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Sunday; Day 6. Today I have been invited to go to the Rivington Street Festival (a mini music festival on a mini street!) with my new friend Rob. Rob Clark. But I like to call him Robert. And he doesn't appreciate it apparently! (shame that!)...My new friend Robert is a friend of a friend from Adelaide and he suggested to catch up and said he would look after me while I was in town. I immediately notice his ravishing navy blue shirt with brown bulldogs patterned all over it when I meet him (it was shocking!) and this is how I identify him for the rest of the day! :) ...
At the festival, I get to meet his Australian mate, Tyson who has been working in London for several months while traveling, and I also get to meet his Italian friend, Alessandro! Tyson is a cool dude and is your typical Aussie miner from Queensland. Alessandro is lovely and is your typical flamboyant yet charming Italian gentleman! I like them. And despite Robert's permanent sarcasm and one-liners, I like him too. (I know you're reading this Rob!)
We chill out and talk about each other's travels before I head off to catch a tube and meet another friend; one of my Baha'i friends that I met when I arrived! His name is Dumazi and he offered to show me around and take me to a museum while in London. We meet at Piccadilly Circus and walk all the way to Tate Gallery passing by all the tourist hot spots such as Trafalgar Square and Buckingham Palace, and stopping at all the main attractions like Big Ben, Westminster Abbey and London Eye to take some touristy photos.
Across on South Bank, working our way towards the Gallery, we approach a small pedestrian tunnel. As we get deeper into the tunnel I hear these beautiful sounds getting louder. Suddenly, we see a group of 5 guys with absolutely amazing a cappella voices busking up against the wall for all the passers-by. They were all singing together in various harmony's and octaves but I'd never heard anything quite like it. Despite how busy the tunnel is, we stop and I begin filming them on my camera. There's no chance I'm going to miss witnessing (and recording) the most sensational sounds my ears ever did hear! I later discover they are a group that have been touring together since 2008 and are originally from South Africa. They are called 'Simply Soweto Encha' and they're actually performing around the country over the next couple of months but unfortunately the timing won't be right for me to see them...I seriously suggest you YouTube them though. And I'll upload the video I took on Facebook tomorrow! Obviously you feel the energy and hear their tones better in real life but at least you'll get to hear/see what I'm on about :)
We spend a couple of hours looking in the Tate Gallery...I liked the majority of the art and was in awe of a couple of artists but some were a little questionable to say the least! That's the beauty of it though right?!
So after a lovely afternoon with amazing weather, we walk back to Piccadilly Circus and I catch the tube to Temple station to meet up with Robert, Tyson and Alessandro again and some of their other friends who were rather merry but very friendly! We head to a massive pub called Walkabout to watch a World Cup game and then head across the road to a party-boat that sits docked on the river Thames where people drink and quite obviously, party! Alessandro apparently knows the guys that manage it and so onboard we go. Can definitely say that I didn't last long as the boat swayed left to right constantly - and I was the sober one so I don't know how the others coped haha!
After a long day of sightseeing, meeting new people and walking around half of London, I head home forcing Robert and Tyson to walk me home so I wasn't alone. Much to their resistance, we catch a tube and they walk me all the way to my apartment in Shoreditch. (That's how it should be though hey!) :) thanks boys.
Another amazing day in London and a great finish to the weekend. Really enjoying every moment so far. Surely tomorrow will be a day to rest?...
- comments
jill What a loverly bunch of people you have been blessed with to assist you during your stay in the Capital. Lucky you!!! x