From one London to another

Trip Start May 01, 2007

Trip End Mar 02, 2008

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Flag of United Kingdom London, United Kingdom
Sunday, May 27, 2007

What I thought was a bit of a difficult predicament turned out to be a fortunate situation after all. My Round the World ticket had to be picked up from the company I purchased it from, Trailfinders, in the UK. I have lots of English friends, however they all live in Bermuda!
I am so lucky that my good friends, Jade & Keith are spending the summer in London, UK to take care of their grandaughter Sofie, while her parents, Michael and Vanessa are working there for a few months.

What I thought it would be a quick stop to pick up my RTW ticket, turned into a lovely few days to start my trip, thanks to Jade & Keith.

After a 2 1/2 hour ride by shuttle bus from London to Toronto, the six hour Zoom airlines flight was crowded and a bit uncomfortable, but that is what I expected

Canary Wharf at sunset

. I decided to purchase the cheapest flight possible in order to save the money and splurge on a luxury later down the road.

Thanks to advice from friends, I easily found my way by train and tube from Gatwick to Canary Wharf. Keith met me at the Westferry Station and walked me over to their flat. What a lovely place, overlooking the Thames River. I found it ironic that just two days earlier I had been for a long run along the Thames River in London (Ontario) and here I was overlooking the Thames River in London (UK). Lucky me!

We enjoyed a delicious dinner at Michael & Vanessa's place that evening. If his job at the bank doesn't work out, I think Michael could easily find a second career as a chef! He made a wonderful roast duck dinner, it was lovely to catch up with them and meet their beautiful little girl Sofie.

The view from Jade & Keith's flat not only affords a great view of the Thames, but is a great place to people watch everyone walking by on their way to work at Canary Wharf in the morning. I spent the day picking up my RTW ticket without any problems and hopped on a double decker tour bus for the afternoon, which included a short cruise along the Thames River

Dinner at the local pub

. I wanted to see as many sights of London as possible, since I only had one day to see the city. I enjoyed it very much and am looking forward to returning for a longer stay next year.

The next nice surprise was Tuesday evening when Jade & Keith arranged for us to meet up with Chris and his wife Debbie. Chris is another good friend from the Bermuda Kayak Club, who now lives back in London. After a few drinks at Jade & Keith's we made our way down to a local pub for dinner and a few drinks. It was so great to catch up with Chris and Debbie.

By Wednesday morning I was off again on the next leg of my journey. Only 12 1/2 hours to Singapore!