first impresssions
today (yesterday, whatever) started off a bit rocky, but i made it london safely.
first of all, my driver was late picking me up for an international flight. then the line at SFO was longer than i'd ever seen it. it actually took me almost two whole hours to get through the check-in line! luckily, the guy in security felt guilty for me and helped me get through quickly. then, my isle seat ended up being a middle seat. you know, the most awkward place to be on the plane. anyway, i made it through the 10 hour flight, arriving in london at 7am. at the time, i didn't feel like i'd skipped a restful night's sleep. instead, i just felt dirty from the flight. so, we went to the hotel to check-in, but we quickly realized 8am is too early to do so. therefore, we dropped off our luggage and walked about 20 minutes towards the office, stopping along the way at the zetter (where we were supposed to be staying) for breakfast.
after indulging ourselves in english breakfast feasts, we slowly made our way to the office, a mere three blocks away. it was exciting seeing a few familiar faces and meeting a lot of new ones. however, it felt very surreal. i didn't feel like this was MY office. i felt like an intruder or guest. well, i guess i am. nonetheless, they did everything to make sure we felt comfortable. we ended up staying until about 4pm before we were all loopy. i even caught myself nodding off a few times. so we headed back to the hotel and freshened up a bit (aka. brushed my teeth, reapplied deodorant and ran across the street to grab starbucks!). to keep ourselves awake a bit longer in order to force our bodies onto the new schedule, we walked quite a bit around covent garden, which was amazing!
the streets smelled of light tobacco and perhaps elegant perfumes as you passed by the boutiques. the cobble stone streets were narrow and lined with happy urban dwellers, who were enjoying a lovely, crisp evening. it was quite the sight! it was so spectacular to see so many people out on a tuesday evening. however, it wasn't hectic. it was relaxed and lovely. i can't explain how fabulous it is to walk through the tight, curvy streets of london. unfortunately, i didn't take many photos because i was in such an awe! perhaps thursday evening i can venture out on my own in the area and take more photos.
well, it's about 9:30 pm and I'm hoping that I can sleep soundly until about 6am. Tomorrow might even feel longer than today, despite the fact that my monday and tuesday became one long, exhausting trip.
first of all, my driver was late picking me up for an international flight. then the line at SFO was longer than i'd ever seen it. it actually took me almost two whole hours to get through the check-in line! luckily, the guy in security felt guilty for me and helped me get through quickly. then, my isle seat ended up being a middle seat. you know, the most awkward place to be on the plane. anyway, i made it through the 10 hour flight, arriving in london at 7am. at the time, i didn't feel like i'd skipped a restful night's sleep. instead, i just felt dirty from the flight. so, we went to the hotel to check-in, but we quickly realized 8am is too early to do so. therefore, we dropped off our luggage and walked about 20 minutes towards the office, stopping along the way at the zetter (where we were supposed to be staying) for breakfast.
after indulging ourselves in english breakfast feasts, we slowly made our way to the office, a mere three blocks away. it was exciting seeing a few familiar faces and meeting a lot of new ones. however, it felt very surreal. i didn't feel like this was MY office. i felt like an intruder or guest. well, i guess i am. nonetheless, they did everything to make sure we felt comfortable. we ended up staying until about 4pm before we were all loopy. i even caught myself nodding off a few times. so we headed back to the hotel and freshened up a bit (aka. brushed my teeth, reapplied deodorant and ran across the street to grab starbucks!). to keep ourselves awake a bit longer in order to force our bodies onto the new schedule, we walked quite a bit around covent garden, which was amazing!
the streets smelled of light tobacco and perhaps elegant perfumes as you passed by the boutiques. the cobble stone streets were narrow and lined with happy urban dwellers, who were enjoying a lovely, crisp evening. it was quite the sight! it was so spectacular to see so many people out on a tuesday evening. however, it wasn't hectic. it was relaxed and lovely. i can't explain how fabulous it is to walk through the tight, curvy streets of london. unfortunately, i didn't take many photos because i was in such an awe! perhaps thursday evening i can venture out on my own in the area and take more photos.
well, it's about 9:30 pm and I'm hoping that I can sleep soundly until about 6am. Tomorrow might even feel longer than today, despite the fact that my monday and tuesday became one long, exhausting trip.