorry, the Broadway nerd in me is coming out right now.

Witness For the Prosecution
An Agatha Christie mystery in a real-life (historical) council chamber!
I'm trying to see if I can squeeze in The Mousetrap (another Christie mystery) on another night as well.

Macbeth
Macbeth happens to be one of my favorite Shakespeare plays, in part for its varied adaptations that have left an impression on me over the years:
- the interactive theater experience Sleep No More, which I previously reviewed here
- the hot Michael Fassbender version
- the creepy Kurosawa film, Throne of Blood
- the illustrated children's version from Tales From Shakespeare (I'm not sure who thought this was kid-appropriate, but it got me interested lol)

So it felt only appropriate to see this at the Globe in its original glory (including uncomfortable seats just like the old days lol). I'm just bummed that the pre-show talks were sold out already when I went to buy tickets.

What I had to cut:
RSC's Don Quixote production, but eh I still need to read the book anyway.

4. Food
I'm actually trying to make food more of a priority this time...
Not 100% committed to places yet, but here's just a sampling of what I'm looking for:

- Afternoon tea (SCONES)
- Sunday roast (with Yorkshire pudding)
- Fish and chips
- Scotch eggs
- St. John restaurant, as featured on Anthony Bourdain's show. (mm roast bone marrow...)
- also St. John's doughnuts
- British pies
- English breakfast
- Bread and butter pudding
- British Indian food (where do you think chicken tikka masala came from?)

5. Other

The Tintin Shop in Covent Garden
Because I can't find enough Tintin love in the States and FUCK I WANT THAT SNOWY PLUSHIE

Foyles Bookstore in Charing Cross
Do I even have time to go book browsing...?

6. Next time
I originally wanted to go to the UK so I could visit other parts of the country outside of London, but I'll probably have to come back in the summer when it's a bit more clear and I hopefully have more free time. Some places I had in mind:

- Bath (b/c Jane Austen)
- the Lake District (b/c Beatrix Potter)
- Yorkshire Dales (b/c the Bronte sisters)
- Glastonbury (b/c King Arthur-- okay, I know it's a medieval hoax but still)
- Stratford-Upon-Avon (b/c Shakespeare)
- Hadrian's Wall (b/c the Romans)
- Edinburgh (b/c the Scottish National Galleries. Their exhibit at the DeYoung in SF was one of my favorites.)
- Isle of Skye (b/c ugh, just google the photos)