London

DAY ONE:

These are my observations from my two days in London:

1) the water is low in the toilets

2) there is a lot of brick, even in new construction

3) the royal guards turn their heads so fast that the hairs on their hats swish

I'm visiting the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain today, which has a sign which reads: feel free to sit on the edge and paddle your hands and feet. I've seen several babies sitting in the fountain and splashing their hands. 

When I die, someone should make me a memorial fountain or a little creek with the same sign. And a statue of a duck. It should also have small wooden boats for people to float down. That's all this fountain is missing. 

I saw so many goslings today: big ugly birds, almost as big as their mothers, with fluffy grey down and long, gawky necks.

I think I'll go find an ice cream shop soon, and maybe come back to the fountain to eat it. First I'll have to let my feet dry to put on my shoes. 

I found my way to Brixton Village, a really nice street market with tons of interesting and ethnic stalls. I bought a light patchwork skirt (a lads shopping beside me said that at the market rates I could cut it into dish cloths and save money). I also bought a mango and chicken stew from an Ethiopian stall. The stew was delicious; not what I'd think of as stew, but chicken, plantain, and vegetables over rice.

Buckingham Palace

Royal Guards

Statue of Diana the Huntress

Someone put a little flower in this statue girl's hand

Brixton market stalls

Strange toilet in the bathroom of the library where I hid from the heat

Sign in the bathroom of the library

DAY TWO:

The Morning

I'm hanging out in a very fancy shopping district, drinking coffee I bought a block away. I'm at the patio for a nice restaurant, not planning to order anything, but the restaurant is closed, so no one is here to kick me out. It's me, a handful of construction workers with reflective vests and Tesco bags, and a guy across the walkway setting up the patio of another restaurant.

My coffee is excellent- it's Vietnamese iced coffee, and although I asked the barista what was in it, I still have no idea, because I have a hard time with the British accent combined with London traffic. It may just be sweet cold foam over iced coffee. Anyway, it's very nice.

It's already warm today, but there's a lovely strong wind blowing through the alley, much to the chagrin of the patio worker attempting to set up his umbrellas.

I'm quite a fan of the fashion here, although I can't tell how much is genuine London fashion and how much is tourists trying to look European. It's a lot of neatly pressed shirts, long skirts, small heels. The only thing I don't like is the absurd number of cheetah print shoes.

I particularly enjoyed the fashion out where I was staying and in Brixton Village. By the hostel is an Islamic college and definitely a significant Muslim population. I saw many women in delightful flowing skirts and coordination hijabs, always the perfect blend of colours and soft textures. At Brixton Village, Black women in brightly patterned fabrics and masks cut from the same material as their bandanas and scarves.

Someday I'll be a fashion designer, and I'll credit the Black people of Brixton for my use of colour and patterns, and the Muslim people of Brent for my choice of materials and flowing styles. I'll sell my designs from market stalls and in fancy boutiques. If you buy from the market, it's $15 apiece. From the boutique, $106.99. It's a good deal for a quality piece.

And now it's time for me to buy an overpriced sticker from a souvenir shop so that if anyone asks, "Have you been to London?", I'll have proof that I have.

There's ink all over my hand from scribbling so fast.

The Afternoon

I found a luggage storage place near Victoria station, with very little walking with my suitcase required, so I headed that way in the morning. After my coffee in the fancy district, I realized that the station, and surrounding four blocks or so, had become awash with tourists. Much too busy for me, I walked in the direction that the least others were going and very quickly found myself on a side residential street with a manageable number of people. To my left was a large handpainted sign with a single word: cave.

So I wandered on in.

The room inside was an art and antique store, something of a pawn shop perhaps, where the owner sold items for others. The mix inside was bizarre: a sign reading "Everyone needs a breast shaped friend" over a shelf full of vaguely breast shaped, obviously hand sewn pillows, a huge collection of hand made jewelry, and a lift system holding dozens of chairs, not one with another like it, above the shopping area.

After wandering for a few hours in and out of little streets, I visited Battersea Park in the afternoon. It was so hot today that I mostly stuck to the shade past noon, and eventually came across a very busy café in the park, where I had a smoothie and sandwich. They were selling 200ml glass bottles of water for £6, so I asked for an extra cup and got water from the tap for free. I spent quite a few hours, probably about four, walking around the park and looking at the plants. 

Eventually I returned to pick up my luggage, and now I'm in another library, typing up my adventures, racing the clock until my time runs out on the computer, and until I fly out of Gatwick for Dublin.

- Aliya