Nothing like ending a trip in a city erupting in riots.

My ferry ride to London quickly created growing concern over going into London as the BBC showed images of escalating violence spreading across London. I spent much of my journey with my eyes glued to the television with fear about the unpredictable nature of the youths who have taken over the streets in so many parts of London. To be honest, i was more than scared and really felt uncomfortable going to my hotel in Maryleborne, between Camden and Ealing where violence was present. I didn't know what to do but had few options so i prepared myself to become hyper-alert and ready to run at any point. On a more positive note, I'm so glad i took the ferry! It was a beautiful and smooth journey. The ferry was really like a cruise ship and I wasn't exactly expecting that. When i booked the ferry I thought it would be more like the ferries to Marthas Vineyard and didn't expect much. After the nearly 6 hour trip to Harwich, I got off the boat, went through customs, and got on the train to London. Luckily, my hotel was only about 1/4 mile from the tube station and i made it there safely with no problems. When I finally got to the hotel room, i immediately turned on the BBC to see what had happened since i last watched. More violence had spread with fires erupting and shameless looting occurring everywhere. The images were disgusting and frustrating. These youngsters acting like animals with no concern for their community or each other. As an activist for peace and nonviolence, it's hard to understand how an originally peaceful protest to the death of a young man could turn into such horrible and disgusting disorder. And being here in london, i learned in the morning that i wasn't the only person in the city who felt the same. After i finally fell asleep to the sounds of sirens echoing throughout the neighborhood, i woke early in the morning, watched more of the news, and decided to walk around a little bit before my personal curfew of 4:00 p.m. I went to breakfast and the radio dj's spoke of the "idiots" who were running the streets looting and setting things on fire. As I walked down the streets, I overheard several conversations about the disgust of what has been going on, the confusion over why this was even happening, and again those "idiots" needing to stop. The police presence was definitely visible in several areas I walked through which provided some comfort, but not that much. I managed to do some touristy things and didn't come across any issues. I definitely freaked myself out when i saw a big crowd of people a little ways down the road... Then i realized it was a line to get into Madame Toussaud's and my heart stopped pounding so much. I made my way to a kind of nerdy stop: 221b Baker Street, aka Sherlock Holmes! I feel like it was a walk down memory lane because i remember reading Sherlock Holmes with my mom when I was younger.  It was really cool, but it was even more awesome because there was a beetles store RIGHT next door! After i checked that out, i went to Trafalgar Square so i could spend some time at the National Portrait Gallery. The Square was so beautiful and you could see Big Ben and Westminster Abbey down the road. I really enjoyed the portrait gallery, especially because admission was free, but the art ranged from the Victorian period to current, even some Andy Warhol. They had an exhibition called the BP Portrait Awards and there were definitely some interesting paintings, but some of the oils and acrylics of peoples faces looked more like a photograph. The detail just "brilliant" as the British would say. The most interesting was a self portrait sculpture (I guess you would call it) that actually was made partially from the artists own blood. It was in a refrigerated case -- definitely weird. After the museum i walked down to the river, checked out the London Eye, Westminster  Abbey, Big Ben, St James Park, Buckingham Palace, Green Park, and Piccadilly Circus. I decided to grab lunch at the Dover Castle, a pub my friend Michele worked at when she spent some time in London. I had a nice pint of  nut brown ale and fish and chips. More talk about the riots could be overheard in conversations throughout the pub. It was near time to head back to my hotel so i stopped by the grocery store then headed to my room. Aside from being a little panicked about walking into a riot, i had a really good day walking around and seeing some of the sights. Now, I'll have a well deserved night off and relax in my hotel room. After 3 weeks of traveling, I think i need this. Tomorrow is the big day where i finally board the plane to go home. There's been plenty of ups and downs right to the bitter end (thank you, London youths for helping me end my trip with a bang), but its been an amazing experience.