DAY 14

2 Weeks. I’ve been in England for 2 whole weeks now. Unbelievable. I made list upon list upon list on what to pack, what to see, what to spend. In true overplanning + ADHD fashion, these lists were kept in separate places: Notes app, notebook, Google docs, Canva, back of church bulletins, sticky notes. In 2 weeks, I’ve ticked off most everything on my list. There may be a couple of things left undone and unseen BUT I’ve decided to do things my way and have started listening to my body and what it can physically handle from here on out. Thank God I got steroid shots the morning of my departure or else there’d be no way I could’ve managed the physical demands of this journey.

“You’re so brave for doing this alone.” I’ve heard this from several people – men and women – but mostly women. Let it be known that before I booked my airline tickets, I did ask Amelia and Paul if either of them wanted to come with me. As it turned out, I was destined to always make this journey on my own.

It’s been interesting…being an unsuspecting bystander on the tube or on the bus and overhearing couples, friends and families talk about their schedules, what stop they need to take, who has the tickets, translating British English to American English. I try not to laugh out loud at some of them who loudly announce all of their knowledge in public places, “No, they don’t have cookies here, they call them biscuits,” this is a direct quote from one such loud mouthed American who walked by me as I sat at a cafe this afternoon. I did have the urge to yell back, “WELL, ACTUALLY, THEY HAVE BOTH BISCUITS AND COOKIES AND I KNOW THE DIFFERENCE, YOU AMERICAN TWAT.” (Thanks again, Helen, for setting me right on so many things.)

Today had no set itinerary, so I was basically free styling it and ended up exploring some really neat areas of the city.

• British History Museum – After visiting this “must see”, I feel a certain way. First of all, there was no British history on display. It was all the history of Egypt, Greece, Africa and Asia. I only stayed about an hour but with each display, my stomach started churning a bit more. I saw the Rosetta Stone – that was impressive. I saw hieroglyphs that were dated 600 BC or earlier. I saw statues from the Parthenon. But the nagging thought in my mind the entire time was, “Who thought they had the right to steal these things and put them on display?” Colonization, tomb raiding, excavation of foreign soil. I heard Dr. Jones saying, “IT BELONGS IN A MUSEUM.” Does it? Or does it belong to the country of origin? I understand this might not be a popular opinion of history museums, but today really hit me over the head with hard truths.
• RADA – The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art is dedicated to world-leading training in the dramatic arts offering training for actors, stage managers, designers and technical stagecraft specialists. Before they make it to the RSC or National Theatre, serious students of theatre arts start at RADA…or at least the best of best do. See for yourself.
• 221B Baker Street – No, I did see Benedict Cumberbatch but I did see quite the queue for the Sherlock Holmes Museum. I decided against going inside for a lot of reasons, but mostly importantly, I didn’t see the value of spending my time and money on walking through the home of a fictional person. But I bet the wallpaper was cool.
• Uber – I wimped out and got an Uber to take me to the northern part of the city. I would’ve taken the tube, but there were no trains connecting and going by bus would’ve take 3 transfers. Plus, I was getting hot and hangry.
• Camden Market – This was exactly what I was expecting and I wasn’t disappointed. I saw SOOOO many things I wanted to buy, but my bags are already busting! The good news is that I can find most of the things online and have them shipped instead. Camden Market Stables