I spent two nights in England between signing off the ship and flying home to The States. After an overnight in Southampton (sign off port), I took the train to London to hang out for the day. Spent the day with Henry Saxby (a musician who had signed off with me on May 5), his girlfriend, and a couple of his friends who live in London. Henry used to have a steady gig at at piano bar in London and his friends still run the place. It was fun talking to them and learning a little bit about running a music venue from the inside. Nice people and we had a great afternoon at a pub called The Blue Anchor right on the Thames River.
The terrific weather continued into an absolutely GORGEOUS day on May 7. Some of my friends from the ship came to London for the morning. We met up with a local friend, Jamie, and he showed us all around London. So many highlights, so many hotspots. It was a spectacular morning. Exemplary weather. Flawless company. We saw Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, ate English breakfast, saw Buckingham Palace, checked out Trafalgar Square, toured the West End, visited Picadilly Square, shopped for outrageous souvenirs, visited the saxophone store to beat all saxophone stores, and even had time for a proper English ale in a pub. I just wish this could've lasted longer.
The pictures below tell some of the tale. Some great shots here. The weather…the locations…all amazing. To be fair, however, I'd voluntarily go to an economics lecture if it meant I could spend time with these folks. We all exchanged hugs in the underground train before parting for the last time. Walking off that carriage without them was extraordinarily difficult for me. These are great fuckin' people. Some of them I'll see again very soon. Hopefully, it won't be too long before I see the others. I'm really going to miss them.
A bridge on the Thames near The Blue Anchor.
Fish and chips. Had to do it!
View of the Thames from The Blue Anchor.
The London Eye.
L to R: Marissa, Sam, me, Beau, Suzie, Shannon, Dustin
"Hey kids! Big Ben. Parliament!"
St. Margaret's Church in Westminster's Abbey.
Buckingham Palace.
Awkward single photos.
Me and Shannon.
The gang.
The girls.
A guard.
Flower garden near Buckingham Palace.
Trafalgar Square monument.
Deep down, you can tell the Shannon is a Detroit Lions fan.
Trafalgar Square.
West End. I want to come back for a show (or two).
Beau and Dustin derpin' out in the sax store.
Yes. That's Dustin playing a contrabass saxophone.
And yes. He played "Careless Whisper." #derp
A Detroit Lion in London.
Good friends in the pub.
Still have public telephone booths in London.
No comments:
Post a Comment