The other day, I decided to shake things up a bit. Instead of going to Sainsbury’s for my groceries, I Google-mapped the nearest Marks and Spencer’s. Following Google’s’ directions and having no idea where I was going, I walked 15 minutes and found myself at Hay’s Galleria, a wharf turned shopping centre replete with swanky restaurants, a Boots pharmacy and other shops. As I walked around, I realized that I was right on the edge of the shimmering Thames river and could see the HMS Belfast, the London Bridge and the Tower of London off in the distance.
View from the Hay's Galleria
Not wanting to draw undue attention to myself, I decided to bottle up the torrent of emotion welling up inside me. I screamed, but just in my mind. If I had actually screamed it would have sounded like a cross between a mother struggling to give birth and a death rattle from a dying old woman. Life and death. Heavy, man.
I had already visited Boots to stock up on ibuprofen and other essentials (hey there London nightlife! You sure make me look and feel like crap!) and was laden with bags, but I crossed the bridge anyway. Always seeking to make the moment more special, I turned on my iPod and played Au Palais’ “Tender Mercy” EP. I swear to god, they wrote and recorded that album standing on the bridge, looking out at the Thames, because the music was absolutely perfect. The shimmering beats reflected the sparkling waves of the river, the heavy bass evoked the rhythm of the cars and buses as they passed, and the delicate vocals brought to life the fragility of such monuments of history.
Hay's Galleria
And there it was–the Tower of London, standing there as it had for centuries, a quiet reminder of tragedy and death. Ever since I had first picked up that fictionalized diary of Elizabeth I in the fifth grade, I had dreamed about visiting the Tower. The medieval starkness of the stone exterior seemed to be emblazoned on the skyline, a shocking contrast to the shiny modern buildings that surrounded it.
There's a Gerkin near that Tower!
To describe how I felt when I walked across the bridge and found myself in front of the Tower would be impossible. All I felt was a certainty that I would never forget this moment. It was poignant beyond words. I wandered along the Thames, looking up at the Tower as the sun set on the city. At one point, I felt a shiver down my spine–I was just so aware of how special this moment was. There are few times in my life where I have been really aware, in the moment, but this was one of them. I will never forget that cold, blistery walk across the river, my deep contemplation of the Tower of London.
Tower of London
Oh and Marks and Spencer is, perhaps, the greatest grocery store ever. They sell single-serving glasses of wine. Genius.
This is how it's done in England
