Rain, Shakespeare, an Iron Dragon, a Birthday, and the 39 Steps, London Days 3 and 4

Shakespeare, an Iron Dragon, Birthday’s, and Rain. London, days 3 and 4.

Day 3

I will be brief. There have been technical issues with uploading entries from my phone (my last ones have all been with my laptop, which I did not have access to for a few days). It decides to erase my work as I try to upload it. Computers–I tell you.

On the morn of day three, we journeyed across the city with a guide telling us about all the different places Shakespeare lived, worked, and hung out at. He even showed us a few other places of interest relating to him. (Relating to Shakespeare that is, not to the tour guide.)

We started near a bank, where he pointed out a statue of Shakespeare next to one of Bacon and Sir Issac Newton.

We went by a monument of the 7 Stages of Life, where he recited a speech given by Jaques in As You Like It.

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We also toured three places where Shakespeare used to live. Not one of them was still standing. Only one had a plaque showing that it was Shakespeare’s residence. He isn’t well received in London, apparently.

Our guide told us that Shakespeare was actually a very rich man, contrary to my belief about him. I assumed he had been a “starving artist” who barely made anything off his plays. Technically, I was right about not making money off his plays. He was a brilliant businessman and he made his money by owning the theaters in the city, not by writing his plays.

After the tour, we walked to the Tower of London. Inside was the most organized army gear, weapons, and armor I had ever seen in one place. There were some gifts given to the British by the Japanese, Native Americans, and Germans, to name a few. There was also this handsome fellow:

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After the Tower, I made my way back to the hostel. I was exhausted. After mucking about the hostel for a while, I decided to get something to eat from a place down the street titled “The King of Falafel.”

I spoke with the owner for a little while, where I just asked for “his most popular dish.” He then asked me if I wanted something on it that I didn’t quite catch, but I agreed anyway. I was feeling adventurous. A woman wandered by the store and asked if she could come in if she didn’t smoke. This is a silly thing to ask, as there really isn’t any reason to prevent someone from entering a store while not smoking. The shopkeeper agreed. She walked in, promptly started to smoke, and was asked to leave.

Outside, I heard her ask how to leave. She called Luc a Yankee, then proceeded to bother the other patrons, who shooed her away.

My wrap was pretty good.

Day 4

On day 4, it rained. But I have a jacket, so I was just fine. I’m prepared! We toured the Globe Theater, had a workshop with one of the actors, had a waiter point us toward the site of the Leaky Cauldron entrance in Harry Potter, stopped by the site of the original Rose Theater, found an open-air market, celebrated Ronnie’s birthday (her first, according to the cake), and watched a hilarious show titled 39 Steps.

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