10,000 drunks can't be wrong... or can they?

This morning, after my last post, I set off to none other than Abbey Road, the famous studio and crosswalk that was immortalized by the Beatles when they recorded their iconic album there in 1969. On the front of the album, the four are seen strutting through a crosswalk, each dressed in a different shade, their arms swinging at their sides. Abbey Road was surprisingly close to my hostel – all I had to do was take one tube stop and walk three blocks. As I turned the corner, I saw a young guy strutting across the street with his arms flailing and I knew I’d made it. His girlfriend stood on the other side of the street trying to take his picture. The only problem was that the intersection is so busy that it can be really difficult to get a good shot. Many times he would have to sprint out to the middle of the street, freeze for an instant while the picture was taken, then sprint to the other side before he got mowed down by a double-decker bus. After watching them for about ten minutes, I asked if they would take my picture (or try to until one of us got hit atleast). Luckily, a minute or so after I gave him my camera, the traffic seas parted and I was able to get a really good shot rather quickly. However, my pose doesn’t look much like the Beatles – I had to freeze in position, and it’s hard to imitate fast walking when you’re not moving. Oh well, the picture is still awesome.

After the picture, I went to check out Abbey Studios, which you can actually see in the Beatles album cover photo. It’s the building behind them on the left side of the road, with a long white wall in front and gates at each end. However, the walls aren’t very white anymore; they’re painted with the ink from the markers and pens from fans that have made the pilgrimage to the location. Almost every square inch of wall was covered by someone’s writing – everything from signatures, personal wisdom, and of course Beatles quotes. There’s also a sign indicating the address, 5 Abbey Road, which has also been covered in graffiti. It was fun to read all the quotes on the wall, especially while listening to the very album that was recorded there. Before I left, I claimed my own little spot on the wall, but opted for simple initials and date, as all the Beatles quotes had already been played out. I don’t suppose it’ll last long though, as it seems they paint over the wall every few months to make way for new signatures.

After Abbey Road, I headed back down to Westminster to see if I could get inside the abbey, as it had been closed the first time I went. The gates were open and I could walk right up to the abbey, as well as go inside St. Margaret’s Church right next to it, but they were charging six pounds to go inside. I stuck around for a few minutes to get some great up-close shots, but opted to skip the inside.

From here I headed towards the London Eye, the 443-foot observation wheel that towers above London and the River Thames. Though the lines looked long, I got on pretty quickly. The ride took about 30 minutes, and I got to see what London looks like from above. Many of London’s key attractions can be seen from the Eye. I think the ride was a bit overpriced, however, at 15.50 pounds. This city is cleaning me out quick.

Next, I started walking into what I believe is part of London’s business district. The streets were lined with people in suits rushing around, but the architecture of the buildings was still amazing. If these buildings were in America, people would drive from neighboring towns to see them, but in London, they’re just another building. The entire city looks like that.

After wandering around aimlessly for a bit, I saw a sign for St. Paul’s Cathedral, saying it was 10 minutes away. I had made a plan to see this, but I wasn’t familiar with it, so I wasn’t sure if it would be cool or not. Let’s just say I’m glad I went. As I rounded the corner, I saw this absolutely massive structure with a huge dome at the top. This was St. Paul’s Cathedral. I’ve never seen anything so massive in my life, much less a cathedral. I thought it would be just another cathedral, but this thing is like the size of five Westminster Abbeys put together. I went in a side door and got one picture of a crypt, but they were charging to see the rest of it.

After this I made some calls home in a café I found with wireless internet, then walked along the Thames some more before taking the tube home. Since then, I’ve been trying to fix my housing crisis that I had talked about in my last post. After much deliberation, I think I’ve solved the problem. I’m going to stay in London until Sunday, take the high speed train to Bruges, Belgium that morning, and stay there for two days. Then I’ll backtrack to Paris. Now that I’m going to Paris later, I was able to find a pretty nice hostel with 3 nights available. So that’s my plan for now. I just have to figure out what I’m going to do here tomorrow. I might go back to the Tate or try to see a show at the Globe. Oh, and I almost forgot – this is really interesting. The London metro system (tube) is about to ban alcoholic beverages from being carried on the trains. Up until now, you were allowed to drink on them freely with no trouble. The law goes into effect tomorrow night at midnight, and apparently, the city’s youth have organized an event to mark the occasion. A massive party (I mean huge) has been organized to happen on the tube trains all tomorrow night. People are instructed to BYOB onto the trains and drink all night, riding from place to place. And get this – an article about it made the front page of the papers today, and the police are expecting more than 10,000 people (yes you read right) to show up for the party. They’re not sure what to do about controlling the crowds. Soo if I just happen to be in London for one extra night and don’t have anything to do anyway, I might just have to check out the tube party going on. Until next time…