A continuation of my Dublin post.
November 11 2023
My brief stay in Ireland was over. My alarm screamed me awake and I took the bus to the ferry terminal. That was when I realized that my water bottle was no longer in my backpack. It has never stayed in the bottle holder. Every time I put my pack on quickly, it went flying. But it makes a loud clang, so I always heard it and retrieved it. I guess this time it quietly slipped out, probably on the bus. The thing was a mess- covered in dents and chips. Mom had used her tools to flatten the bottom several times, since it would get dinged to the point where it couldn’t even stand up. But it still worked, so I kept using it. Until now. RIP bottle.
When the ferry was ready, everyone lined up. To my surprise, we were getting in a bus. It took us down the dock and onto a ferry – which was way bigger than I expected. It has (I think) nine floors. Cars go on the bottom levels.
I watched us pull away from Ireland as I ate pancakes from the café (though I wish the windows were cleaner.) Then I went to explore. Upstairs there was a movie theater area, with a Bugs Bunny movie playing. In the hall, I noticed a shelf with paper bags, with a sign “just in case.” A girl grabbed one and pretended to barf into it for her family’s sake. Went out on the deck for a few minutes and saw Ireland disappearing behind us. I don’t think I’ve ever been on such a big boat. But if you pay attention, you can still feel the slightest rise and fall under your feet.
The coast came into view, and the captain announced that we would be arriving soon. I got on the first bus out and grabbed my suitcase. The train station was in the same building, and the train was there waiting. I climbed on and got a seat by the window. I watched the Wales countryside fly by. It’s nice to have a day where I can sit and rest, since I’ll be doing so much walking.
Eventually I got the hiccups. The loud kind. After a couple stops, the train filled up. A girl sat next to me, and of course my hiccups left me periodically squeaking. It was a while before I could get rid of them.
The sun started to set, painting gold and cream streaks across the English sky. It began to darken to peach before it vanished behind a bank of dark blue clouds.
I don’t hear the Irish accent much. But I hear the British accent all the time in movies and shows. It feels unreal to hear people using it all around me. When a guy nearby said, “sorry, mate” to one of his neighbors, I couldn’t help grinning.
My train pulled into London, and I hefted my shoulder-munching pack and towed my suitcase out into the dark city. Hey, it’s not as cold here!
I had a map and set off with confidence down the road. Except after going the right amount of blocks, the hotel wasn’t there. I tracked back and forth, looking at my map and trying to find where the heck the street was, because I couldn’t even find that. Luckily there are little street maps here and there. I was a few blocks skewed to the side. I found out the next day that I had come out of a different station than I had thought. I thought there were two train stations in a row, but there were actually three. Luckily it was just a couple blocks away so I trudged along, sick of hauling my luggage. The hotel was a narrow building crammed in amongst all the others. There’s no room between buildings – it’s basically all the same structure. I went in and the guy gave me my key. He asked if my bags were heavy, because I was on the top floor and there are no elevators. I assured him I was fine. It’s only four stories tall. I hauled my stuff up. It left me out of breath, but it was doable.
I watched the first half of Wolfwalkers. Now that I’ve left Ireland, of course. But I don’t have Secret of Kells with me, and this was the next best thing. Anyway, we had been talking about the real-world equivalent of the Wolfwalkers villain. He trashed Ireland, including some of the sites we visited. It’s a freaking great movie. I don’t have many movies on my laptop, but I have a couple of my favorites.
November 12 2023
To my frustration, it took me a couple hours to fall asleep last night. I woke up with my alarm. I didn’t have to be anywhere right away, so I just lay there. I kept almost falling asleep, but mostly resisted. Finally I dragged myself over to grab my laptop and finished watching Wolfwalkers.
It turns out that my hotel room door doesn’t lock. You can literally just push it and it pops open. I told the front desk, and he said he’d fix it. In the meantime, I started walking down the street to the British Museum. I got there before it opened, and saw a line. Or a cue, as they call it here. I moved around to find the end and saw that the line went all the way down the block and around the corner. At first I wondered if there was a free day. Then I realized that the British Museum is always free. It opened none too soon – it started drizzling. Security peeked in my bag and waved me in.
A central piece of the Egypt room is The Rosetta Stone. It was originally part of a larger stone slab which recorded a decree made in 196 BC. Without this stone, they would not have been able to translate Egyptian hieroglyphs. No one had been able to read them for 1,400 years. Many people would like the Rosetta stone returned to its homeland.
At the Assyrian art, I thought I might start crying at the lion hunt panels. It was a sport for the king. The lions were released from cages and driven toward the king so he could shoot them. Lions are so rare now, and people are working so hard to try to protect them. But to this day, people still shoot them for sport. The images of dead and dying lions hit me.
