We started our day with a free walking tour that starts at Hyde Park.
I love the parks in London. In the morning, the grass is wet and dewy from the weather and if you look across the park you can't see through the mist and fog and it really makes you feel like you're in London.
The walking tour took us to Buckingham Palace and included numerous historic stops (including Prince Henry's house!) where our guide shared lots of stories about the past.
Outside Buckingham Palace
Tried to take a selfie with the Palace but our heads are too big.
The tour was engaging, but man oh man was it a chilly morning. By noon the sun came out and I don't think you've ever seen a bunch of of Southern Cali people flock to the sun as fast as we did.
Josef is a brave soul to touch the horse. There's a sign that says they bite!
After the tour ended, Super Nel and I went to visit the Florence Nightengale museum. I was most excited to visit a museum about the woman who changed the nursing profession and helped shape it towards what it is today. The museum is small in comparison to largely funded ones but what they do with the material inside brings the content to life! The small space is broken up into three main sections: Florence Nightengale's life growing up, her influences during the Crimean War and after the war. There was fake green shrubbery that gave the walls texture and these tiny bubbles imbedded into the shrubs. If you look through the bubbles you see these amazing photos from history. Also there were a variety of listening stations with headphones that create engaging moments with the historical content.
I loved learning about the influences Florence Nightengale had growing up that led up to her passion for nursing. She traveled to different countries with family friends and met politicians. It was there that she visited various convents that were hospitals at that time. She didn't like what she saw and wanted to find a way to improve the environment for the sick. Her spark for nursing was ignited. And as we all know, every revolution begins with a spark (Hunger Games reference). Florence was born into an upper middle class family and it was expected of her to get married and have children and to be a good wife. However, she couldn't stop advocating and learning about the treatment of patients in hospitals. Her parents wanted her to forget this passion for nursing and caring for the sick and work on finding a husband.
Florence also had a passion for animals.
She loved to rescue sick animals and nurse them back to health. Her favorite was her pet owl, Athena, who she cared for until she was healthy and then kept her as a companion. When she passed away Florence said "Poor little beastie. It was odd how much I loved you." Florence also enjoyed writing. She wrote numerous papers and stories about nursing, science and about her travels. As I was walking through the museum I found myself finding similar traits about this amazing pioneer and myself.
After the Crimean War ended and Florence continued to work towards improving the nursing profession people praised her efforts. However she constantly turned down any praise saying that the work she does as a nurse can only be accomplished with the help of others. A true teamplayer. She worked nonstop to teach new nurses about hygiene and wound care. Her days were full of work and her passion for nursing is what drove her to work herself to the point of sickness. I've been called a workaholic a few times by my friends. As silly as this might sound, I found myself telling Super Nel that a part of me feels like there's a little Florence Nightengale inside me.
After the museum, we got lost looking for Indian food and by the time we gave up it was late afternoon. We went back to the hostel for a much needed nap. When I woke up, the guys were planning to join a Camden Pub Crawl. I wasn't feeling too "crawl like" so I chose to stay behind with
Jose, Chris, Maria and Adel. They had spent the day eating in a Crypt underground (how awesome is that!) and exploring the city on foot (the tube is expensive!). So the five of us found some fish and chips in the West End and enjoyed some beer and cidar. Before we left the restaurant, the bartender sent over some free shots that were delicious. It's the British version of a sex on the beach and it's made with vodka. The shot was tasty-not too sweet but it was obvious it was a creeper. So we headed back to the hostel before any of us became too liquored up.
In the common room that night, we enjoyed more cidar and shared stories from our day. These friends will be leaving to Prague after Amsterdam and I was happy to spend some time with friends in another country. When most of the group had gone to sleep Jose and I stayed up reminiscing. We've been friends since we met many years ago working at the rec center. I love it when you have a friend that has seen many different parts of your life and they support your adventures. We love knowing that each of us has found happiness and a passion for travel with someone we love.
I went to bed around midnight and before bed I learned that the pub crawl wouldn't be back until close to 3am. I was happy I'd stayed behind since my body was running on empty and really needed to refuel my batteries. I didn't do a hostel shower since I was too tired to play Pink Panther and sneak in and out of room quietly to get my stuff. Jose on the other hand told me he'd forgotten to pack flip flops. When I told him Super Nel wouldn't mind if they shared,he said he had a better idea: he was going to use plastic bags and put them on his feet to shower. While I lay in bed I could hear the sound of plastic bags rustling outside my room and my last thought before sleeplyland was "Necessity is the mother of all invention."
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