Street Entry #2: Maps and Sightseeing

I have visited London three times now, and the city still is not any less intimidating than it first was. The layout of the streets is arbitrary and confusing, and the direction of the traffic confuses me even more. This last Tuesday, I set out with a group of people, my map in tow, and we tried to make sense of the little numbers on the page and the enormous buildings all around us. My eyes switched from map to building, and then from map to street sign over and over again, looking for what we were supposed to be looking at. Oh look, we found the Savoy, take a picture, so let's turn here and wait, is this right? Should we wait for the next block and then turn left? This is how the majority of the conversation sounded during the Wilde walk.
It was extremely hard to reconcile time spent reading a map and appreciating what we saw. It took much effort and collaboration within the group to find our bearings, navigate through the people, streets, and traffic. However, we finally stumbled upon a generic building where J.M. Barrie happened to live. The little numbers definitely proved worth seeing in the end. However, I know I missed many interesting buildings along the way and looked like a major buffoon stopping at every intersection to bury my face in my map. On the other hand, if I had no map and simply walked around the city, I would have seen everything, but walked past the window of the room where J. M. Barrie lived, never knowing this interesting piece of history. On the next London excursion, I will either figure out how to reconcile the map and sightseeing or follow around someone else willing to do so.