One of the rooms was closed off, but I peeked inside and saw some stunning panels of animal-headed beings.
I had a reservation for afternoon tea. They brought out a three-tiered platter. It was amazing. Everything was so good!
After I ate, I continued around the museum. There was a stunning Irish brooch. I’d wanted to see the Tara Brooch in Ireland, but that didn’t work out. This one must be close to it though. The Celtic knots covering its gold surface are unbelievably delicate. I wonder what gemstones would have once fit into all of the settings.
There were carvings from the Northwest Coast tribes. Beautiful Aztec turquoise mosaics. And feathered capes from the Amazon, decorated with shining beetle wings.
This is the weirdest museum layout I’ve ever seen. You’ll be walking up the stars and see a little side staircase hidden in the corner that leads up to the Japan room. Or you’ll be looking through one gallery, and there’s a staircase at the end that goes down to the African rooms. I think I saw everything, but I kept stumbling on huge areas that I’d walked past earlier.
In the Asia hall, there were amazing ivory carvings. For example, those impossible works of art where an elaborate sphere has been carved inside a second sphere, and there’s another sphere inside that. And no, there are no seams. They were carved one inside the other. It’s so beautiful. Yet elephants got close to disappearing due to the demand for these ivory carvings.
There was a hallway full of gorgeous jade carvings.
The Japanese room was up in the attic, it seemed like. They had amazing animals made of iron. Koi and snakes, which can move and bend just like the real animals. When the samurai were no longer a thing in Japan, the armor and sword makers took their talents in a different direction, making these beautiful creatures. What a shift. Taking crafters of battle tools, and turning to art.
The Easter Island statue, properly called “moai,” is one of the many stolen pieces of art in the museum. The islanders where the statue originated have tried many times to get the statue back, ever since British sailors stole it from them. It is one of the most beautiful Moai statues, carved of stronger stone than usual, and displaying many carved designs across the back. When the British took the statue away, the asked the islanders what it was named. The islanders used a phrase that meant, “our stolen friend.” There was a sign by this statue, saying that it has a “complicated history.”
Apparently many of the artifacts collected long ago weren’t documented. No one knows where they came from, of how they were acquired. It’s strange that a museum wouldn’t think it was important to know that.
I had hoped to leave in the early afternoon and go to the London Zoo. But I realized that I’d only seen a fraction of the museum. It’s way bigger than I thought. I’d already gone to a zoo, so I decided to stay.
But I did have time to go to Platform 9 ¾. I walked back to the hotel, which was on the way. When I got there, the guy was working on my door. So, that meant he’d left it unlocked all day? Not anyone can just walk in to the hotel, and my room was in the top back corner, but still. I had my laptop and everything in there. I put down my bag and went to King’s Cross station.
I followed the signs to platform 9 and saw a huge line. At first I was worried that was the line to get in the shop. But it was a line to take photos with the trolley.
The shop was crowded. You had to weave your way through all the people. They had a bunch of Honeydukes sweets. I got a butterbeer, but it wasn't that great.
They’ve got Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans in random stores around my house. I bought them some as a kid. But I kept getting so many vomit flavored ones. Amongst the other nasty flavors. What’s the point of buying candy that you can only eat half of?
Then back to the room to rest. My feet are killing me again. But it turns out they couldn’t fix my door, so I had to move all my stuff down a floor to a new room.
November 13 2023
Took me about an hour and a half to fall asleep last night. I guess it’s steadily syncing up. Yeesh.
I set off for the London Underground. Once you know how it works, the Underground is easy to use. You scan your credit card when you enter the station, and then scan it again on the way out. Not sure how that works with your funds, but you pay for the distance you traveled. There’s all these signs around saying that you get huge fines if you don’t have a ticket. And you don’t get a ticket when you scan your card. Huh.
I got on a train out to Salisbury. It was about an hour and a half ride. I wanted to watch the country go by. My eyes kept trying to fall asleep. If I’m so tired, why don’t I fall asleep in my dark room at night? I wouldn’t let myself nap. I was afraid of missing my stop. I managed not to pass out by sitting up straight. That way whenever my head jerked, it would wake me. Though my eyes glazed over so much that I didn’t really get to watch the scenery.
I’d made reservations for a Stonehenge tour. The bus was in the station parking lot. A big green double-decker bus. Though this morning only a few of us were on it. I thought I had signed up for a proper Stonehenge tour. It turns out the bus just had a recording you listened to by plugging in earbuds. I climbed to the top front corner and took a seat. The ride through Salisbury town was kinda like Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride. Salisbury is a beautiful town – I wish I could have explored it. But the streets are narrow, and the bus is huge. From my position in the front top corner, it kept looking like we were about to crash into walls or run over barriers. It didn’t help that we drive on the other side of the road than I’m used to. We didn’t crash, of course. But it still kinda keeps you on the edge of your seat.
