Travel Journal 2 : Arrival, London Day 1
Written after I checked into my hotel at approximately 1:22pm GMT. Talk about exhaustion and excitement...
Wednesday, July 9th 2008
Okay. I finally made it to my hotel without any real problems - surprisingly! I didn't get lost at all! A huge relief! I was hesitant about some turns but I just back tracked and found the correct street I needed to turn on.
The flight was long and seemed painfully slow at times - especially when I drifted in and out of consciousness. I think I did manage to sleep fairly well though. I got some rest. Not much. But enough to last a little while . I don't feel any signs of jetlag although I am tired just from hauling my luggage around Heathrow and the Underground stations. There were more stairs than I had anticipated! And my luggage doesn't really stack well. It's too heavy. One young guy - about my age I'm guessing - did help me lift my suitcase up a couple flights of stairs after I arrived in the Bayswater station just a few blocks away. He must have seen me struggling with my luggage. It was very nice of him to help. A good samaritan. He didn't say a word to me at all. I'm not even positive he looked at me at all. It happened quickly. He just stopped grabbed one side of my suitcase and started to walk up the stairs. No words, eye contact or nothing. Kind of a shame I thought he was sort of cute. No one would help so quickly like that at home.
More details from flight. Went well, just seemed to drag! I watched only one in-flight movie - Son of Rambo. It was okay. Kind of disappointed in it though. Also watched an episode of The Office (US)...the Branch Closing episode. Not as funny as others but really wanted to watch it for some reason. The selections of entertainment weren't so plentiful. The food was okay. My meal was a little cold. I had never eaten airplane food before but I've heard that is normal. It sort of tasted like a frozen TV dinner. I didn't eat all of the main entree' because of that. But I still enjoyed it. Everything was miniature - plates, cups, plasticware etc. In fact it was all just like a model of the Barbie airplane playset my dad had gotten me for Christmas one year when I was younger.
I had a window seat. Couldn't see much of anything the majority of the time. It was dark. And we were flying over the Atlantic. No lights there. Just water. Lots and lots of water. That fact didn't bother me though. Wasn't nervous about the flight itself. But when I could see out my window the view was beautiful! Especially the clouds and light when the sun was rising in the morning. Sun wasn't around when the plane landed at Heathrow. Cloudy and gray and sort of rainy. The weather doesn't bother me though.
Man sitting next to me on flight not exactly rude or obnoxious kind of odd. Kept to himself. Appeared to be a businessman of sorts and been on international flights before. He didn't get any meals that was served. Only slept a lot and read some sort of business magazine. Oh well.
Line in Heathrow to go through UK customs was very long. Probably waited over an hour but when it was my turn I passed through quickly. Relief! I had heard many stories of going through customs in the UK. But I don't appear to be a problem . There were two young American girls behind me who I noticed were on the same flight as me. Nice. But very immature. Seemed like they just turned 18 and graduated high school. They both were far more clueless about procedures and regulations than I was. But I pay attention very well and try to be prepared as best I can. I helped the girls out a bit. They didn't know what surname meant on the form or where to find their passport number on their passport book or have a pen handy. I was happy to help them out. I'm always happy to help. Afterwards I did feel slightly more confident and superior to them both since they really did not appear to know anything.
Got through customs by 10:30am. Then it was off to baggage claim where I did just that. I'm so happy my luggage is lavender in color and stood out so well. I pulled it out of the pile and then hurried to the nearby restroom to finally relieve myself and check appearance. After I felt I looked ok. Hair was such a mess. Still is! I left the restroom and followed the signs to the Heathrow Express ticket counter to exchange the voucher I had. Before I did I spotted a pay phone and thought it was best to call home to left them know I made it to London. I called Mom's cell since I know she rarely answers the house phone. Mom didn't pick up. Kevin did. Kind of wanted Mom to answer but whatever. He was half asleep . It was only 5:30am at home. Call was brief. Less than a minute. I really only called to let Mom know I made it safely to the airport and was on my way to the hotel. Felt good to talk to Kevin though - a bit of contact of home. After calling Mom and speaking to Kevin I decided to call Dad. Same thing. Quick and easy. "Hi Dad. Yes, I made it to London. I'm ok. No problems. I'll call you when I get to the hotel. Love you, Bye!" Of course Dad was even more half asleep more like a third asleep he was glad I called to check in.
