Day 4, Theatre, Bubble Tea and the Boris Bikes.

"Today we circled London on a lost and long adventure".

We took the long tube journey across several lines making it finally to Canary Wharf, in order to collect the keys for my place of stay following tomorrow for the next two weeks. The majority of  the district was classed as a smoke- free zone but the 'rebel' high financial business profiles did not seem to comply to this; #power. 

The amount of men and woman walking round in their tailored suits made me feel like an Eastender (stereotyping) and the sophisticated synced walk made me look like I needed Etiquette lessons. However the area was a stunning place surrounded with tall buildings (don't think they can be classed as skyscrapers when compared to New York). Even the tube station had some class about it. 

Moving back over to main London; as I like to call it, I attempted to shop on Oxford Street but the crowds got the best of me and I couldn't cope, I'll stick to Exeter next time, thats worse enough. Yes at the moment, I may still be a tourist but the slow walkers who just stop in the street right in front of you makes me lose the will to live. 

me on the Boris Bike

Over to a vaster area of the city 'Hyde Park' where the sun came out and I experienced a Boris Bike. Upon leaving 'Hyde Park Corner station; I thought I would be clever and walk through Hyde Park over to Knightsbridge to find Harvey Nichols and make my debut taste on the famous 'Bubbleology Tea'. After judging the long walk (what I thought was the right way), we decided to hire out the Boris Bikes and ride through Hyde park towards the other end which I just presumed was Knightsbridge. I couldn't of been more wrong! After the 15 minute cycle (I was breathless, my legs were aching and I wasn't in a fit state), we returned the bikes to one of the docking stations and I went to one of those 'YOU ARE HERE' maps to discover I had gone in the complete opposite direction and rode straight past Knightsbridge/ Harvey Nichols which was originally just a short walk from Hyde Park corner. Next it got worst as I dragged my feet through this busy street for about 20 mins until I finally got back into Knightsbridge and found Harvey Nichols; the tea was worth it though, if you ever get a chance try out the bubbleology: do it! It's a unique and replenishing taste. 

bubbleology tea

logo

palladium theatre

Next stop: Theatre. Seeing I only paid £20 for the tickets I presumed I would have back row, upper circle seats but we actually had decent seats in the stalls. I waited nervously for the show to start expecting someone rather tall to sit right in front of me, however the theatre was not  at all full, which was a bit embarrassing for the show. 

The direction of the show could have not been more obvious it was the work of Harry Hill but that made it brilliant. It started and finished with up beat loud catchy songs and the audience felt as part of an X-Factor audience. The comical spoof on the classic well known characters made it comical and relatable and the play on the sob stories just caught on with the audience. 

My favourite character was the talented check out lady who worked on the till at 'TESDA' a pun on Tesco and Asda. The set was multifunctional and forever changing. Simon ( played by Nigel Harman) was ultimately fabulous; as said by himself and well Louie, was just Louie. The talent of the main girl; Chenice (played by Cynthia Erivo) was outstanding and led to the audience to a loud gasp and an endless applause.

 The musical wasnt your classic musical but that wasn't to be expected due to the figures on the production team and the plot the musical was following; a mick take on Simon Cowell and his success with his talent shows. On the other hand it does terribly mock many characters from the previous series and judges/ presenters (Cheryl Cole & Dermot O'Leary). It puts the X-Factor into reality and on my own personal opinion could destroy the success of the tv show, due to it putting all the rumours and speculations said about the show into truth. 

seat/ view

entrance to Chinatown 

After the theatre we got a glimpse of Soho nightlife and ate at a Chinatown restaurant. If you have been to Chinatown before then there is not much else to be said. (Expensive; adequate food, Chinese and busy). 

  

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.