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| Ben & Winston |
London…was a blurry trial run. It is crazy to be so close to such a
destination that it doesn’t really feel like you are traveling. We drove the hour to Epping and hopped on the
tube (greatest invention, layout and most efficient public transportation I
have ever seen, I'm in love) and rode the remaining half hour or so into Victoria
Station. We wound our way out of the
thousands of people coming and going through the station to hunt for our
hostel. We were right near Buckingham
Palace, and I knew our hostel was in the other direction from the palace so we
stopped and asked a doorman in the raddest top hat and green tails for
directions. We both were dressed too
warm for the beautiful sunny day that was upon us, and were getting hungry for
lunch. We kept marching around,
referring to our directions, to various maps, etc. When we finally found it, we were both ready
for some pub food and a cold beer. Alas,
the girl at the front desk of the hostel told us that we couldn’t check in
without passports, even though our confirmation stated ANY form of government
issued ID would be sufficient for check-in.
Being that we both have 4 other forms of ID, including British drivers
licenses, we thought we would be fine.
Not so much. RAGE. On top of that, they decided to still charge
us for the night even though they wouldn’t allow us to check in. MORE RAGE.
Off to the dispute department I go.
Eff YOU White Ferry Hostel.
We decided to go find some food and beer and try to hunt for
sleeping quarters for the evening. After
some fish and chips and Kronenberg we were feeling much better and called the
husband’s favorite hostel to see if there were any rooms open for the night.
There were! Hooray! But husband failed to give his name and rode on the
statement that the hostel guy gave to ‘come on over’…so by the time we got
there the room was gone and I got slapped in an all girls dorm and he in an all
dudes. EPIC RAGING. I slept in the dudes’ anyway. Luckily a couple other chicks thought like me
and the rest of the occupants happened to be out taking various mind-altering
substances until 5 am so they didn’t notice the extra bodies as they stumbled
around mumbling various Cheshire-cat-like statements and touching each
other.
We saw Wicked while we were there, which was amazing…especially
from 4th row seats! I’m
totally on the ‘bad’ witch team now.
The next day we did some touristy things, Buckingham Palace,
St. James Park, Hyde Park, Big Ben, London Bridge, etc. See pictures here! There was also a marathon going on that day,
which added to the zillions of people marching around. They are building and prepping for the
Olympics as well of course, which is cool to see. Even with that many people everywhere, the
city still emanates chillness and a relaxed atmosphere. The architecture is beautiful, and there are
still a ton of places that I want to go in the city that can’t possibly be
crammed into one weekend. So once the
Olympics are over, there will be many
more weekend trips to London to explore.
Its really nice to know its only a short drive and tube ride away… what
a privilege :)
On the homefront, all of our stuff gets here next Friday!
Cannot WAIT! We are sleeping under a sheet and cooking in the most wretched
pans…lol. Next weekend will be unpacking
joyousness! The job is going great, I work with a fabulous group of people and
love what I am doing. Driving on the other
side of the road is fine, the roads here are horrifying however. A huge part of our orientation was about how
many airmen have been killed in the surrounding area in car/motorcycle
accidents. It is a ridiculous amount. We
tragically lost another one on Monday, my heart goes out to his friends and family :( I
am not looking forward to the roads in winter here.
This weekend, the exploration of farm shops continues!
With love and gratitude,
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