Exchanged voucher minutes later again with no problems. I like this no hassle travel - especially for my first time and completely alone! Followed lift to train and platform without complications either. It amazed me at how easy and quickly it all was.
Got to Paddington station alright. Pretty huge station and crowded. Took me a few minutes to find the Tube station and of course lug my luggage. Such a fitting title. I have a sore on m right hand from dragging my luggage around the airport and train stations for hours. It'll heal quickly though. Next challenge after getting to Paddington station was navigating the Tube. Also very easy to use especially since I already had an Oyster card that I bought a couple weeks ago for this trip. All I had to do was tap it and go. Very quick and easy. I was nervous about which train to take but I carefully examined the map and new where I needed to go. I was a little confused at first. I was lucky and figured it out on my own. The first stop from Paddington was Bayswater where I needed to go! Only took a few minutes. All the transport after the flight was very swift.
The hotel was easy to find from Bayswater station just like the directions stated. Raining again now though. Lots of puddles. My pant legs are soaked and I'm positive my hair is a mess! I didn't mind all of that though. I'm so thrilled I found the hotel on my own! I made it all the way to London on my own, and survived all the obstacles of traveling with no problems whatsoever. I don't need anyone here. I can finally be a little independent. Quite an accomplishment!!!
Buzzed into hotel. Not a bad place. Clean and cozy. Nothing extravagant. Actually looked like the photos I saw online so no surprises. Woman at the reception desk was very friendly and helpful. Checking in only took a few minutes. I learned I would be staying in room 10 - have to walk up 3 sets of stairs. More lugging of the luggage! Room is nice though. Small but I am only one person. It's a single room with a twin bed, two chairs, a desk, a fan, a TV hanging on the wall, and a bathroom area without a toilet only a sink and shower. The toilet is in a separate room down the hall. I was okay with this. A bit of an inconvenience. The room sort of reminds me of the dorm room I had at Wesley during my first and second years...only nicer.
I've started to unpack my items now and get settled. I'm actually starting to feel sleepy now. Might take a nap but it's still so early and I just go here! But I can't really start to enjoy anything unless I rest a bit. So I think I'll take a short nap and then afterwards I might just walk around the area where my hotel is. I saw lots of shops and stores. I need to try to connect my laptop to the net. Have to email my family and Alex of course too!!
I'm so glad I chose to wait until TOMORROW to meet up with him. It's so close now! I can almost feel it! What will he be like in person? Will he like me? It's different in person, isn't it? I hope he still likes me after he meets me. Time will soon tell but I really hope he still does. I love having him around!
Ok. I think I'll end this now before I ramble further. I'm just so excited - especially about tomorrow! Not long to go at all. And I can't believe I made it here. It's like another world across the Atlantic. I definitely think I should rest some the traveling is getting to me.
I took a two hour nap. Didn't plan to sleep so long. I guess I was more exhausted than I thought. After my nap I went for a walk outside my hotel. I was pretty hungry now. It was after 5pm and I hadn't eaten since probably about 8am on the airplane. So I just bought a sandwich, water, a container of pineapple chunks, and a bag or chips...or I mean crisps since I'm in England now from Tesco. It was all more than enough and costs less than £5! Not bad at all. Sure it was really $10 but I am definitely not trying to think about how everything really costs twice as much. I really don't.
The internet is working in my room! It cuts in and out a bit because I'm picking it up from some nearby source. But it's better than no internet at all. And I can still contact my family and hopefully Alex too! I talked to Mom and Kevin and even Jean for a couple hours on MSN. I was still feeling so excited and it was nice to talk to them for a bit to let them know I was okay again.
I'm in such a great mood! I still can't stop thinking about tomorrow. Tomorrow is a big - no huge - day! I'm seeing Alex tomorrow!!! Oh god. I can't wait! It's really going to happen!! I've waited so long. So very long.
The bed. Obviously.
Bathroom with only a sink, shower, and hairdryer.
I just arrived! Hair is a mess, exhausted but still smiling. :)
View from my hotel room window. Not much. But I enjoyed it so much. Just watching the cars drive by. So different.
