Welcome to London

  London, United Kingdom
Saturday, November 4, 2006

We landed in Gatwick airport on time but were the last to leave the plane. It's amazing how people suddenly disappear. We were grabbing our bags from the overhead compartments and suddenly the plane was empty, with the EasyJet in-flight attendants looking at us with a smile but really meaning "what the @%¿& are you waiting for?".

Just off from the airplane....and freezing

Once we left the plane, the freezing cold air hit my face like a slap and I could see my breath become thin white air as I exhaled. We rushed to the baggage claim and found that they had been left on the floor by the crew, since everyone else had already claimed their bags. My backpack, although it had zipper clamps, had been forced and just the thought of being robbed again got me really edgy. We checked the bags and fortunately nothing was missing. Lovely crew they've hired at Gatwick!

We moved on to try to make our way out of the airport, or at least find a pay phone to call Andy and tell him we had arrived. Now, Gatwick Airport has a bizarre design and for some reason, we couldn't find the exit, even though there were signs everywhere. It was like trying to find your way through a labyrinth, not to mention that we had to push our luggage trolley with a spastic wheel, and the intimidating look of policemen armed with M-16's and bazooka-look alike weapons wasn't comforting. Tired, and growing more and more irascible, we finally found a pay phone.

We tried several attempts to call Andy but we couldn't get through to his cell phone. Either we were dialing something wrong (which was very possible since we'd never dialed a London cell phone number from London) or the damn pay phone wasn't working. Our patience was running out and I was almost on the verge on tears, when through the door Ross and Andy suddenly appeared. I've never been so happy to see two people in my life. We were being rescued from this nightmare. We hugged and kissed and commented on how bloody cold it was.

My mood instantly changed and we loaded our gear into the car, headed to Harrow where Andy's home was. We drove around London for a bit, to do a bit of night-car-sightseeing. But eventually I started to head-bob during the ride, which meant I couldn't handle anymore riding...I just wanted a bed.

Andy's house was beautifully cozy, very nicely decorated and everything was clean and in its place. We were shown to the guest room where Ed and I barely managed to change clothes and get into the comfy bed. Frankly, I wanted just wanted this day to end.