Chapter 3 - London - my first full day as a Londoner

It was not much of a breakfast, just orange juice and a crusty bun with cold butter and marmalade. ‘Continental’ they called it. I’m not sure why. England is on an island. The dining room was really elegant. Tall windows and white linen. We were at three big tables in the corner by the window and I could see out onto the main street near Victoria Station. Some of the buildings near us are really old with lots of brick and plaster decoration. I tried to pretend what it would be like to live here and look out over this street every day, but everyone was talking and it was too hard to imagine I was anything but part of a big noisy group of band students. Especially when Justine McBride yelled out “Hey, where’s the jam? Don’t they know about jam in England?” The waiters gave us this look. When you are sitting at the same table it’s hard to pretend you’re not with the same group so I just took a larger helping of marmalade to try to signal that it is exactly what I wanted and I wouldn’t have jam even if it was available.

Cars drive by really fast in London and on the wrong side of the road. It takes me about five minutes to cross the street ‘cause I have to stop and remember which way to look so I don’t get smucked. We all walked to Westminster Abbey where there was a choir service on before we could have our practice. It was so beautiful I felt tears coming to my eyes. I didn't recognize the music but resolved right then and there that someday I would join a choir that sings music like that. It was almost as good practicing our piece with the sound floating up high in echoing awves. So much lovelier than playing in the gym at school. We went for a walk around the area after practice. Westminster Abbey is an imposing white building in its own park and right across the street is Big Ben and the houses of Parliament, just like in the photos. I can’t believe I am really here!

We got back to the hotel using the Underground. The tickets are made of yellow cardboard. You put them into a machine and it spits it back to you before letting you through. Then you have to keep the ticket because at the end you have to put it in another machine that swallows it then lets you out. There are maps of the Underground everywhere so we could work out how to get back. I love those maps. Every line has its own colour and the whole thing looks like a piece of art. I’ve decided to call it ‘The Tube’, because I heard people who look like they live here call it that.

Most of the others went to sleep in the afternoon but I didn’t want to waste one minute so I took my little walking map and wandered all over the area looking in shops and houses. I have to buy something really good to take back to Mom and Dad, Sidney and Sam, so I will have to do a lot of looking first before I choose what to buy. Normally I just buy the first thing I see but I am trying to change my bad habits.