Wednesday, July 9th 2008
Okay. I finally made it to my hotel without any real problems - surprisingly! I didn't get lost at all! A huge relief! I was hesitant about some turns but I just back tracked and found the correct street I needed to turn on.
The flight was long and seemed painfully slow at times - especially when I drifted in and out of consciousness. I think I did manage to sleep fairly well though. I got some rest. Not much. But enough to last a little while . I don't feel any signs of jetlag although I am tired just from hauling my luggage around Heathrow and the Underground stations. There were more stairs than I had anticipated! And my luggage doesn't really stack well. It's too heavy. One young guy - about my age I'm guessing - did help me lift my suitcase up a couple flights of stairs after I arrived in the Bayswater station just a few blocks away. He must have seen me struggling with my luggage. It was very nice of him to help. A good samaritan. He didn't say a word to me at all. I'm not even positive he looked at me at all. It happened quickly. He just stopped grabbed one side of my suitcase and started to walk up the stairs. No words, eye contact or nothing. Kind of a shame I thought he was sort of cute. No one would help so quickly like that at home.
More details from flight. Went well, just seemed to drag! I watched only one in-flight movie - Son of Rambo. It was okay. Kind of disappointed in it though. Also watched an episode of The Office (US)...the Branch Closing episode. Not as funny as others but really wanted to watch it for some reason. The selections of entertainment weren't so plentiful. The food was okay. My meal was a little cold. I had never eaten airplane food before but I've heard that is normal. It sort of tasted like a frozen TV dinner. I didn't eat all of the main entree' because of that. But I still enjoyed it. Everything was miniature - plates, cups, plasticware etc. In fact it was all just like a model of the Barbie airplane playset my dad had gotten me for Christmas one year when I was younger.
I had a window seat. Couldn't see much of anything the majority of the time. It was dark. And we were flying over the Atlantic. No lights there. Just water. Lots and lots of water. That fact didn't bother me though. Wasn't nervous about the flight itself. But when I could see out my window the view was beautiful! Especially the clouds and light when the sun was rising in the morning. Sun wasn't around when the plane landed at Heathrow. Cloudy and gray and sort of rainy. The weather doesn't bother me though.
Man sitting next to me on flight not exactly rude or obnoxious kind of odd. Kept to himself. Appeared to be a businessman of sorts and been on international flights before. He didn't get any meals that was served. Only slept a lot and read some sort of business magazine. Oh well.
Line in Heathrow to go through UK customs was very long. Probably waited over an hour but when it was my turn I passed through quickly. Relief! I had heard many stories of going through customs in the UK. But I don't appear to be a problem . There were two young American girls behind me who I noticed were on the same flight as me. Nice. But very immature. Seemed like they just turned 18 and graduated high school. They both were far more clueless about procedures and regulations than I was. But I pay attention very well and try to be prepared as best I can. I helped the girls out a bit. They didn't know what surname meant on the form or where to find their passport number on their passport book or have a pen handy. I was happy to help them out. I'm always happy to help. Afterwards I did feel slightly more confident and superior to them both since they really did not appear to know anything.
Got through customs by 10:30am. Then it was off to baggage claim where I did just that. I'm so happy my luggage is lavender in color and stood out so well. I pulled it out of the pile and then hurried to the nearby restroom to finally relieve myself and check appearance. After I felt I looked ok. Hair was such a mess. Still is! I left the restroom and followed the signs to the Heathrow Express ticket counter to exchange the voucher I had. Before I did I spotted a pay phone and thought it was best to call home to left them know I made it to London. I called Mom's cell since I know she rarely answers the house phone. Mom didn't pick up. Kevin did. Kind of wanted Mom to answer but whatever. He was half asleep . It was only 5:30am at home. Call was brief. Less than a minute. I really only called to let Mom know I made it safely to the airport and was on my way to the hotel. Felt good to talk to Kevin though - a bit of contact of home. After calling Mom and speaking to Kevin I decided to call Dad. Same thing. Quick and easy. "Hi Dad. Yes, I made it to London. I'm ok. No problems. I'll call you when I get to the hotel. Love you, Bye!" Of course Dad was even more half asleep more like a third asleep he was glad I called to check in.
