Thursday 20/1/11

We went to Wimbledon today!!! 

My friend Gaylen goes to school in Cambridge England and when I told her I was going to London for J-Term she said we should meet up! So that's exactly what we did! This morning she came to London by train right to Russell Square.  I met her there and we started our day.  We got on the tube and attempted to travel to Wimbledon. But there was only one problem…I had the map and I got us on the wrong train.  But we got off at the next stop and continued the right way this time because Gaylen led the way.  Once we got there, we took the long way around the whole park accidentally (this time because of Gaylen’s directions) but it was so worth going the long way.  I got to see the English countryside which I wasn’t able to see before because we were always in the city!  It crazy to see all the grass here- which is so green even in January! I saw some people playing golf on the course when we walked by and also people playing tennis! It’s crazy to think they can do that now because in America, we have snow at this time of the year! But after about a mile and a half scenic walk, we finally arrived at Wimbledon where the big wigs play-Roger Federer, Raphael Nadal, Maria Sharapova, etc.  It was surreal to think that I was actually there in the stands! It was a great experience! After we toured centre court, we went to the museum that was right across the way.   

We spent a while there looking at how tennis came to be and the old clothing and rackets that were used back then.  After the museum, we took a couple more pictures and then headed back to the tube.  We got off at Temple station and walked a little bit to the Temple church which was where the DaVinci code took place in the end.  It was a very cool thing to see. The church was beautiful from the outside… (It was closed so we couldn’t go in) but you could see the detail in the architecture.  I loved it.  Then we went on to Fleet Street (where Sweeney Todd was based) and had dinner at a pub.  Like all the others, the pub food was very great! After dinner we came back to Russell Square and then Gaylen had to go back to Cambridge.  I had a great day with her and I’m very glad we could meet up today! So that was my action-filled day! Tomorrow we are getting up early to catch the train to Paris! Until then, I’m outta here for the last time in London! Cheerio!

Brittni and Gaylen with Center Court in the Background

Question of the Day: What museum did you visit today that was not on the itinerary? 

We visited the Tennis Museum! I love tennis a lot so it was really interesting to see how they played back in the olden days.  The rackets, the balls, the outfits! They were all so different then the high tech things we have now- the rackets that cost upwards of $600.00 or the clothing that is now made of comfort stretch and sweat absorbing material.  Did you know guys back then wore pants, and sweater vests while playing tennis? Can you believe how hot and uncomfortable that would be?! But now fortunately people don't have to worry about that they have all the comfort they need while playing outside on a hot day.