We travelled the hour into the heart of the city with the underground, my travel partner a little more tired than myself. (My advice about taking a nap on the plane was ignored and most certainly regretted). We did get lost a little towards the hotel (who knew there were THREE Travelodge's within walking distance of Kings Cross?!?) and when we did finally find the hotel we were unable to check in for at least 40 minutes. The jetleg was not too bad we found which made the adjustment for my travel partner easier. I have been abroad before but my travel partner has not and I was worried about the transition but true to character he handleded it like a champ or is really good at saving face.
Seeing as it was his first time abroad I decided that a hotel instead of a hostel would be the best option and I am glad if not for him but for me for this choice. There is something great about having your own space at the end of a long day of walking around. Although the hotel was not the Ritz Carilton it got the job done and to me nothing else matters. We have been here for a week and although the garbage is often not changed and there are no phones to get a hold of the front desk and the little incident of the fire alarm was a true annoyance it was a nice private place at the end of the day.
What I learned about London this trip:
Do not expect good costumer service
Coming from Canada where every where you go (with exceptions obviously) has fairly good costumer service it seems that it is almost non exisistent here. There are a lot of people here who are rude and indifferent to you as a costumer. There were often times throughout the week we would feel snubbed and ignored. Perhaps we were choicing the wrong places or they were having a bad day, whatever the reason was they were all rude. Although they were rude that still did not change my love for London, much like New York sometimes people are just rude little wankers.
There will never be enough time to experience the true London
Six days was certainly NOT enough time here in the city. There were moments in our week when we would wander down a street and find sites and stores that we did not read or hear about. Camden Market and Covent Gardens both housed wonderful markets full of treasures everywhere you looked. If it were not for the fact that we are backpacking for the next couple months I would have bought hundreds of dollars worth of stuff. It was overcrowded with pushy people selling their stuff but the time spent there is high on the list of the highlights of the trip. The city goes beyond the markets and the shops it is even the parks that it holds. There are parks almsot everywhere with impossibly green grass that invite you to just lie down and enjoy your surroundings. Lying around in the grass in the parks after the long flight was a kind of relaxing therapy which was just what the doctor ordered.
The London Eye is WAY overrated. The London Eye is one of those iconic London Landmarks right beside Big Ben and Buckingham Palace but it does not compete it to the value of your pound. Having been on the London Eye before I may have forgotten the true experience but in memory it seemed worth it so when my travel partner was forking over the £60 for the fast track tickets I was all giddy for the sites we were about to witness. The dirty truth of the experience though is that you see some great sites but you are stuck in a pill with 16 other people who may or may not allow you to see the parliament buildings and may or may not have screaming children. True there are sites of the city you would not be able to experience elsewhere but it just is not worth the pound.
You never get used to being on the wrong side of the road
The one time we took the bus it made me dizzy staring out the window at the traffic. Why must the Brits make it hard on themselves and drive on opposite side of the road? Watching them attempt any kind of turns I cringe everytime because the motion looks so unnatural. Even walking around the city you always forget which way the traffic is coming from and can easily get hit by an uncoming bus. The buses too are driven by wankers who find it necessary to speed pass you and come as close to the cross walk as humanly possible.
The London Zoo is one great place
We spent a Sunday there and minus the annoying children and the parents who couldn't seem to control their offspring the London Zoo was the best Zoo I have ever been to. The exhibits are large and interactive with monkeys climbing branches overhead as you wonder exhibits and birds allowed to roam free. The animals seem to enjoy an audience and become more active when they know there are humans around watching them. The penguin habitat alone was beautifully massive with penguins hopping out of the water out of happiness.
The Royals know how to live. We went to Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace all in one day and all that can be said is that it is all extreme levels of extravagant. Grand ballrooms, elegant rooms and massive well kept gardens that make you sad no matter where your home is. The building themselves are old and add a look to them that awe you no matter how many times you see it. That is kind of the ongoing theme of all of London, the contrast between old buildings to modern architecture all rest beside each other manages to fit and make sense.
Together we are learning more and more about each other as the days go by. We are one week in and I still love him no matter how many times he decides to go to Subway and he loves me no matter how many pictures I take. For better or worse, on the good days and bad we are in it together for the next three months. He is teaching me to relax and take things slow and I am hoping I am getting him to open his world and mind to the outside world. Tomorrow we are off to Nottingham and will miss London dearly but I am excited for the more quite side of England.
Travel partner quote of the week: "How do I shower?"
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