The flight from Seattle to London was fairly uneventful and while I didn’t get an upgrade to a better seat class I did find myself with an empty seat next to me when the rest of the plane was almost entirely full. This extra seat was life changing, at least for the 9 hours I was in flight. I think the seat luck was good kharma due to my chocolate bribes er….gifts.
I easily made it through Immigration, collected my luggage and bought my express ticket to London Central/Paddington Station to go to my first hosts Jim and Kim Beach. I knew I was going to forget something, or several somethings, the first became obvious when I went to look for Jim’s cell number. I was to text when I arrived at Paddington Station, hard to do without a phone number. Thankfully I was able to get free wi-fi on the train and was able to leave a HeyTell message to coordinate a meeting place.
Jim came and met me at Paddington Station and lugged my bag back to their flat for me. I had changed shoes at the airport knowing I was going to be walking a bit, I traded my slip on Tom’s for a more suitable walking shoe, or so I thought. It took about five minutes of walking before the blisters started on the back of my heel and left me wobbling around pathetically. I arrived at their flat, learning that the second floor flat was actually what a third floor would be in the US, they count the main floor as 0. After a few minutes catching up with Jim and Kim and a quick shower we were of off to explore and run some Saturday errands. I quickly learned that the pubs and restaurants near one’s home were considered Locals, the Beaches were gracious enough to show me four of their locals. All very nice, friendly places. I am sure if I lived near I would find them often, quite the neighborhood gathering.
We went to several stores, a kitchen supply store, an electrical store, coffee shop and two grocery stores. It was quite interesting to see the different types of food offered. Also, there didn’t seem to be much one stop shopping options. I guess such is life in the big city.
The evening had us going to several local places and having a wonderful dinner together. I had an amazing lamb dish followed by a stolen bite of Jim’s dessert and a cappuccino. The jet lag was staved off for a bit and we hit one final local before heading home to bed.
This morning I enjoyed an iced americano and a slice of toast before heading out to King’s Cross Station to catch my train to Edinburgh. I was to take the Bakerloo line at the Warwick Station to Baker Street and then transfer to the Metropolitan Line. As I approached to transfer I was greeted with a closed line, my options were to take a surface bus or to take another train to Oxford Station and another transfer. I opted for the train. It was able to maneuver quite well and was at King’s Cross in no time. I got my train ticket a tuna panini for the ride and boarded the train which I am ecstatic to say has free wifi!
The pictures below are a scattering of images taken from my time in London. A huge thank you again to Jim and Kim for your hospitality! You made the first night of my trip so wonderful and memorable!
XOXO –
Sarah Jane