Part One: London
My flight got into Heathrow at 6:35 a.m. I had pre-purchased a ticket for the Heathrow Express so, once I got through Immigration (which was relatively quick and I got to chat with a nice Canadian lady who was meeting her daughter for a holiday) I just hopped on the train and took off for Paddington Station (you know, where the bear comes from).
My understanding was that the bride (henceforth known as JK) had her last dance lesson (with the groom for the reception) that morning and would meet me at the hotel between 4:00 and 4:30. The hotel was, in her words less than a mile from the station. So, I got online looked up the Rose Court Hotel and yahoo mapped my path. My plan was to check my luggage and explore on my own.
However, what I failed to realize was that there are two Rose Court Hotels within a mile of Paddington Station. I picked poorly. Fortunately, the lady at the wrong Rose Court has had this happen before, and pulled out a map and drew me a path to the correct Rose Court Hotel.
So, with the exception of lugging around my luggage (I did try to pack lightly, but since the entire purpose was a wedding, I had to pack several outfits for the various festivities) it actually worked out well. I got to see quite a bit of the West End.
Once I finally found the correct hotel, about 9:15, I was actually kind of tired (truthfully, I was tired before, the guy sitting next to me had legs as long as I am tall, I had no room and couldn't sleep on the plane despite taking a sleeping pill). Fortunately for me, the hotel had a room ready and let me go ahead and check in.
So, I thought, I'd take a nap. I flipped on the tv, and started watching Batman cartoons. About 9:45 a.m. there was a knock on the door, which kind of freaked me out given my half-asleep state. I opened the door and it was JK. Apparently, she had sent an email after I left letting me know the class had been changed and she would meet me in the morning.
Oddly enough, she had also gone to the wrong Rose Court Hotel, too. We probably passed each other while I was walking away from and she towards the wrong hotel. We laughed. At that point, and probably for the best, she got me up and moving. Honestly, a lot of those first two days were a blur. I know we walked through Hyde Park, and had tea. Did a little shopping (as she had a few minor things to pick up for the wedding the next weekend), had lunch at the Black Friar pub (where I learned that the malt vinegar breaks down the fat in the fish and chips, supposedly anyway, I choose to believe it). A quick trip through the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square (which reminded me of Union Square in SF, I wonder if Union wasn't modeled on Trafalgar).
Then, back to the hotel, where I napped for an hour, then we went and had Indian food. Quite good. Then we got a bottle of wine and went back and shared it in the room while we caught up with each other. Sadly, the last time we had seen each other was in January 2006 when she came to visit me in San Francisco a few months before she moved to Sweden.
The next day we did the Original London Sightseeing Tour hop on hop off buses, it was great. Except for the rain, though, did we let that stop us from sitting in the open air up top? No. We did not. It was just us and 3 brave Frenchmen up there. We received ponchos out of trash bag plastic to wear and of course headphones to plug in and listen to the tour. Given that your ticket is good for 24 hours I would recommend it to a first time visitor for the first or second day, you see everything and then can decide what you really want to see in depth. Given that I only had two days, it was definitely a good way to see the main sites.
We had lunch at another pub, The Argyll Arms, thereby securing a free t-shirt for having completed the Soho and Noho Ale trail. Our waitress (we ate in the dining room) actually gave us two t-shirts, a "girlie" style and big one. JK let me have both, apparently, she's done the ale trail more than once.
Much like I was overwhelmed by the history in Washington D.C. I had much the same feeling in London, moreso, actually, given that the time line is greater. London is like any other big city, and like any other big city it has a distinct personality and culture all its own.
I definitely want to go back and delve a little deeper into some of the historical sites, and I'm sure the Queen would love to have tea with me (totally kidding).
Oh, and I have to say, I did not experience any anti-American sentiments. Had a lot of people ask me about the upcoming election, but no one told me to "go home Yank" as I was told they would. So, that was nice. Honestly, I found the English to be very kind, open-minded, and interesting people.
More to come:
Part Two: Shirley
Part Three: Cheshire and the wedding
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