We are currently experiencing abnormally high temperatures in England, heat that almost nobody here is used to (it doesn't help that most places don't have air conditioning but I really don't mind that). However, Friday morning was a nice and cool 50 degrees Fahrenheit which was perfect for a six-mile easy run. This was also our first day of venturing into London. We took the South Western Railway from the Cobham & Stoke d'Abernon train station all the way to Waterloo Station. The railway is above-ground and offers commuter services between the London and its suburbs. The inside of the train reminded me of the light rail train in Charlotte and I enjoyed riding into the city. It was cool to see the change from the countryside to townhomes and flats and then to skyscrapers once we were close to Waterloo. When we got off, we navigated our way to the Southbank Centre of the River Thames. The Southbank Centre is a nice pedestrian promenade that follows the river. There were a lot of street vendors and street artists along our walk (they have to go through a long approval process to even be there). It wasn't long before we made it to the boat for our river cruise of the Thames. The boat reminded me of a similar tour that I did in New York City along the Hudson River. I was seated on the lower level for this tour and there was so much to see on the tour. We first went upstream past Parliament and then downstream past the Tate Modern, St. Paul's Cathedral, the City of London, and then under Tower Bridge before we had to turn back. The cruise guide told us a lot of interesting information such as the nicknames of the oddly shaped skyscrapers that dotted the skyline (I knew most of them such as the Shard, Gherkin, Cheese Grater, and Walkie Talkie but there was a new building nicknamed the "Kim Kardashian" because of the way the middle of the skyscraper sticks out like a butt).
The Shard, Tower Bridge, and the Walkie Talkie
After the cruise, we were ready to go on the London Eye which was right above the pier for our river cruise. Unfortunately, there were a few factors that prevented us from going on the attraction (one of which was the fact that we had to get to the Globe Theatre to see Shakespeare's King Lear). I was a bit disappointed but we had more time to enjoy the Southbank Centre because of it. We took pictures along the river and explored the street vendors. My group got fish and chips which I enjoyed but I don't think it was the best idea to eat it on a hot and sunny day.
Parliament and Elizabeth Tower behind me
After that, we walked along the river all the way to the Globe Theatre where we were only a few minutes late to the production of King Lear. I don't have much interest in Shakespeare and I had a hard time understanding what was going on. I also felt really sleepy the entire time. The one thing I enjoyed, however, was the atmosphere of being in the theatre which looked a lot like how it would have looked like hundreds of years ago. There were even people who had to stand around the stage to watch the play (fortunately we had shaded benches to sit on). During the first intermission, Robyne decided that we would head back to the school after she saw a lot of people falling asleep or showing boredom during the play (I don't blame them).
Inside the Globe Theatre
Our house parents ordered pizza for dinner that night and we watched The Persuasion which was a newly released movie on Netflix and based on Jane Austen's novel. I thought that it was fine (I'm not into that romance stuff). After the movie, we did British trivia with our house teams to end the night. My team ended up getting second place which could be attributed to my geographic and historical knowledge that got us a lot of correct answers. I guess you could that say I "carried" my team.
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