Getting to London.
I am shooting blanks as to why I am not writing this sooner.
but
here we are.
The time I spent in the United Kingdom was short. Less than 30 hours, and as to be expected the rain was there to greet us.
Our flight was at noon from Keflavik airport. We scooted the Nissan Micra down the Icelandic Highways. Tyler was still suffering from Sulfur poisoning, so every couple kilometers we would pull over and he would puke. By the seventh time it was suggested that I drive the rest of the way to the airport.
Keflavik airport gets an A plus from me. The bathrooms were top notch and clean, and it isn’t that big of an airport so getting to the gates was not a problem. WOW airlines provides exactly what you get for the price you pay. Our cheap tickets landed me and Tyler middle and isle seat towards the rear of the plane. An Icelandic man with the beard and long hair sat at the window to my right.
Not a word was spoken between us, it was a silence out of mutual respect. At the end of the flight I did offer him some gum to which he accepted.
We arrived in Stansted in the afternoon. For future reference, there are three london airports. London Heathrow (Real London), London Stansted (North of London), and London Gatwick (South London).
But hey a cheap flight is a cheap flight right?
Are you really getting ahead by looking for the lowest fare? In this case the real answer is nigh. We had to grab the Liverpool express to get us into London. The added train ticket price we probably could have found a more direct flight, but if we did that we wouldn’t of been sat with a lovely Irish family.
Sean sat directly across from me, he had the appearance of someone who worked in finance, his dad bod, and silver lined dark hair. We exchanged travel stories and other pleasantries. Sean and his family departed one stop before ours. We arrived at Liverpool station, and were near the heart of one of the world’s financial capitals. The other passengers of the underground could be seen wearing fancy business apparel to jeans. I had no idea where were staying, and as it was getting close to nightfall we wanted to secure our lodging. Tyler had arranged our accommodations, and his only instructions were it is across the river from Big Ben.
For some reason I thought I should be the one to get us to “Across the river from Big Ben” We boarded our underground train and got off on London Bridge. I was wrong. London Bridge is no where near, Big Ben. We really wanted to get off at Waterloo station. This navigational shortcoming meant that we were now walking to our Hotel. Our phones said it could be done initially. Then as they got the bearings the duration of walking became longer and longer, till finally Tyler rose his hand and hailed a taxi.
To be a London Taxi, one must go through years of training before they can get a permit to drive passengers. At the time of my London taxi experience I was unaware of this, but as I looked out the windows onto the busy old city streets I appreciated the skill of our driver.
We pulled up at the London Marriot County Hall, and instantly started thanking Tyler’s reward points.
The London Marriot is fancy. Like top hats and door men fancy. We got settled in our room for the night and dropped our gear. It was Friday night in London, so we wanted to stretch our legs. We were right next to the big tourist trap of the London Eye. we walked across the Thames and took really crappy photos of an under renovation Big Ben.
We walked along the West Minister Pier, and eventually had a Pint at the Pub on the Thames which was retired ship now serving as a bar. Over all the people of London were friendly that night, there was a little jests thrown about by the security bouncers and what not.
That area of London, is certainly not known for it’s nightlife. So we walked back to our hotel room and tried to get some sleep and plan our escape over the pond into mainland Europe.
Amsterdam was on the horizon and we were excited. Oh and also always book your travel before you book your accommodations. That way you can avoid time crunches.
Well that is that.
