London... have I been here before?
Trip Start
Apr 01, 2008
1
18
20
Trip End
Jul 24, 2009
London,
England,
United Kingdom
Saturday, July 12, 2008
After a truly horrific flight (thought the plane was going to break in 2, panic attack, tears, freaking out the chinese man beside me), words cannot describe how glad I was to finally touch down in Heathrow. I had packed the kitchen sink plus everything else, so navigating the underground with a backpack, suitcase, and laptop was not the easiest... I was getting stares everywhere I went and I have developed a permanent hunchback as a result.
ANYWAY. I was staying at the lovely Bron's apartment while in London. She lives on Abbey St, location of the famous Beatles cover and recording studio, and is one of the lucky few in London to have a 2 bdrm apartment to themselves. It was great to see her, but I was well and truly shatterd so was a rather low key night.
Friday I was meeting up with Liz, a best friend since playdoh spaghetti at kindegarten in Te Aroha, and it's crazy to think 22 years later we're hanging out together in london. Firstly though I did the token visit to Buckingham Palace, was suitably impressed, then wandered the Monopoly-named streets gazing at clothes I couldn't afford and in the vain search of internet. Liz is rather 'anti-tourist' so we decided to head to Nottinghill. I LOVED Nottinghill. So quaint, cute, and boutiquey. We spent hours eating raspberries and watching people walk past. There was a lot of style and sophistication, and London does not seem to house the calibre of people as seen in Big Brother or other reality shows such as 'Laddettes to Ladies'.
That night met up with a few other Kiwi friends. Nothing earth shattering culture shock, although I was a little gobsmacked when I saw public urinals smack bang in the middle of Covent Garden. We are talking 4-sided rather open and public standing toilets for men to relieve themselves in the middle of the street! And the sun was still out! I dunno, I see the rationale but it's still rather disgusting... Somehow we managed to end up having a boogie at an Irish Pub and catching the bus home. Seemed rather ironic to be at an irish pub chain the night before I went to Ireland but I wasn't one to argue.
And of course, typically, the last day of my real 'holiday', I wake up sick. No, not just a hangover, but actually with a flu. I had had these grand plans of doing a mega tourist day soaking up the sights, however it was hard enough dragging myself out of bed let alone trekking the streets of London. Bron and I did manage to fit in a solid chunk at the Tower of London which was very cool. If you are a history geek like me, you would also be impressed, it was pretty surreal seeing traitor's gate, the crown jewels, the place where so many royals had had their heads chopped off... but if history isn't your thing, well maybe you'd find it pretty boring! I dunno, I liked it. We also squeezed in St Pauls cathedral which was also impressive.
Then it was back to heathrow. I couldn't bear the trauma of the tube with my luggage on a sat evening so took the taxi option and resisted the urge to convert the cost in pounds back to new zealand dollars. I then got stung for extra baggage and my flight was delayed for hours whereupon I finally arrived at Dublin airport which was still in chaos from having trouble with navigational equipment or something or other all week... but the most important thing was I'd finally made it!
London was fanastic. I was surprised by how much I loved the place as I'd had visions of grey, dreariness, and unfriendly people. It was great seeing old friends plus because London is a place that you have constant pictures and footage of, it actually felt like I'd been there before when I got there. 2 days was not enough, so I'm sure I'll be back there regularly as it's only a hop, skip and a jump away.
photos still to come...
