My flight from San Francisco wasn’t too bad. Eleven hours straight on an airplane is a good way to test your sanity but I slept quite a bit and read a couple books so I was fine. Anyone who knows me won’t be surprised to know that I brought a mini library with me on the plane! I found out beforehand that “a reasonable amount of reading materials” are not counted towards your carry on or personal item so I stocked up and stuffed them into a plastic bag. Well apparently the airline’s idea of reasonable is not the same as my idea of reasonable. According to the check in counter a magazine or a book was reasonable. WHAT??? I was traveling for 16 + hours. So I broke it down for them by explaining that since it takes me two hours to read a book then I should be able to bring 8. No one tried to take my books from me so it must have worked. :)
I got to London Thursday afternoon and managed to get through customs, bought an Oyster card and took the Tube to my Hostel. Managing my luggage on the tube was my biggest fear before coming here but I was able to carry everything when I needed to. I was feeling pretty miserable by the time I got to my Hostel though. I couldn’t find a seat on the tube so I had to stand with my fifty million pound backpack and suitcase and when I finally got to the station it was raining cats and dogs. I know London is known for being rainy but this was ridiculous. Even native Londoners were bitching about it. So I walked the 15 minutes to my Hostel through puddles that were high enough to pour over the tops of my shoes and soaked me to mid thigh. Wet socks do not lead to a cheery mood but once I got settled in and changed my clothes I was back to being excited. I immediately went back out and started exploring. I started by looking for food but found that I was a little too overwhelmed to look forward to joining a crowded pub so I found a grocery store and bought some pasta and drinks. I then headed to Hyde Park with the idea of having a London picnic. I sat down on a bench and before I could even unpack my dinner I was attacked by half a dozen squirrels and a couple pigeons. Obviously these squirrels are used to being fed because two of them ran up and started pawing the purse on my lap. I tried shooing them off and then even shouting at them but it just made them angry and look a little predatory so I changed my plans to a walking and eating dinner. At one point I looked back and realized I had a trail of eight squirrels following me in the hope that I would drop something. I felt like the Pied Piper of squirrels! After it became apparent that I wasn’t going to feed them, one of them ran up to me and grabbed my pant’s leg and chittered angrily at me. Had they weighed more than a bookend I might have gotten a little intimidated but as it was I thought it was hysterical. After I had finished my food, I went to see Princess Diana's castle and took a million pictures.
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| My hostel in London |
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| One of the Squirrels that tried to get into my purse. No shame! |
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| Chittered at me for refusing to feed him! |
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| In front of Princess Diana's Castle |
Later that evening, my hostel roommate invited me to hang out in the common area with her in the hostel so I hung out for a while drinking a beer and getting an amazing amount of free food. I think I must have looked pretty rough because just about everyone offered me something. My roommate gave me beer, a trio of American guys badgered me into trying their stir fry and I also got a free sandwich and chips. Hopefully this will be a trend and I won’t have to watch my credit card commit suicide after all.
Friday morning I had to wake up at 4:30 in the morning and try to sneak out of my hostel room with my suitcase without waking up my four roommates. Not only did I fail but I couldn’t turn on the light to figure out where the book I had been reading ended up. Does anyone understand how hard it was for me to abandon a book I hadn’t finished? It was torture! It’s driving me crazy!
I checked out and headed back to the tube to meet up with my tour group. Walking through London at five in the morning was cool. It was just starting to get light and very few people were out and about. At times it felt like I was the only person in London.
I made it to the meeting spot without any trouble and met the people I'd be spending the next 12 days with and we were off to France!
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| My home for the next 12 days |
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| Kevin, our tour guide |
Goodbye London, see you in two weeks.
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