London:The Who Shop

I was back in London for more cat-sitting last week and decided it was time to venture out of the city center and see The Who Shop. It was an easy journey via the London Underground. My house-sitting host had given me an Oyster card with money already on it so I didn't have to pay anything to ride the tube from Victoria Station to Upton Park, a journey that would have cost me £9.40/$15.23 round-trip if I had paid in cash (it cost £5.40/$8.75 when using my card). If you're going to visit London and plan to do much non-walking traveling at all I highly recommend getting an Oyster card. You can get visitor cards at various tube, overground, and rail stations in London.

The Who Shop was a short walk from the tube station and in an area with a variety of interesting shops and restaurants. The shop itself was fairly small, but really packed with all sorts of Doctor Who items. I found a little backpack for £3/$4.84 that will be perfect for carrying bottles of water and snacks while in Jordan.

There's also a "museum" in the back of the shop filled with props and things from over the 50 years Doctor Who has been on the air. I paid the £3/$4.84 to go back for a look. You enter by unlocking the TARDIS in the shop, which is a nice touch. That alone is worth the £3 to many Whovians. The museum wasn't terribly impressive, but now I can say I've been.

I'd only recommend going to The Who Shop and seeing the museum bit if you are a totally crazed Whovian, otherwise it's not worth the trip nor the £3. 

The Necropolis

So, because I'm not a huge fan of partying I didn't enjoy Glasgow very much. (My fellow travelers at the hostel here in Oban assure me Glasgow has fantastic warehouse parties.) Originally, I thought I'd stay there for a week then go to Oban for a day. Two days were plenty for me in Glasgow, but I think I could stay in Oban forever. I did enjoy my tour of The Necropolis though. It was a gorgeous cemetery patterned after the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. Here are the highlights:

The Outside, Northwest corner

Ghoul Gate near the entrance

Weeping Angels. Don't Blink. 

The best-preserved monument I saw. Many of them were missing pieces, leaning, or had fallen over. This one was nearly perfect. It was also about 20' tall. 

Glasgow isn't always rainy, here's proof. 

More Weeping Angels. I think I was being followed. 

The variation on monuments even next to each other was amazing. 

Saw this on my way from my hostel to my guesthouse. This was before I saw the Weeping Angels. 

This is just outside the Necropolis, seen after the Weeping Angels. 

The really odd thing about The Necropolis was the smell. I kept smelling men's cologne as I walked around it, both inside and outside the cemetery.