CCTV: 1984, The Sequel (#2)

And, so we began Day Two of our London exploration!!




We spent the night at PAX Lodge, which is a Girl Scout hostile located on the Northside of London. It's in Zone 2 if you're taking the underground- and it's actually quite nice! The staff were really welcoming and gave us a thorough briefing about what to do in case of emergencies! Breakfast was included the next day and we just had some cereal with some fruit, which is what we have at Regent's Park as well. Overall, I was highly impressed...and I remembered to leave only my footprints and take only my memories :-)

After checking out of PAX lodge, we headed down to the centre of London again, to find ticket's for Madame Tussaud's! But first we went on a boat ride! (Yes, we were on a boat! ha!)

If you can't read the plaque, it says that the King's reach extends to there and no further outside the City of Westminster. Not even into the city of London.

After the boat ride, we found Madame Tussuad's which was highly entertaining! We mingled with all kinds of stars! We also were scared stiff by the dungeons and went through the Spirit of London! haha! It was a most enjoyable day! :-)

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It's my future husband! Isn't he dreamy?? (I'm calling dibbs!)

The Queen Mum and I already get on famously! I don't think she'll object to such an arrangement Jessica and Jackie with William Shakespeare himself! They are taking the Shakespeare class here at Regent's Park. They are much braver souls than I. Of course, they asked Bill for his analysis and opinions about his plays. :-)

We love them, yeah, yeah, yeah! We love them, yeah yeah yeah! With a love like that, I had to take a picture! (Kinda cool since I saw Sir Paul in concert last summer! That was the most amazing concert of MY LIFE!)

Since the Dalai Lama is coming to visit Emory in the fall, I introduced myself. We are on a first name basis. Everyone, meet Dalai. :-)



(You have to pay money to go get your picture with Obama.)
Pictured below is a Good American:
....then we headed down to the dungeons. (where they made us turn ALL cameras off.)

Vlad the Impaler- he's one twisted person!

Thank you, Dear Madame Tussuad! I enjoy your handicraft so much!



After Madame Tussuad's, we all went to Her Majesty's Theatre to see a matinee performance of The Phantom of the Opera. Jackie had never seen it before. I think this is the BEST production I have seen of Phantom! (Including the production done in the NYC!) The Phantom was phenomenal. Unlike the movie, all actors COULD SING! and they had talent! I was so happy and completely in my element all afternoon. I left Her Majesty's Theatre with the happiest smile on my face.

We decided to try heading back to Oxford. So, we went to King's Cross Station and got our tickets for Platform 9 3/4. It was a fun enjoyable visit to Diagon Alley.


(Picture is of Sherlock Holmes at the Baker Street underground station!)
Then, we ran into the complication of rush hour. People were EVERYWHERE! We were all exhausted. And every route we needed to get to Paddington Station was blocked, making it a complicated series changes we had to make to get to the train station. It got to the point that I wanted to throw all of my stuff everywhere (My backpack and purse) and just sit on the ground. Jackie reminded me that CCTV was watching and would probably arrest me. CCTV was everywhere.....always watching. ALWAYS.....just like the eye. It's always watching, precious! We were on our final underground train to Paddington Station when the conductor stopped the train and proceeded to check it for a passenger who was smoking. He had seen this passenger on CCTV. In England, if you smoke, you are subject to extremely harsh laws. You can't smoke in any public place.....or you face an epic fine. (Yes, that is a technical term.) That small episode made me happy. They take the no smoking law seriously here, so people with asthma can enjoy London without gagging incessantly. It's very polite of the British. True to form.



Anyway, we got back to Oxford safe and sound after an epic adventure!

Cheers from London/Oxford!
J.