London Musings

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Did I mention that I was overzealous on Saturday morning and woke up at 3 AM to get showered and ready for my 6:15 AM train to London from Edinburgh? Actually, the truth is, I didn't have a real good concept of time at the moment I woke up. I just woke up because I heard doors slamming, toilets flushing, and lots of movement characteristic of awakenings. And besides, the light outside City Centre Guest House looked deceptively like "break of dawn" light. In reality, people were just getting back from a long night of partying and getting "crunk", as Joey would say. So... at 4 AM... I was ready to climb Mt. Everest sans sherpa! Holy shit was I ready! I should have known. In the light of my little mini-flashlight, I could see the whites of the eyes of my roommates as they opened to see what the hell I was doing... evil eyes that were ready to kill me. I finally found out what the real time was when I turned on my iPod. I LOVE MY iPod!!! (Hey, I have to profess my love at least once every entry.) It read "03:59". It would only take me 15 minutes to walk to the station. I had a good 1.5 hours to kill. Feeling like a complete idiot, I made it downstairs (there's no lift in this hostel for those interested) to the entrance and began to greet every drunk hostel guest coming back. "Allo, allo! What are you doing up? Are you alright?" said one rather cute fellow walking through the door. "Oh, yes, thanks. Just got up earlier than I thought." (laugh) "That's amazin'! People usually 'ave the reverse problem." Yup... that's me... not usual, not normal, just wacky.

I brought my exercise band and did arm exercises for 15 minutes, took a nap on the stair landing for 30 minutes, read some brochures on Edinburgh, and listened to my iPod. 05:30 didn't come fast enough!!!

Walking up Princes Street, I realized why there were so many freakin' park benches. They were all filled with open-mouthed, drooling, men and their mates in fetal-positions. If only their mothers could see them now! I witnessed two Italian chicks screaming at each other at the top of their lungs on a street corner while some poor schmuck, presumbly a friend who'd appointed himself referee, standing between them. I wanted to ask the guy to step aside so that the girls could have at each other and so that my last memory of Edinburgh would be watching two shit-faced Italianas pull each other's hair out and get a good candid photo-op in the process. But alas, he was steadfast in his role as "preserver of one's last shred of dignity". What a party-pooper!

The ride to London was uneventful and by the time I got to King's Cross Station I was exhausted. Luckily, all I had to do was go downstairs and take the tube to Piccadilly Circus Station where my hostel was located. Rooms wouldn't be ready until 1 PM, but I could leave my bag in "secure" storage until 6 PM.

First on my list of things to do in London... Waterloo Station to validate my Eurostar ticket for Tuesday. I met Sabek at the counter who said I was quite brave to be traveling alone. He asked, "Did you just finish with school?" BLESS HIS LITTLE HEART! "Ah, no. I'm working now." We had a long chat, at the end of which, he said "Let me give you a pass to the first class lounge and if you have time before you leave, maybe meet up for a drink? It's always nice to meet people." Sure... why not? I felt safe about the whole thing. Shit, I only had his co-workers and a couple dozen irate customers behind me witness the whole encounter. Hahaha! Oh sorry, did you want to leave on the next train to Paris or Brussels? You're just not as cute or charming as I am I'm afraid.

I left Waterloo Station and decided to wander out. I got lost immediately, which is no big deal for me as it's one of my favorite things to do to get accustomed to a place. But... where the hell was I? I didn't want to look at my map just yet. Hmmm... signs say "Lambeth". There's nothing in Lambeth it seems. Oh, wait! A launderette! I was running low on underwear so I went in. "Excuse me, how much for a load to wash?" "Well, dear, depends if you need a small or large machine, ya see.", said the one-toothed lady with an ancient face like baked mud (my attempt at waxing poetic). "Uh, how much is a small load?" "Three pounds and a half plus 50 p to start for drying." "You've got to be shitting me!", I THOUGHT. A quick calculation in my head brought my two teeny loads to almost $15 U.S. "Thanks, I'll come back." "Cheers, dear." NO WAY! I didn't bring all that detergent, sink stopper, Shout wipes, and clothesline for nothin'.

I headed straight for the Portobello Market in Nottinghill on everyone's recommendation. So, it's a good thing I'm on a budget and that I'm already carrying a lot of crap on this trip because I would normally bought a shit-load of stuff at Portobello. I like the market. It's like Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley meets Antique Row in San Diego, meets a neighborhood farmer's market. Yah, that's it. Stuff was expensive in comparison to U.S. prices so I backed off on some jewelry I liked. I kept thinking, "wait until Spain!" Oh my god! Spain! I can't wait! Anyways...

Back at the hostel, I checked in to my 4-bed room, took my assigned bed "D", washed a 2 shirts and pants and hung them to dry. After wandering around the neighborhood a little, I returned to the room to find that there was someone in my assigned bed! Oh hell no! Quickly, I shifted from extremely irritated to deeply empathetic mode. Perhaps there was a mistake at reception. I didn't want to wake him/her up. "Umm, hi, there's a person sleeping in my assigned bed. Is there anyway the bed could have been assigned twice?" "Yes, there is a bed that's free but I really wanted a bottom bunk and I don't want to wake them." (I've fallen off beds before, once off a bunk bed, don't ask!). "Oh, yes! Please give me another room." Fortune smiled on me that day. Not only did I get my bottom bunk, but I got a secluded room all to myself in one of the corners of the building with no neighboring rooms. I guess there aren't that many people willing to pay an extra £3 per night to be in a 4-bed room. I realized that day that I'm too old and too rich for this hostel business. Piss off! It's a joke!

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Comments

[Ritz]

Fun
You sound like you are having a blast! Keep enjoying!