Pages

Thursday, May 21, 2015

(Almost) All the Animals!

These next few days are considered our travel weekend for the program. Sarah and I were going to try to go to the Lake District over here (because we aren't allowed to leave the country), but that fell through because we don't have a car, nor are we allowed to rent one, nor would I be comfortable renting one and driving in England on the wrong side of the road. So we stayed home and decided to do day trips instead.

Today's trip kept us in London, but we saw some pretty exotic things. Today, Sarah and I went to the London Zoo. It was amazing and I am so glad we went.

I haven't been to a zoo in years, but I've wanted to go for quite some time. It was perfect.

I've never been the one in charge of navigation through the city because Kenna is far and away the best at it. But it was just the two of us today and I am pleased to announce that we were quite successful in getting to where we wanted to go without getting lost. I am a competent traveler! That's always a good realization.

When we got to the zoo, right before we purchased tickets, an employee had us stand in front of a green screen and pose as she took our pictures. We were confused, but we went along with it. I'd honestly forgotten about that by the time we were leaving the zoo, but then, right before the exit gate, there was a booth full of little books with the pictures taken before entry. It was the funniest thing I've seen and I was a little tempted to buy it, but I'm already bringing home seven books, and I can't bring home one I don't truly care about. It was funny to see, though, and it was even funnier to be there because the guy at the booth wasn't able to finish any of his sentences. We don't know why.

The zoo itself was huge. I think we were in there for four hours or so, and we didn't linger very many places. It was so fun going to the different areas, and I decided that maybe I don't want to go on safari.

The London Zoo is far more interactive than any other zoo I've been to (except maybe a petting zoo, but those animals are different); rather than have every animal in a cage, there were several attractions where you would essentially walk into a large enclosure with the animals. Sarah and I walked amongst butterflies, birds (lots and lots of birds), lemurs, and monkeys (except the monkeys weren't out so we just walked through their home). It was a little unnerving, but it was quite cool now that I look back from the comfort and safety of my bed.

We also managed to find a terrifying room about nightlife in Madagascar. It was dark and the cages were lit with red light which lent to the eerie mood. Then, in addition to the dim lighting, there were signs posted about the ay-ay and all the myths surrounding it. Because the zoo had been such an interactive experience to that point, Sarah and I had no idea what we were walking into. Nor, we thought, did we want to continue. But we did manage to stay in that room until we had examined every cage. There was an enormous jumping rat which was gross, and an empty cage for a hedgehog. Then, when we turned around to see the ay-ay, we found a sign saying that the exhibit was coming soon. On our way to the door, however, we were met with a terrifying carving of an ay-ay staring at us. I think we both screamed a little bit. That was not our favorite place.

The butterflies, however, may have been. There were butterflies everywhere and I couldn't possibly have seen them all. I was expecting it to be calm and peaceful in that area, but I was completely wrong. The adults were fine and just took pictures of the beautiful insects. The children, on the other hand, were terrified. From the sound of it, you would have thought we were in a haunted house. I hadn't imagined that children would be moved to tears of fear by butterflies, but that is indeed what happened. I hope that doesn't remain their mindset, because butterflies truly are beautiful.

After we'd seen most of the attractions we were famished and a little dizzy. We decided it was time to leave in search of food and we walked quite a ways until we found one. We have seriously been so lucky with food during this trip. Every time we've just chosen a place to eat because it's in front of us and serving food we'd eat we've found a wonderful meal. Today was no exception.

Because I was half of the group we ate Italian food (I think it may be my favorite). The place we had was cheaper than anything we've eaten close to the Centre, and the food was quite delicious. I think we'll be going back, even if it's only for the dessert sometimes (because their panna cotta was delicious).

After we had some food in our bellies we went back to Regent's Park to walk around. Regent's Park is huge. If the Energizer bunny became a park it would be Regent's Park. It's sort of similar to Central Park in NYC, but cleaner and more open. And nicer. Also, sadly, there are fewer street musicians.

We found some beautiful places and I would like to return to Regent's soon. I'm also learning that I may never be satisfied with American parks after this trip. Hopefully I'm wrong, but the parks here do make that possibility (of being wrong) very slim.

Finally, when we were so tired that our feet screamed at every step, we made our way to a tube stop and back to the Centre. We stopped at Tesco for dinner and both purchased a basket full of fruit. It was a warm day and I guess we were still full from lunch. So my dinner was fresh fruits and vegetables, and some chips. Maybe next time I should add some cheese or something, but for today it was perfect. Today was actually pretty perfect as a whole. This is a good place to be.

 Fishy fishy fishy. . . Aquariums are weirdly cool.

Did you know that piranhas are sparkly fish?




I was getting ready to take this picture when all of the fish swarmed to one corner of the tank. It was feeding time. This was the best one I got.

A pygmy hippo! It's smaller (and therefore cuter) than regular hippos.

The giraffes came so close to us!

Oh hello to you, too, sir.


In the first birdcage we entered. This bird came flying right over our heads, landed on the rail by us, fluffed up super big, and squawked. It was alarming.


Lemur! Zaboomafoo has forever influenced how I will see these animals. This was a connection to my childhood and it was amazing.


On the way down to the terrifying nighttime exhibit. Looking at the pretty lights one wouldn't expect it to be scary. . . Maybe they're going for the angler fish effect.

Reindeer!

 Penguins! This was another one of my favorite places.




Butterflies!





Sarah found a butterfly friend.

The kids you see in the mirror were freaking out. I wondered if they had never seen a butterfly in real life before.

This was the coolest clock ever.

Another bird path

Llamas! They don't smell so very good, but they're funny.



There were signs like this all over the park. Signs are a little more graphic here (there were ones with cartoon people missing a finger dripping with blood, for example). I'm sure they get their point across, though.

The tiger was sleeping, but I was still excited about it.

For Harry Potter fans. We didn't actually go in, though, because we were tired, and also we'd had enough creepy crawly for the day.

A sleeping kangaroo that has strangely humanistic traits.

While walking through Regent's Park




We found some weeping willows by the boating pond so we hung out under one for a while.




And that was today. I think it's time to rest up. Tomorrow should be an adventure, too.

No comments:

Post a Comment