Exchanged voucher minutes later again with no problems. I like this no hassle travel - especially for my first time and completely alone! Followed lift to train and platform without complications either. It amazed me at how easy and quickly it all was.
Got to Paddington station alright. Pretty huge station and crowded. Took me a few minutes to find the Tube station and of course lug my luggage. Such a fitting title. I have a sore on m right hand from dragging my luggage around the airport and train stations for hours. It'll heal quickly though. Next challenge after getting to Paddington station was navigating the Tube. Also very easy to use especially since I already had an Oyster card that I bought a couple weeks ago for this trip. All I had to do was tap it and go. Very quick and easy. I was nervous about which train to take but I carefully examined the map and new where I needed to go. I was a little confused at first. I was lucky and figured it out on my own. The first stop from Paddington was Bayswater where I needed to go! Only took a few minutes. All the transport after the flight was very swift.
The hotel was easy to find from Bayswater station just like the directions stated. Raining again now though. Lots of puddles. My pant legs are soaked and I'm positive my hair is a mess! I didn't mind all of that though. I'm so thrilled I found the hotel on my own! I made it all the way to London on my own, and survived all the obstacles of traveling with no problems whatsoever. I don't need anyone here. I can finally be a little independent. Quite an accomplishment!!!
Buzzed into hotel. Not a bad place. Clean and cozy. Nothing extravagant. Actually looked like the photos I saw online so no surprises. Woman at the reception desk was very friendly and helpful. Checking in only took a few minutes. I learned I would be staying in room 10 - have to walk up 3 sets of stairs. More lugging of the luggage! Room is nice though. Small but I am only one person. It's a single room with a twin bed, two chairs, a desk, a fan, a TV hanging on the wall, and a bathroom area without a toilet only a sink and shower. The toilet is in a separate room down the hall. I was okay with this. A bit of an inconvenience. The room sort of reminds me of the dorm room I had at Wesley during my first and second years...only nicer.
I've started to unpack my items now and get settled. I'm actually starting to feel sleepy now. Might take a nap but it's still so early and I just go here! But I can't really start to enjoy anything unless I rest a bit. So I think I'll take a short nap and then afterwards I might just walk around the area where my hotel is. I saw lots of shops and stores. I need to try to connect my laptop to the net. Have to email my family and Alex of course too!!
I'm so glad I chose to wait until TOMORROW to meet up with him. It's so close now! I can almost feel it! What will he be like in person? Will he like me? It's different in person, isn't it? I hope he still likes me after he meets me. Time will soon tell but I really hope he still does. I love having him around!
Ok. I think I'll end this now before I ramble further. I'm just so excited - especially about tomorrow! Not long to go at all. And I can't believe I made it here. It's like another world across the Atlantic. I definitely think I should rest some the traveling is getting to me.
I took a two hour nap. Didn't plan to sleep so long. I guess I was more exhausted than I thought. After my nap I went for a walk outside my hotel. I was pretty hungry now. It was after 5pm and I hadn't eaten since probably about 8am on the airplane. So I just bought a sandwich, water, a container of pineapple chunks, and a bag or chips...or I mean crisps since I'm in England now from Tesco. It was all more than enough and costs less than £5! Not bad at all. Sure it was really $10 but I am definitely not trying to think about how everything really costs twice as much. I really don't.
The internet is working in my room! It cuts in and out a bit because I'm picking it up from some nearby source. But it's better than no internet at all. And I can still contact my family and hopefully Alex too! I talked to Mom and Kevin and even Jean for a couple hours on MSN. I was still feeling so excited and it was nice to talk to them for a bit to let them know I was okay again.
I'm in such a great mood! I still can't stop thinking about tomorrow. Tomorrow is a big - no huge - day! I'm seeing Alex tomorrow!!! Oh god. I can't wait! It's really going to happen!! I've waited so long. So very long.
The bed. Obviously.
Bathroom with only a sink, shower, and hairdryer.
I just arrived! Hair is a mess, exhausted but still smiling. :)
View from my hotel room window. Not much. But I enjoyed it so much. Just watching the cars drive by. So different.