The Beginning of an Adventure
Travelling to London was an adventure in itself. I had 3 separate flights totalling in roughly 13 and a half hours in the air, and about 5 on the ground, which is not bad at all. Having not slept very well the night before though made it feel like the worst thing in the wold. I met some very nice people on the last flight and they made the longest flight very enjoyable. I learned that I don't mind Air Canada as much as I used to.
My first day in London led me to Egham, Richmond, Kensington, and Chelsea. I had a friend show me around Royal Holloway University where I fell in love with the architecture. It made me feel like a university student just being on the grounds. Established all the way back in 1879, it is the perfect blend of the Victorian era and modern architecture, much like London itself. I fell in love with the library, which is open with tons of natural light all over. Egham itself feels like walking into one of the many BBC dramas I grew up watching.
After a trip to the local Tesco Supermarket and picking up a sim card, I was off to check into my new flat. Placed in Kensington, it's close to Hyde Park and the Natural History Musem and is right around the corner from an Underground Station as well as a bunch of restaurants. Once I'd dropped off my bags and had found that my flat was fully furnished with nearly all the essentials, I went on a quest to find a towel. Having been to a Tesco earlier that day, I thought the Tesco express around the corner might have what I needed - I was sorely mistaken. After grabbing some basic groceries to hold me over for the next few days, I pulled out my trusty phone and googled a Marks and Spencers. I had heard that they sold nearly everything, so I thought that that would be my next best option. Based on google maps, I found one 20 some off minutes away from my location. Off I went, turning this way and that through the narrow streets of nearly suburban streets of Kensington. At one point, I came to what I have come to call "squiggly intersections." They're part round-about, part fork in the road. As a pedestrian following a digital map, they are quite difficult to navigate. Also, the street signs here are placed on the side of buildings, instead of on tall street signs like in North America, unless you know where they are located, they can be tricky to find. Once I got to the Marks and Spencers, my heart dropped to see that this particular one did not have household items. There were no beloved towels. After asking a store clerk to double check, only to understand about half of what he said because he spoke very quickly, I kept on with my search for a towel. After another half hour of winding my way through "squiggly intersections" and main streets, I found myself in Chelsea, the next area over from Kensington. It was getting late and I needed to get back to my flat. Using google once again, I was able to backtrack my way to Kensignton and safely return to my flat where I slept for twelve hours. My first day in London I learned that I can do decently on 5 hours of sleep when having to constantly be going for about 40 hours and that London was not built for convenience. I also learned that Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy was right to say that one should ALWAYS travel with a towel.
All in all, I am excited to discover what this city has to offer.
My first day in London led me to Egham, Richmond, Kensington, and Chelsea. I had a friend show me around Royal Holloway University where I fell in love with the architecture. It made me feel like a university student just being on the grounds. Established all the way back in 1879, it is the perfect blend of the Victorian era and modern architecture, much like London itself. I fell in love with the library, which is open with tons of natural light all over. Egham itself feels like walking into one of the many BBC dramas I grew up watching.
After a trip to the local Tesco Supermarket and picking up a sim card, I was off to check into my new flat. Placed in Kensington, it's close to Hyde Park and the Natural History Musem and is right around the corner from an Underground Station as well as a bunch of restaurants. Once I'd dropped off my bags and had found that my flat was fully furnished with nearly all the essentials, I went on a quest to find a towel. Having been to a Tesco earlier that day, I thought the Tesco express around the corner might have what I needed - I was sorely mistaken. After grabbing some basic groceries to hold me over for the next few days, I pulled out my trusty phone and googled a Marks and Spencers. I had heard that they sold nearly everything, so I thought that that would be my next best option. Based on google maps, I found one 20 some off minutes away from my location. Off I went, turning this way and that through the narrow streets of nearly suburban streets of Kensington. At one point, I came to what I have come to call "squiggly intersections." They're part round-about, part fork in the road. As a pedestrian following a digital map, they are quite difficult to navigate. Also, the street signs here are placed on the side of buildings, instead of on tall street signs like in North America, unless you know where they are located, they can be tricky to find. Once I got to the Marks and Spencers, my heart dropped to see that this particular one did not have household items. There were no beloved towels. After asking a store clerk to double check, only to understand about half of what he said because he spoke very quickly, I kept on with my search for a towel. After another half hour of winding my way through "squiggly intersections" and main streets, I found myself in Chelsea, the next area over from Kensington. It was getting late and I needed to get back to my flat. Using google once again, I was able to backtrack my way to Kensignton and safely return to my flat where I slept for twelve hours. My first day in London I learned that I can do decently on 5 hours of sleep when having to constantly be going for about 40 hours and that London was not built for convenience. I also learned that Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy was right to say that one should ALWAYS travel with a towel.
All in all, I am excited to discover what this city has to offer.
The border guard was very nice. He had a few questions as to why I was staying in Britain for so long, but then he proceeded to stamp my passport. Now I have a stamp that isn't from the US.
I learned that the main building on Royal Holloway's Campus is what much of Hogwarts has been patterned after. Both inside and outside. I definitely geeked out here.
Egham is the iconic "old" English feel. It is quite nice.
This House is built on one of the "squiggly" intersections. I thought it was very interesting.
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