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December, 2004 - Molly Bendell
A
Place Revisited
After
living in London for about three months, there are many
tourist attractions I have still yet to attend. Recently
my childhood friend, Brian, who is currently studying
in Italy, came to visit me for a weekend. I figured
I should come up with some kind of itinerary to show
him around the city; after all, he had never been to
London. I thought back over some key places I visited
and remembered from the beginning of my stay in the
city and of course thought of “Big Ben”, the
Thames, Westminster Abbey, the House of Parliament,
Trafalgar Square, Tower of London, and for shopping
and eating, the Camden Town markets. I figured these
would all be good places to visit if he was interested;
of course he was interested, so we headed to the tube
station, bought him a day pass and started our tour.
We
decided to see Big Ben first since that was the “most
crucial” site to visit on the tour. I have seen
Big Ben many times since my first glance at the shiny
gold clock, which comes up on you out of nowhere every
time you see it (funny since there are four dials each
30 feet in diameter, and a bell weighing 14 tons) and
yet this visit gave me another feeling for the clock.
All the other times I had passed through the city I
would overlook the clock because I saw it so often,
but considering the point of my view at that moment,
I was a tourist again and had a fresh pair of eyes.
Brian took photos from every angle, including of the
House of Parliament as we passed by its guards each
holding threatening machine guns. Once we got back underground
Brian suggested we visit Westminster Abbey next because
he didn’t realize we had just been standing outside
the building.
I
had pointed out the Notre Dame like structure, but apparently
(like me the first time I saw the abbey) he couldn’t
pick out Westminster from any other abbey. That fact
was interesting to me at the time because that moment
was like the first time I gave directions to someone
on the streets of London, as a foreigner myself, it
is great to unknowingly become so familiar with a place.
Our next stop was Trafalgar square. The last time I
had visited Trafalgar square was for an anti-war protest
on the US Election Day and the weather was, although
deeper into the cold months, warmer than that visit.
Brian took photos again, including me in a few, which
once again reminded me of my first time visiting Trafalgar
Square. I never took any photographs because I conveniently
forgot my camera to avoid looking like a tourist, but
now that I feel comfortable in London I also feel comfortable
“looking like a tourist”. After the square
we were off to the Tower of London. The Tower allowed
me to share some stories with Brian about the Beefeaters.
He actually asked if I was pulling his leg, or if they
really existed (I know it seems too good to be true,
but they do exist). We overlooked the river and were
engulfed by the immensity of the Tower Bridge (which
was once run on steam) across the way.
Finally
it was time for lunch. I decided Camden Town would be
a fun place to eat lunch, besides its one of the best
places for vegetarians (which Brian and I both are).
Brian didn’t know what to expect from the market.
Many people told me it was “bohemian”, “alternative”,
“student oriented”, “international”,
or “gothic”, some people even told me it was
“scary” so my first time I was picturing anything
from the Moulin Rouge to a haunted house. I told Brian
we could get good food despite the fact that the streets
can be pretty intimidating at times. I have now been
accustomed to the area and feel comfortable entering
all the shops and ignoring the shady characters on the
streets, the crazy outfits and rave music blaring from
all the underground shops. For a day full of “tourist
sites”, Camden Town is a good way to close since
it is so contrasting to the rest of the day. We walked
around bit, but the weather started to turn a bit colder
(it was raining my first time) so we headed for a more
indoor eating area. We ordered our vegetarian burgers
and spring rolls and rested after a long day.
My
day with Brian was great. I learned more about myself
than I ever would have if I had not revisited those
places in London from the same (yet different) perspective
that I had the first time I visited. The tour was an
interesting way to refresh my memory’s recollection
of how I felt when I first saw the sites, what the weather
was like, what I ate and I was also made aware to how
my knowledge was revised over the course of time since
I last visited; all of this would have gone unnoticed
had I never revisited. I hope I remember the next time
Big Ben sneaks up behind me.
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