The Good with the Bad

So, turns out that because of the severe weather (you remember that horrible, unbearable two inches of snow that fell last week, right?) GPS was void leading me to have only three days working one-on-one as a teaching assistant with a severely autistic boy. My paycheck is going to such a sad and tiny little thing. Stupid UK inability to deal with snow.

*sigh* On the bright side, my weekend, or at least my Saturday, mostly made up for my horrible and rather depressing week.

Yesterday I went out with Christa. We met at Green Park station and walked over to Buckingham Palace to watch the Changing of the Guard. In complete contrast to last weekend, this one boasted blue skies and bright sunshine. Which, of course, meant that the crowds at Buckingham Palace were insane; people were everywhere! We originally had a spot off to one side but opted to move for a try at a better view  and, gradually getting pretty darn close to the gate with an okay, if not great, view. It was pretty awesome but I will definitely be needing to go back again for a try at a better view.

Afterward, I had my first experience in a legitimate British pub where I, of course, had the fish and chips at long last. It was...underwhelming. Maybe I've just had sampled too much of the Canadian imitatioin but, um, yeah, I've had better. The pub - which of course had a dorky name, "Bag O Nails" - was really busy so the waitress' visits tended to be few and far between. It was still an awesome British experience overall - and, heck, isn't indifferent service and subpar food sort of a staple all its own of the pub scene? Next time I'll get the burger.

We then pretty much just took to aimlessly wandering about London. We went back to Buckingham Palace for some photos minus the crowds, then made our way down to Covent Garden and then across to Big Ben and Westminster station.

It was a pretty awesome day overall, no contest. And if you're interested in seeing more photos, they're loaded on my Facebook page just waiting for your eyeballs to wander over.

Today started off sunny but it's gotten greyer and darker as the day's gone on. I've been using it as a lounge-about day so not much has gone on; I've just been writing one thing or another and watching episodes of Eureka. Fingers crossed that this week leads me to a happier paycheck.

Until I next update, I bid you all adieu!