sometimes i get that not so fresh feeling - reality bites

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highs
standing in front of buckingham palace & kensington palace
seeing a mother swan and her ducklings (?) in hyde park

lows
saying goodbye to my mum, kelly and sophie

people i've met
emmas roomies - xena, greg, shannon, dan


I arrived on sunday morning after 20 something hours in the air to find that I didnt have any credit on my phone and couldnt text my friend Emma to get her to meet me. I was still a bit emotional after leaving Mum, Kelly and Sophie behind, was also weary and stinky from the flight, and was struggling with my bags, so I got a bit teary again. Told myself to suck it up and sort it out so I bought a phone card and called Mum to see if she could call the phone company for me, and I set off for my first tube journey.

I made it to Paddington Station, and called Emma on a payphone to see where I needed to meet her, but there was no answer. So I tried again and luckily she answered and told me she'd meet me at her local tube station (Putney Bridge). So I loaded myself up again and went on my way, and within 2 minutes of arriving Em walked around the corner - I told her that Ive never before been so happy to see a friendly face.

Ems place is pretty cool, it has 5 bedrooms and a small room downstairs that they use for 'dossers'. Theres 6 of them living there, including a couple, and doesn't feel as cramped as I though a house with that many people would. But it's over 3 floors and there are 2 bathrooms, so that helps.

We had a good old fashioned BBQ on Sunday, and I went to bed at about 8pm. I tried to stay awake as long as I could to try and combat the effects of jetlag. And then it rained on Monday (which was a public holiday) so Em and I bummed around her place, then met Xena and her friend Sarah at the local for a drink, and then Bec and Kurt came down and met us for dinner.

Today I struggled a bit to get out of bed, everyone else has to get up for work so it was probably better that I stayed in bed and stayed out of their way anyway. I finally got myself sorted and out the door at about 11am, and hopped a bus to the city. I went to Tescos (like Woolworths) first and picked up an A-Z street directory, which I already know is going to be my bible.

My first stop was Buckingham Palace and the flag was up so the Queen was in. I was too late to see the changing of the guards but theres plenty of ime for that. Next I walked up to Piccadilly Circus, and up Regent Street to Oxford Circus. Then caught a tube to Notting Hill, and walked down to Kensington Palace, and through Kensington Gardens to Hyde Park.

Neither of the palaces were as grand as I thought they would be, but the gardens and park far exceeded my expectations. The 'Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain' was particularly beautiful - its not like a typical fountain, more like a stream at ground level with various shapes and water features which cause the water to fall differently and to make different sounds, and I think thats the beauty of it cause she wasnt your typical person.

Im meeting up with Jeanette tomorrow to do some more sightseeing. Im particularly looking forward to going on the London Eye, and visiting St Pauls Cathedral and Westminster Abbey.

I already suspected that London was a pretty easy place to get around, and after today im feeling very confident about living and working here after my trip.

Until next time...

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Comments

[Nicolle]

Hello
Hi Lyndal, glad to see that you have arrived safely and are settling in well, I hope you enjoy yourself and i look forward to all your updates! Nicolle.