we have arrived!
im a bit discombobulated, which may or may not be an actual word in any realm of the English language.
Note 1: The UK (GMT according to LOM) is 5 hours ahead of Boston (EST)
Note 2: The UK operates on what the US refers to as "Military Time", or a 24 hour clock.
Note 3: All postings from London will be in GMT and on the 24 hour clock.
here's what my day looked like:
6pm EST
we left Boston on a jetplane
8pm EST
switched planes in Newark
8:00 GMT(3am EST)
we arrived! and with all the comfort and sleep of staying the night in a milk crate outside of the Hynes T Station in -30 degree weather
LOM was very thorough in her pre-trip investigations and was able to get us out of the airport, into an express train, onto the Tube (English for "Subway"), and to our room at the Radisson Edwardian Vanderbilt hotel without a hitch.
10:00 GMT
as expected, our room was not yet ready and we would find our unkempt and exhausted selves roomless and waiting what felt like an eternity before we could rest up and shower.
killing time, we left our luggage at the hotel to investigate our surroundings. we walked through Kensington Park/Gardens and found our way to a small supermarket where we bought cherries, bottled water, a sandwich (for LOM) and a cookie (for me). this cost �10, which is about $18 US. thank goddess most of the tourist sites are free! its going to cost an arm and a leg just to keep us from starving.
Noon GMT
like any hungry and tired tourist without a place to go, we hunkered down in the lobby and passed out in the cushy victorian chairs in the window
13:00 GMT
LOM took charge and got us a different and unoccupied room. we took one look at the room and immediately went into nap mode
16:00 GMT
we wake and shower up a bit, our next stop being dinner. we chose a cute little Indian place down the road. The Delhi Brasserie offered much of our favorite dishes but with a little twist. i had Chicken Tikka Masala (my overall fav) which was drizzled over with yummy coconut milk. yum! they liked us so much they gave us someone elses gold membership card and told us to come back and use it for 10% off of all our meals with them.
19:00 GMT
we return to our room and prepare for an outing to Piccadilly Circus (the Times Square of London), stopping in at a few shops (the Virgin, Tower Records, Boots [a pharmacy], Cafe Nero [London's version of Starbucks], and Waterstone Books. we were able to buy several books currently only available in hard cover in the US (imagine $20-$30 each) for a measily $10 US dollars each... what a deal!
21:00 GMT
we return to the hotel after all our running about, shopping, eating, napping, and disorientation
fortunately i have great spacial capabilities while navigating and LOM is great with remembering names and places. between the two of us we've got this place figured out.
previously:
weather or not - 2006-03-07
My Flight - 2006-03-02
poetree in motion - 2006-02-28
ultimate personality test - 2006-02-25
limerick e-trip - 2006-02-22