Last night I stayed up till about 3am loading pictures and talking to Ellie. I wasn't too concerned because I wanted to be able to sleep the 5 hours on the bus. Adam woke me up a quarter after 6 to head to the bus station. Him and I were both getting worried when I got out of the shower with little time left to get me to the bus station on time. I had to pack all my stuff yet. A few quick burnt liters of diesel later I was at the bus station with plenty of time to spare. Adam made sure I was at the right gate before we said our goodbyes. I tried to think of what I had to look forward to, instead of the great people I had met and was leaving behind. Nothing could hold back the tears, though. Lol. Jk. I am sure Adam thinks I am a proper cry baby anyways like his brother and his shoulder injury. Ha ha. Jk Dan. Anyways, after I pulled myself together, I had to wait at the gate till half seven for the bus. It was supposed to depart at ten after, but the driver claims he was stuck in accident traffic. I got myself a window seat and 4 hours later I woke up as we were pulling into London. Still had another hour of stops and working our way down town though. When I got off at Victoria station, the sun was shining and fairly warm, 70's maybe. I only knew the address of the hostel. So the first thing I needed to do was get a map. I went to the first booth I saw. It was some travelers agent and he wanted 3 quid for a bloody map. He warned me that if I wanted to get a free one I would have to go across town to get one. Well, without a map there was no way I was going to make it across town and I could tell this guy did not want to spend the time to write me out directions. In disbelief that I couldn't find a free map, I took another look around the station and found someone sitting behind the ticketing booth. I asked him for a map and as he quickly spun around to grab me a map, he asked me where I was going and extended me the map. I told him London bridge. He pointed me in the right direction of where to catch the underground, and I was on my way. On my way out I passed the first booth. As I passed I made eye contact and simply raised my new "free" map in the air and gave it a sarcastic shake. What a wanka! I followed the second mans directions and was blown away by how many people were in this massive station/food court combination. I felt like I was in NYC. I had a difficult time finding an info booth, so I followed my map to buckingham palace. I didn't see any guards where i was, but I did see a pole with a bunch of arrows on it, one of them reading, tourist information. I followed that back to where I started. Lol. I had made a complete circle. But at least I ran into a man that worked for the transit that was very helpful and let me know exactly what ticket to buy and which train to catch. After talking with him, it all made sense and was quite easy getting to London bridge. I made my way down the street my hostel is addressed to when a red sign in a window caught my eye. It was a Seattle's best coffee advertisement. I snapped a quick picture, took two steps and was at the front door of my hostel. I checked in and found my room. I quickly made friends with a Brazilian, named Ciro, who is staying in the same room. We agreed to head out and find a place to eat together, but I let him know I had to be back at 8 to meet Emily back at the hostel. We walked along the river and snapped some pictures in front of Tower Bridge, which I was really looking forward to seeing. We walked across the bridge and I saw a fish and chips stand. The fish was literally a half of a full size fish. A huge fillet and chips. I do have to say it was very good and tops the Ivers dish. There was just so much meat and the perfect amount of batter. We then walked along the river on the other side, crossed the London bridge, saw Globe theater and headed home. We went to the bar in the hostel where they were serving 2 quid pints. That is a good deal here in England, especially London. I was relaxing in bed talking to Karl when Emily walked through the door. She looked exhausted, and respectively so, for she had been traveling for the past 24 hours. She dropped her bags and we went downstairs to get the starving girl some dinner. After Emily's dinner, I was pretty beat and it was getting late. We decided to call it early so we can get up early enough in the morning to catch free breakfast and a solid days worth of site seeing. Now after writing this blog it is 12:30, but still fairly early. Probably my earliest night yet. Talk to you after a day in London. My main goal for tomorrow is to find a London flag speedo. My plan is to wear in under my shorts and when I see a guard to strip down to the bathing suite and snap a picture. Lol. You will enjoy this one Ellie, since I know how much you like speedos.
Till then,
Kurt
No comments:
Post a Comment