Day 2- What a day!

As we awoke (much later than planned) we made our way over to Stratford to check out the new Queen Elizabeth Olympic park which had only just re-opened at the start of the month. I had been to the Olympic Park before the Olympics for the Schools Games and taking into account it was still unfinished, I thought it was a fantastic place, however this time my opinion had dropped, it was a disappointment- what happened to building a legacy? 

I was given the impression that 'Stratford City' had once again been forgotten about...the area looked a mess and was just once again large areas of undeveloped land. The Olympic Stadium had lost its glory and the Aquatics centre was just like any other swimming pool. The park was bare and the staff seemed unmotivated- all the excitement and success was lost and it just looked like it had just been scraped back together in order to gain some money from the tourists. 

The areas where the temporary structures for the Olympic games once lay were just mud pits and all fancy signage and imagery was desperately in need of an uplifting marketing boost. I had to make the visit a bit more interesting, so decided to pay the horrific price of £14, just to go up the 'Orbit'- the crazy infrastructure that was iconic during the 2012 games. Upon entering the 'Orbit' we were giving a 30 second tour guide who accompanied us up the lift and told us what we could do. If you put two and two together, not much can be said in 30 seconds, and the amount we were told that we could do, im surprised it even lasted 30 seconds! Yes, up the top there were astonishing views of the city (minus the destroyed park below) and to make it a bit more interesting warped mirrors were added so you could view yourself in a warped way- I had no idea on the relevance of them? Then to top it off you had to plummet  down over 400 steps just to get out. 

The Orbit 

Destroyed Stadium 

View from Orbit 

We then made our way over to the 'Emirates Air line' (the cable cart across the Thames). Coming out of North Greenwich station (the one for the O2) It was interesting how different the arena looked so close up and how it was a village within itself, lined with restaurants, bars and cafe's. The 'Airline' was given a airpot style system with the use of boarding passes and the Emirates fancy red uniform but we were unsure on whether this mode of transport was in conjunction with TfL (Transport for London) or a separate system; although you could use your Oyster Card*. The 'Airline' gave you great views of Greenwich and Canary Wharf but if you wanted pictures you had to be speedy (it was over very quick). 

View from the Airline

After wondering where we ended up, we found the next tube station and aimed to get to Tower Bridge, but with my wonderful London knowledge we ended up at London Bridge which has no link with Tower Bridge at all; similar names got the best of me I think. When exiting this station you were brought right out by the Shard, which is a unique and tall building but still vastly empty and not much use, unless you're rich and want to eat at the restaurants on top or pay to view the top- no thank you. 

The Shard

By this time I was flagging and needed to 'Eat, Drink & Sleep'. A quick Coffee fix did the trick. Next we ended up at Tate Modern and it just reminded me of any other free art gallery with lots of vast empty space (there was no exhibition on which is usually the exciting part). We then went across the bridge over to St Pauls Cathedral which was absolutely massive, I had another coffee fix whilst sitting on the steps of the cathedral; with the sun setting and blinding my eyes. 

We then decided to make our way back into the 'City of Westminster' so made a spontaneous jump on a bus and luckily it took us to Oxford Street- if you are no rush, the bus is brilliant. For starters its cheap and you get to see so much more than you would on the tube (obviously as you are not underground). We made a quick walk up to Soho where I took some snaps for my Photojournalism project and then headed over to Knightsbridge and got some further photos. 

Chaos at Knightsbridge Station

Getting back from Knightsbridge= Disaster. - The station is undergoing improvements and the inward escalators are under maintenance so the only option was the stairs. Due to the amount of people, they were only letting a few people through at a time to ensure no safety breaches whilst getting down. This caused a large backlog of people which caused everyone to change and go into 'lets all push until we get somewhere mode' 

One man said to another woman "alright no need to push, you aren't going to get there any quicker". Her reply "in some situations you just need to push", he was told! 

Today made me realise that the Olympic Park has well and truly been downgraded since its glory in the Olympic days and the tube isn't always the best mode of transport when exploring the city. 

*DONT use your Oyster on the 'Emirates Airline' it messed up our travel cards and made us go into debt with TfL. It took more money off that it should of done and made us pay more as we did not return using the line. The easiest and cheapest way would be to just buy a 'boarding pass' from the Emirates station. 

Day 1

 Devon- London 

As I carried my bags through the station at Newton Abbot, I thought why does it look like i'm going away for a month? Then I remembered I am....

20+ T Shirts - CHECK

St John Ambulance Uniform- CHECK

Enough Black Skinny Jeans- CHECK

Suitcase full of cosmetics- CHECK

Underwear & socks- CHECK 

Laptop, Books and College Work- CHECK (not that I wanted to check that) 

Firstly the train was delayed for 5 minutes, it may not be long but when your mums car parking was only valid for a limited time it was a risky extra 5 minutes. After boarding the train I realised the struggle I was going to have with my bags so I just dumped them all on a spare seat and waited till I had help at Exeter. It was a relatively calm journey along the rivea line to Exeter with most people gasping over #Dawlish. There was me thinking "I have already been along this fixed line several times since it was open" but people were still astonished apart from the one man sat behind me "Oh, they haven't done a very good job with the wall"- Well just to let you know the work is an ongoing process 'mate'. 

When arriving at Exeter the train was swamped with students, many remained unseated and just lay across the middle of the isle angering the OAP's. 

At Reading we were joined by many of the 'Londoners' and all the locals with their bottles of budweisers-  loudly sipping away while discussing their holiday plans. 

When arriving at London Paddington,  I was bursting for the loo and with classic London ways the loo's were accessible at a 'small' fee, after having no change I had to go through the hassle of getting some, then only to find out the barriers were unlocked and you could actually go to the toilet free of charge. 

Moving on, the tube was so simple, I felt just like a local just gliding through with my 'Pre-Paid Oyster'*...When in central London I was desperate to go to the BBC News centre and to my excitement I found out you could actually view the whole newsroom as well as 'The One Show' studio (after the airport like security checks) ...it was really weird to see all the camera's automatically move around unmanned filming the newsroom for the opening titles of the news, as well as being able to see the presenter in the studio and on the screens; it really was live. 

Whilst watching rehearsals for this evening's broadcast of 'The One Show' it took me a while to realise Alex Jones and Chris Evans standing there with his child wrapped around his ankles, thank god it was only a rehearsal. They always look so much smaller in real life than they are on the television. 

After getting weird looks from Alex and Chris, whilst taking pictures of them just doing their job, it was time to leave and move on. I took a quick browse round the flagship store of  Debenhams in Oxford Street where I went in to work mode and complained about the mess and folding of the garments. However they get posh engraved name badges where as I get a makeshift printed one. #NotImpressed. 

I then followed doing the usual tourist bits, followed by one more disappointment when not seeing 'Liz' at Buckingham Palace...I suppose I have still got 3 weeks left to spot her though. I also saw the MI5 headquarters and its just makes me think, how much do they know that we don't? (lots) 

Today made me realise this really is the place I want to be and it would be my dream job to work in the BBC Newsroom or even in the production team of a show,#Determined. You also get free publications around the city which are always an interesting read whilst on the tube. 

*the Oyster Card is so efficient, especially if you have a railcard, you get cheaper travel anyway and with the railcard on top you get a further 1/3 off at off-peak times. I contemplated just buying a day travel card but found out if you spend over a day travel card amount, they just automatically stop charging you as you get an automatic day card- clever or what.