I am writing this in London Gatwick airport-which brings back a lot of memories. You see, I am going on a Windstar cruise from Barcelona, and I decided to fly in a few days early. The least expensive way to fly to the cruise was using my frequent flier miles, and this necessitated not only using going through London, but spending a night there.
So Friday night I flew here on the ginormous British Airways A380, in which i slept fitfully. My usual remedy for overnight flights to Europe is one or two glasses of wine and sleeping pills. This time, I forgot the sleeping pills, so i woke up every so often, and the seats felt like wool, they we're itchy. I alternated between reading my book and listening to music on the entertainment system.
I arrived in London yesterday morning at 10:00 am. After waiting a long time at Passport Control, getting my bag, and taking 4 underground trains (one broke down, and everyone had to get off the train and on to another one, a third train was just getting on the wrong one), I arrived at the hostel around 12:30 pm. Yes back in Hostels-and like most hostels, the welcome wasn't exactly like the Marriott. I actually found the hostel ok-I only headed down the wrong way once, but i knocked on the door three times, and rang the bell. Finally some guy came out and said in very broken English (I learned that he is South Korean), that check in it is at 1:00 pm.
So I wandered around the town of Wimbledon, where the hostel is located. A beautiful town, like most British towns, it seems, with lots of pubs, stores, and restaurants lining the streets
I went to lunch at Pret a Manger-of a falafal wrap and something that looked like macaroni and cheese on a small pizza. The lady at the counter asked where I was from and seemed to like my accent, and gave me a free coffee. I then kept wandering up and down the street, looking at the various thrift stores.
At two 2:30, I walked back to the hostel. Since I was early, I took a walk and put my head down on the street (using my camera bag as a pillow). I napped (the few hours of sleep the previous night caught up with me). I then made it to the guesthouse. The lady showed me to the room, after lugging my luggage up the stairs. Two Germans we're already in the room (Who seemed friendly). I then crashed for a few hours.
At five, I took the underground/subway to Westminster Abby, and walked around Westminster, Big Ben. I kept walking, and encountered a concert in a church at Trafalgar Square, which consisted of classical music. It was more then I wanted to pay (about $25-$30), but I thought it would be nice listening to classical music in an old church by Candlelight. But it was very nice. The church was full, and Vivaldi's Four Seasons played.
Going Back to the hostel, I took the tube once again. I was hungry, and I went to a pub that promised to serve food all the time-but the time I went there the kitchen was closed. So I found a Subway that was closing and went there,
After the concert, I wandered around Piccadilly Circus. I Figured I would have dinner at a good old British Pub, and not one of these touristy ones, so I took the underground back to the area where the guest house was located. IT was about 11:00 pm, and the one or two places I went two stopped serving food, so I had dinner at Subway, which was about to close-and went back to the hostel, where I slept until 4:00 am, when I had to leave.
