Day Two

Day TWO. Portabello Road. Dierdre had told me the night before that she was meeting a friend at the Portabello Road markets, I invited myself along to (1) do something and (2) to see the city for a bit as a tourist before school takes me away starting Monday. We met them in the streets. Dierdre and friend were very bubbly and enthusiastic. While me and friends sister were both recovering from jet lag, she having a days advantage on me. I didn't want any knickknacks because (1) I don't have room for them and (2) I don't need them. It was nice to get out, walk, and see that all accents could be heard, and the girls I was with were just as comfortable speaking American English as everyone else was in their own tongues. As the song goes "anything and everything the street can unfold" was certainly found on Portabello Road. After a three hour adventure on the road, we split up, Dierdre to work, me to go see where the school was & get my bearings around there, and the sisters went to another market. No thanks I had had my fill. It was time for me to be a tourist. A stop after the sisters, I got off, and found my way to the school. Its across from a park. Only half the maps I used failed to show the park existed. It looks like it will be fun and good place to go to schoo. I am still in denial that I am going back to school. After that, I went to the British Museum. I had been 10 years before but remembering everything in there was lost with time. I saw the Rosetta Stone, Easter Island Statue, a ton of things that belong[ed] in Eygpt, and a ton of things "when England will give them back to us" from Greece. An impressive collection I do say. Then I walked and walked and walked and walked, tried to find a bus, but eventually the road I landed on became familiar of Trafalgar Square, and the National Museum. I stopped there to eat a sandwich I had picked up along the way. They charge you $1.50 more if you are going to eat in, rather than take away. Im a girl who saves a dollar when I can. From there onto see Ben, the Big Ben and Parliament from the outside. As I was walking there, I wondered why everyone was stopped at a gate guarded by 4 police officers. I looked up to see the street name. It was Downing St. where the prime minister lives. Ha! Carried on. Saw Ben/Parliament and decided to walk the bridge. Never did that before. Then walked passed the London Eye and back over the Thames on the Millenial Bridge. I was going to attempt to find Dierdre and friends for dinner. But (1) I needed to get a local phone and (2) I was in no condition to be social, I was super tired. I went home to get my ID incase I needed it to get a cheap cell phone. When I told Pat what I was doing, she gave me a phone she bought for someone that died in the hospital a week after she bought the phone. It was never used. It is pink. I could see why it was never used. I went to the grocery store to get a SIM card for it, and ended up getting 3 TV dinners. Apparently the household does not use the oven. I am in trouble. I came back, tried to figure out the phone, but my tiredness got the best of me and I took a shower, talked to M&D, and watched a little bit of a concert (I found out from Pat was held the night before when we were up on the hlll at the church that a live/free concert was happening) and went to bed.