The cathedral towers over the rest of Salisbury. During WWII, the Luftwaffe used the cathedral as a marker, so they were ordered not to bomb the city.
The bus left town and headed out into the country. The bus comes through every hour, so I wanted to time the day right. I went through the Stonehenge gift shop first, so I wouldn’t have to plan for it later (and waste time like I did at Blarney Castle).
You can also buy chocolate Stonehenges, and even a plush Stonehenge.
Stonehenge has changed owners many times. It was auctioned off after WWI for 6,600 pounds. Three years later it was given to the country. In 1978, they closed off access to walk amongst the stones (except by special reservation). Because some freaks were marking them with graffiti, and climbing them.
From the visitors center, I got on another bus that took you five minutes down the road to Stonehenge. Just before we parked, I saw the tops of the stones rising up behind the grass.
I disembarked and walked toward the stones. A pathway circles the site, keeping people away from the stones. Just outside of the walking path there were a bunch of sheep settled down in the grass. The wind was whipping around in an impressive way. The heel stone is the lone stone that stands outside the circle, but points at the rest of the stones.
Stonehenge was added to over hundreds of years. From early in its history, Stonehenge has been a burial site. By 2,500 BC, the big stones had been brought in. They’re arranged to frame the sun during the winter and summer solstices.
The largest stones are a type of hard sandstone called sarsen. Pieces of sarsen this large can only be found about twenty miles to the north. The builders of Stonehenge transferred sarsen stones, weighing up to 35 tons, all that distance (and they would have weighed even more before they were carved into shape). The smaller bluestones were brought all the way from Wales and weighed about three tons.
Okay, but how on earth did people thousands of years ago move stones that weighed tons? For a few hundred years, there was a popular theory that Merlin had used his magic to bring Stonehenge here from Ireland. They’ve also found that a team of 200 people could pull the large sarsen stones on a sledge. Over the most level land route, it could have taken about 12 days. The smaller bluestones may have been brought by boat, or over land. But why go to so much trouble to move these particular massive rocks so far? No one knows. Maybe the types of stone held special meaning. There are old stories that the bluestones stones have magical properties-particularly healing. So there is a long history of people breaking off bits of the stones to take home.
My ticket also covered entrance to the Old Sarum castle ruins. I followed vague directions from the driver. A couple ladies were walking by with their dog. They confirmed that I was going the right way. There were a couple gates, and I failed to open the first one. The ladies opened it for me. Yep, dumb tourists. They also called my “lovey.” The bus driver this morning had used “my love.” Heh. It’s like being called “Tara-chan” in Japan.
There wasn’t much of Old Sarum still standing, but it was really cool. It’s from 400 BC. But there’s evidence of inhabitants from 3,000 BC. Now only rough, weathered walls mark the outlines of the structures. The old walls rose part way out of the grass. Like the flanks of some huge serpent rising out of the sea. Trees stood bare, their branches weaving patterns against the sky. The wind was howling, and the country was beautiful.
There was the obligatory sign reminding people not to climb on the ancient castle ruins.
I got back on the green bus and we went through the wild ride in town again. I caught the train, and Waterloo was the last stop. I didn't have to worry about missing my stop this time, so I let myself nod off. I must have slept through most of the ride. So it’s lucky I didn’t nap this morning, or I likely would have missed my stop. As it was, I woke up one station before Waterloo.
I left Waterloo and went out to the Thames. I passed the London Eye and crossed a bridge. It was so windy that the pigeons were getting blown off the bridge railings. They’d land, and a gust would come up. They’d run in place, skidding on the slick surface, and finally give up and jump off to fly somewhere quieter.
Big Ben stood above the river. The sky was stunning, with the low sun lighting clouds with blazing gold. At one point, a sort of portal opened up in the clouds, and beams of light shot straight up into the sky over Big Ben and the government buildings. Usually light beams down, but the sun was low enough, and the clouds in the right position that the beams went up.
On this side of the Thames, there are some of the red phone booths. People were lined up to take photos at them, with Big Ben in the background. It was cool to hear the clock chiming.
I walked through St James Park. There was a flock of pelicans out on the rocks. They live here. The first pelicans were brought by a Russian ambassador in the mid 1600’s.
At the end of the park is Buckingham Palace. I walked past the front, taking pictures of all the lion statues, and the unicorns on the front gates. A couple of the guards were inside.
It was starting to get dark, so I headed to the nearest train station. To my astonishment, there was a poster advertising a Totoro stage play.
Then back to my room to pack.
