Day 2 - Arrival in London!

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We finally arrived into Gatwick Airport at about 7 am. I was exhausted, but relieved to finally be there! After going through customs (which was much smoother than last time), and collecting my luggage, I bought a ticket for the Gatwick Express train. It took about half an hour to get into central London. This time I was able to use my expert knowledge of the tube to get to the Royal National, instead of struggling with the overpriced taxis. This was my first experience lugging my suitcase around on public transport, and it wouldn't be the last. I knew I had packed way too much, but I wasn't planning on shopping at all, so I figured I didn't need to leave much room.

Once I arrived at the hotel I went straight to the Contiki Basement to store my bags. They don't let you check in until 2 pm, which is very inconvenient, especially when you arrive at 9 in the morning. Most people who go on a Contiki tour will end up staying at the Royal National at some point. This is Contiki's home base in London, and it is where the Contiki Basement is located (see below). This is the largest hotel in Western Europe, and it is very easy to get lost in. This isn't a fancy hotel, but it is in a great location in Russell Square, about a two minute walk from the nearest tube station, and it is full of other Contiki travellers. In fact, if you pre- or post-book with Contiki you will be guaranteed to be rooming with someone else who is on a Contiki tour. Unless you are really looking to save some cash, I'd recommend staying here, since it is very easy and hassle-free, and you can get cheaper than normal rates through Contiki.

By this point I was pretty exhausted, so I decided to stay in the area and start at the British Museum, which I hadn't gotten to see the last time I was in London. This is an enormous museum located near Russell Square, adn the collection is all related to human history and culture. There are about 8 million pieces inside! The skies were overcast today, but it was still a nice walk to the museum (after I figured out how to get there). It's so hard to focus on culture and sights when all you want is to crawl into bed though. I spent about an hour in the museum (which is not nearly enough, I think I'll have to come back about 10 more times to actually see it all). After that I went to my favourite Starbucks close to the hotel to get a coffee, before doing some shopping (already). By this time it was nearly 2 o'clock so I headed back to the hotel to spend some time on the Internet before checking in. The Contiki Basement is a really great place: you can go on the Internet, book day-trips, talk to the reps, and meet other people who are heading out on Contiki. It's also where you will have your pre-departure meetings. I e-mailed my parents, my sister, and my boyfriend, hoping they missed me already (I think they did).

I checked into room 5244, where I met my roommate Ashley. She was from Ontario (Canada), and we had some good chats about our trips and what we were most excited for. At the Royal National, you pretty much have a new roommate every day. People are constantly coming and going as they start and end their tours. Some people might not like this, but I've always had great roommates. I really liked meeting someone new every day. After talking, I almost immediately fell asleep.

There is a really great forum on the Contiki website, and I used it to find out who was going to be on my tour beforehand. I started a Facebook group too, so I had already talked to about 30 of the people I was going to be travelling with. Some of them were in London already, or arriving soon, so we made plans to meet up. The first person I met was Jessie (from Australia). She came up to see me in my room and we made plans to go out that night and meet another tour mate, Jay (also from Australia). We took the tube to Covent Garden where we were supposed to find a pub called Maxwell's. It took us about an hour, and endless walking in circles, but we eventually found it, right beside the tube station we had arrived at. Duhhhhh. Then it took us almost another hour to get a drink, it was so busy. After this, we went to a Canadian pub (eh!), and ended the night with dinner at an Italian restaurant. All in all, a great first day in London!

What did I learn today? I have zero sense of direction. Maybe it's time to learn how to read a map!

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Photos

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Streets of London

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Outside the British Museum

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British Museum

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Shopping in London

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My room at the Royal National

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Rosetta Stone, British Museum