In the animated Disney movie The Croods, a family of cavemen is forced to flee from “The End”, otherwise known as the splitting of the Pangea. Up until the beginning of The End, the family had been living in the safety of a cave, following the rules set down by the father Grug. According to the rules, everything new is bad, which leads to a pretty boring life. The family is thrown into a new world when their cave collapses and are faced with the task of finding a new cave to bring them safety.
At the end of their first day, they are saved from carnivorous birds by Guy, the love interest of the daughter Eep, and his fire. When the next day comes, Grug decides to hold Guy captive on their journey so the family has access to fire. Guy, however, is on his own mission: to escape The End by riding the sun to Tomorrow. To this end, he convinces Grug that the best place to find a cave is the mountain on the distant horizon.
The family, at seeing how far away the mountain is, start to voice their opbjection. Ugga, the mother, says, “I don’t know, Grug. We’ve never really walked that far.” The nine-year-old Thunk says, “I don’t think my feet can do that.” And Gran, Grug’s mother-in-law, says, “I’ll never live long enough to get there.” This last objection is, of course, what seals the deal.
This past week I went to London for the second half of my spring break, and Thunk’s doubtful sentiment came to mind multiple times. The most memorable instance was on the last day when Liz and I were walking back to Victoria Station from Buckingham Palace. We had unknowingly gone to the palace shortly before the changing of the guards was to take place, so of course we decided to stay and watch. What we didn’t realize was that “shortly before” was actually 45 minutes to an hour.
While this took a toll on our feet, we did have some entertainment in the form of the police officer who was in charge of organizing our area of the sidewalk. Barriers had been set up along the road, and two had been set at an angle back along the walk, both on the road side of the walk and the side that backed up against the palace gates, to provide a guideline to create an aisle down the middle of it. People were supposed to stand behind the imaginary line extending from the end of those two barriers and the aisle would be formed.
A lot of people, however, didn’t seem to get it. Whenever a group or person stopped to stand in the wrong place, out police officer would say one of the following phrases: “I don’t think you’re standing there. You need to move down.” “ Don’t stop to take a selfie. There’s no room there, you need to move down.” Or my personal favorite: “The palace will still be there when it’s over. You can take pictures of it then. You need to move down.” His sarcastic comments provided Liz and I with endless laughter during the seemingly endless wait for the changing.
After we finally saw the changing of the guards, we had to make our way back to the Victoria Station area, which was a bit of a walk away. We still had about three hours until we actually had to get on our train, so we were trying to decide what to do. We decided to walk to the small park near the station and sit and people watch for a while. As soon as we set off down the crowded side walk, Thunk’s voice popped into my head proclaiming that my feet couldn’t do that. And as my stomach growled, Gran’s voice told me that I wouldn’t live long enough to get there. I couldn’t help but laugh. Luckily, Liz and I found a little place to stop and get one of the best hot dogs I’ve ever had, so I did survive the walk to the park.
At the end of their first day, they are saved from carnivorous birds by Guy, the love interest of the daughter Eep, and his fire. When the next day comes, Grug decides to hold Guy captive on their journey so the family has access to fire. Guy, however, is on his own mission: to escape The End by riding the sun to Tomorrow. To this end, he convinces Grug that the best place to find a cave is the mountain on the distant horizon.
The family, at seeing how far away the mountain is, start to voice their opbjection. Ugga, the mother, says, “I don’t know, Grug. We’ve never really walked that far.” The nine-year-old Thunk says, “I don’t think my feet can do that.” And Gran, Grug’s mother-in-law, says, “I’ll never live long enough to get there.” This last objection is, of course, what seals the deal.
This past week I went to London for the second half of my spring break, and Thunk’s doubtful sentiment came to mind multiple times. The most memorable instance was on the last day when Liz and I were walking back to Victoria Station from Buckingham Palace. We had unknowingly gone to the palace shortly before the changing of the guards was to take place, so of course we decided to stay and watch. What we didn’t realize was that “shortly before” was actually 45 minutes to an hour.
While this took a toll on our feet, we did have some entertainment in the form of the police officer who was in charge of organizing our area of the sidewalk. Barriers had been set up along the road, and two had been set at an angle back along the walk, both on the road side of the walk and the side that backed up against the palace gates, to provide a guideline to create an aisle down the middle of it. People were supposed to stand behind the imaginary line extending from the end of those two barriers and the aisle would be formed.
A lot of people, however, didn’t seem to get it. Whenever a group or person stopped to stand in the wrong place, out police officer would say one of the following phrases: “I don’t think you’re standing there. You need to move down.” “ Don’t stop to take a selfie. There’s no room there, you need to move down.” Or my personal favorite: “The palace will still be there when it’s over. You can take pictures of it then. You need to move down.” His sarcastic comments provided Liz and I with endless laughter during the seemingly endless wait for the changing.
After we finally saw the changing of the guards, we had to make our way back to the Victoria Station area, which was a bit of a walk away. We still had about three hours until we actually had to get on our train, so we were trying to decide what to do. We decided to walk to the small park near the station and sit and people watch for a while. As soon as we set off down the crowded side walk, Thunk’s voice popped into my head proclaiming that my feet couldn’t do that. And as my stomach growled, Gran’s voice told me that I wouldn’t live long enough to get there. I couldn’t help but laugh. Luckily, Liz and I found a little place to stop and get one of the best hot dogs I’ve ever had, so I did survive the walk to the park.
As a whole, I probably walked more in London than I have the entire trip thus far, even though walking was not our only form of transportation. In London, I rode a subway system for the first time, which was exciting and fun (except for the night I had to ride it alone). It was like a giant puzzle I got to figure out. The subway system took us everywhere: Piccadilly Circus where we went to see The Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty’s Theater; St. John’s Wood, where Liz and I channeled The Beatles and got pictures on the Abbey Road crosswalk and at the Abbey Road Studio’s graffiti wall; Victoria, where I caught a bus to the Warner Bros Studio: The Making of Harry Potter tour and where Liz and I walked to Buckingham Palace from; and Westminster, where we saw Big Ben, rode the London Eye, and a group of us went to The Dungeon, a haunted-house-like exploration of London history (which I thoroughly enjoyed, despite my girlish screams throughout the whole thing).
The five days I spent in London were full of fun and excitement, and the five days I spent alone at the Park Lodge gave me some much needed alone-time and relaxation (except for the night I had to pack. Packing enough stuff in a backpack to last through four days but that will also fit an airline carry-on size requirement is definitely a challenge. I’ve never realized how much space three pairs of pants take up.).
I’m down to four weeks here. In one month (and three days) and I’ll be heading for home. The last four weekends are full of trips, and with class during the weeks I’m sure the time will fly by. This weekend we go to Ireland’s capital city Dublin. I’m sure there will be many adventures to talk about in my next post.
Until next time!
I’m down to four weeks here. In one month (and three days) and I’ll be heading for home. The last four weekends are full of trips, and with class during the weeks I’m sure the time will fly by. This weekend we go to Ireland’s capital city Dublin. I’m sure there will be many adventures to talk about in my next post.
Until next time!