Day 1: Welcome to London

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The first day of my trip was just ... trippy. I was so anxious and so ready to be there. And I was so seriously sleep deprived. I didn’t sleep much the night before I left and then I couldn’t sleep at all on the long flight over the ocean. I felt so lost and confused when i got off the plane - I had no idea what to do next - and was quite grateful to follow the girl i sat next to who was an American going to school in London. I went through immigration with a medium long but cheerful wait. By the time i was done, the crowd was mostly gone and I had no idea where i was supposed to go or do next. I went down a couple ramps and picked up my bag. i saw a little booth where i bought my train ticket to Victoria Station. i headed out to the train area at the airport. i bought myself a coffee that tasted like yuck. I sat down and tried to think a minute, and appreciate I was in England. I got on an elevator and went down to a platform. The train was just like i imagined British trains to be. I wrote in my journal. I stared out the window. So many town look like towns in movies, I thought in particular of Time Bandits.

The first freak out kind of really happened at Victoria Station. I was so tired things were blurry and buzzy. I was cold. Freezing! Harsh wind and freezing cold were making me unable to cope with life. I just wanted to be there already. All the planning. All the prep. All the traveling - I just wanted to be settled in and into the trip.

Soon I didn’t care about anything except getting to my room as quickly as possible. For some reason I gave up on the idea of taking the tube. I went outside. I saw taxis and I saw the big hop on hope off busses. I asked if i could take my suitcase on the busses and they said yes. I bought a ticket and wandered around like a fool trying to find the right bus. Of course the top of the bus is open, and it was just as freezing there as everywhere else. I insisted on sitting up top though so I could see the sites. The guide was great but I don’t remember anything he said really. I wanted to take a thousand pictures but my camera had issues and had ran it’s battery out.

I got off at the St Paul’s stop, and it took a couple people to show me where that little Carter Street or whatever was. I drug my suitcase up the stairs at the YHA and checked in.

My room was down hall after hall. At the end of each were a few stairs up or down or a door. At the end of all the hallways, it was up two flights of steps and through 2 more doorways to my room. My bed was on the floor. One of 8. I came to love it and thought of it as my space.

The bathroom was just outside the door on the left. It wasn’t bad, but the trash was always overflowing. Always. In every bathroom in that place. The showers were down the hall a little. Dark and tiny but private.

So I got there, messed with my stuff, changed my clothes and shoved all my stuff in my cubicle. I headed out. I had no idea where I was or where I was going until my 5pm appointment with a live guide at the London Eye. I knew where St Paul’s was, and i knew where the Millennium Bridge was. That’s all I thought I really needed. Plus I had the all day tour bus pass, and an excellent map (inside the Moleskeine City Guide).

I was just in awe. I was freaked out. It was cold, buzzy and my brain was fuzzy. I was in London England. London! England! at the start of an unbelieveable trip.

I stumbled all around St Paul’s. Amazed. The city was so busy with people in suits and cars driving on the wrong side of the road. I walked across the Millennium Bridge. The sides are plexiglass, I could see the Thames. The Thames! so many thoughts and associations. Like during the little ice age, they would have a Frost Faire on the river because it was so frozen over. I walked across and looked back and couldn’t believe how far I’d come.

I saw the fake Shakespeare Theatre, and the walk along the river. Behind me was the Tate Modern and I decided to go in and check it out. But I couldn’t find the entrance. I was so tired and felt so weird, after walking around two sides i gave up. I saw a little wagon selling drinks and a bunch of brightly colored chairs and tables. I realized I had skipped sleep and hadn’t really eaten anything either. I got some water and some apple juice. The guy in the wagon was nice, I remember. I wrote in my journal.

After that, I got super lost. I wandered around some streets forever. I walked past the giant traffic circle with something in the middle by Waterloo station. i saw Waterloo station which was incredibly lovely. I could see the eye, of course, but i couldn’t seem to get to it. Well, not for a long time. Eventually I wandered up behind it. There was a park with benches and I sat and watched the river for a while. Then I wandered along the riverbank. There were some shops and a museum of Dali. There were people all over, tourists and families on a day out. I saw Parliment and Big Ben across the river but didn’t walk across the bridge. I found the bus people and checked when they stopped running. I stopped in the Mcdonalds for fries and a soda. I wrote in my journal. I hung out until it was time for the Eye.

That was great. It was just me, a guide, and one other guy. Definitely make reservations for that thing. Our guide pointed all kinds of things out and I could see forever from up there. As long as i stood on the steel and not the glass, it wasn’t too scary. And they even took a picture of me in the pod, all nice and touristy and over priced (yes, I did buy it).

After the eye, I walked to the bus and rode it home. It wasn’t really far, but I did get to see a few things, and get a better idea where I was v. where everything else was. I took a bunch more pictures of St Pauls. I don’t know if that night I ate at the hostel or from Marks and Spencer. I know i went to bed early. So tired. I crashed right out and woke up early the next day.

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Photos

Where I slept.
Inside a dorm room at the St Paul's YHA. Highly recommended, especially for families and folks over 30.

Colorful Chairs
Outside the Tate Modern

London Street
Photos from when I was lost.

Phone Home?
The first little red box phone I came across.

London street
Photos from when I was lost.

Waterloo Station
Beautiful

London street
Photos from when I was lost.

Parliment
My first view, from across the river.