Day 50: ‘ello Gov’nor

Exploring Cutty Sark

For some reason, I felt pretty good this morning. Yesterday was exhausting, but I still managed to wake up at around 8:30AM or so. Truthfully, I was awake by 4:30AM because sunlight streamed through my window bright and early.

I brought my running shoes with me, because I had a feeling I’d want to get in a quick run and simultaneously explore. I’m staying in a place called Cutty Sark, which sits right on the River Thames across from Canary Wharf, which is more or less the financial district of London.

Cutty Sark is named after a clipper ship called the Cutty Sark which was famous for doing tea runs. There’s a massive maritime museum nearby detailing its history and the history of British maritime industry. I explored around the surrounding area, which includes Greenwich Park and some very steep hills.

Regent Street

After lunch, we went over to Regent Street to do some shopping. It’s been a very long time since I last saw Regent Street. I couldn’t recognize it at all. But one thing hasn’t changed - it seemed massive when I was a kid and it still does. Throughout London, streets are adorned with the Union Jack from King Charles’ coronation, so Regent Street felt extra large. At some point, I ducked into a Starbucks. I needed a proper cup of black filtered coffee, something I’ve been struggling to have/find/make while in Germany. This really hit the spot for me. We also had some cookies from Ben’s Cookies, which are unbelievably good.

Natural History Museum

After hanging around Regent Street, we went over to Kensington to visit the Natural History Museum. An homage to Charles Darwin, this massive museum is structured around the theory of evolution and to the scientists and philosophers who helped shape its structure. Like the British Museum, I highly recommend going. We didn’t spend very long there, but we were able to catch a number of exhibits (including the one on dinosaurs).

Tubing Around

Wrapping up at the Natural History Museum, I parted ways and headed over to southwest London to visit some family friends. Somehow or another, I seemed to have gone in a weird circle. I’m still piecing this together, but the Circle Line and the District Line intersect. However, in order to ride the District Line towards southwest London, you end up back-tracking on the Circle Line until you get to a common point (in this case, Edgware Court), before it splits.

Finishing up dinner, I jumped back onto the tube to make my way over to Cutty Sark. This involved jumping across a few lines. The Tfl Go App was a big help. Otherwise, I’d have to rely on Google Maps, which is not bad but it’s also not great. I managed to make it home by around midnight. I packed up my bags and rolled into bed immediately. We head to Cambridge tomorrow morning, which I’ve never visited before, so I’m very excited to go.

Peace and love ❤️