The flight from Bangkok to Dusseldorf
and then to Stansted, London
was long and boring. I'm sure I don't need to describe it - you know what's
involved in a 15hr flight. No sleep, terrible in-flight movies, jet-lag,
customs officers asking stupid questions, waiting in lines...etc etc etc.
I arrived at Stansted
Airport on the 4th at
about 8pm and got a coach into the city and the tube to Russell Square. After finding my poorly
sign-posted hostel I checked in and went straight to sleep.
The next day I went walking around the city with an Australian girl I'd met
at the hostel - Michelle. She knows the city fairly well after living here for
seven months so she showed me Oxford Street, Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square
and a few other places. It was nice to have someone to talk to and Michelle is
a very friendly and warm person, so I'm glad we met.
That evening I bought an oyster card (a pay as you go card for London transport) and
made my way via tube and bus to Umba and Ane's place in Harringey. Umba met me
at the bus stop and the evening quickly turned into a blur of laughter, pizza,
beers and catching up over the past year and a half since the three of us lived
together on Alice Street
in Newtown. It
was lovely to see them again and it's always nice to see that some things -
like the generosity of my former housemates - never change.
The next day Michelle and I had breakfast in a very British canteen style cafe
and then we went walking again. This time we walked over Waterloo
Bridge, past the London Eye, over Westminster Bridge and past Big Ben and the Houses
of Parliament. We walked around for a good few hours but Michelle was due to
start work at 3pm, so we had a quick drink at Leicester Square and said good bye.
After jumping on the internet to make sure I'd gotten the address correct, I
got the tube to Covent Garden and found RULES - the oldest restaurant in London
(established in 1798 - only 28 short years after Australia was established!)
and where my Australian friend Tara works. She greeted me at the door and told
me to wait for her in the upstairs bar. It’s no exaggeration to say that Rules is
a feast for the eyes – low Tudor style ceilings, red velvet couches, rose buds
carved into dark oak, crystal chandeliers - all bathed in the light of a
roaring fire. It is quintessentially British.
I ordered a glass of South African merlot and I sat by the fire to wait for Tara to finish her shift. Hahaha, I'm SO CLASSY! In a few days I went from being a dirty
backpacker to drinking merlot in this posh joint! Life is a funny thing. ;)
When Tara finished, she joined me
in a few glasses of wine and we were able to chat about our travels and catch up. It was
lovely to see her again and although we never had the opportunity to become close when we knew each other in Sydney
(Tara is an old friend's sister) it's nice to know that even an acquaintance can
be welcoming and friendly when youire on the other side of the world. :)
After a few drinks we caught the tube east and Tara showed me her part of London – Brick Lane, Bethnal
Green, Whitechaple High Street
etc. We went back to her little apartment for a few more drinks
before we headed out to a famous curry house just off Brick Lane. (I can't for the life of me
remember the name, but that may be because we'd had quite a few glasses of wine
by the time we made it out to eat.)
The food was delicious and it was just wonderful to talk to Tara who is a
down-to-earth, happy, warm person and a joy to be around. I got back to the
hostel in a cab (my first London
cab ride!) and fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.
I've got quite a few more friends to catch up with here in London and I'm very much looking forward to
seeing all of them, especially if it means seeing parts of the city I wouldn't
normally see as a tourist.
After four months in Asia - coming to London is almost like coming home. It feels easier and I'm happy I can blend into a crowd again without it being so obvious that I'm a tourist.
