Friday, September 8, 2023

After having a very smooth travel day with on time flights and great service in-flight, today kinda made up for it in not a good way.

I got up several times during the eight hour flight to walk. One time I got in a conversation with one of the flight attendants. He gave me some great ideas of things to do while I am in London on my own for two days, He showed me a picture of the northern lights he had taken 20 minutes before I talked to him. They were amazing. I missed seeing them by 15 minutes! Dang it anyways. I sure wish they had announced it but most of the passengers were sleeping as that was in the middle of the night.

It only took me ten minutes to get through immigrations and customs and most of that was walking to the immigration area. The driver met me as he was supposed to. He had just arrived and was surprised I made it out to him that fast. Then the trip turned from smooth to not so smooth!

The drive from the airport to the hotel was to have taken 1 1/2 hours but ended up taking 2 1/2 hours due to traffic. He kept taking short cuts trying to get around traffic. I wonder if he had stuck to the original route if we would have made it sooner.

He asked me where I was from and then asked what the ethnic make-up is of the area I live in. I had to tell him Chase County is primarily white Caucasian. I told him we had some Hispanic and Blacks but they certainly were a minority. He then made a very racist comment about Blacks. I didn’t talk to him the rest of the trip. He was from the Middle East and had lived in New Jersey at one point in his life.

I checked my bags at the hotel as they told me my room wouldn’t be ready until 3:00. I went to the hotel restaurant and had breakfast. I must say it wasn’t worth the $24 I paid for it.

The flight attendant had recommended I take the blue route Big Bus on a tour of the city. That way I could see most of the sights from the road and not exert much energy as I was tired. I didn’t sleep much at all on the flight. The hotel sold tickets for it so I got one and asked directions and headed out. The directions sucked and I had to ask three other people how to find the bus.

London had a record high day for this summer yesterday and they were to have beaten that record today. The bus was not air conditioned. Traffic is horrendous and the route that was to take three hours took almost five. Needless to say by the end I was a hot mess in more than one way. I could have hopped off and gotten on a different bus or tried taking the Underground but I didn’t know where I was and my thinking power today was limited. I didn’t trust that I could figure it out and was afraid I would get lost.

London is a beautiful, old city. Cleaner than Rome and it reminded me of Paris. I loved the beautiful flower boxes hanging from the windows in many of the buildings. It is very crowded though and I never did quite understand the lane markings on the road. They appear to be suggestions of where to go but not necessarily the rule of the land. Delivery people would park in the oncoming traffic lane to deliver their goods. I had to close my eyes more than a couple of times as the driver of the bus cut it very close when he made turns. We never did hit anything but…….. So very grateful I was not driving. I would have been terrified!

I finally got to my room around 5:30. My friends from the Camino, Tom and Carolyn, will appreciate my struggle with the shower. It has two shower heads – a tall one and a hand held one. I couldn’t figure out how to make water come out of the tall one so used the hand held one. I had to mop water up off the floor when I was done as it got away from me once or twice. Maybe tomorrow when I am not so tired, I can figure it out.

The bath tub is almost mid-thigh high and I could have used a step stool to get in it. Getting out of a slick tub that is that high was tricky but I navigated it safely. Just as I got out and grabbed a towel, my hotel room door opened. Since I am in the room alone, I hadn’t closed the bathroom door which is right by the room door. I screamed and the person backed out quickly. I wrapped a towel around me and poked my head out the door to find out what they needed. They were checking to see if I needed any service. They didn’t knock before they opened the door. At this point, the only service I need is to be left alone. I am dangerous right now!

The air conditioning is not working well. It is 80 degrees in the room and I am struggling to figure out how to make it cooler.

I rarely have two bad days in a row so anticipating tomorrow will be much easier. I’m grateful I have this extra day to adjust. If I had come in tomorrow, I would have had to meet my tour group for dinner and I don’t think I would have made a very good first impression if that had been tonight.

Tomorrow I want to ask how to use the Underground and I want to go to Harrod’s department store. I saw it today from the bus. If I would have had some courage and energy I would have hopped off and then gotten back on the bus but I was way too tired and hot by then to do that. The flight attendant told me the Underground is as easy if not even easier than the one in Paris as it is in English. Kathy, Nicole and I figured out the one in Paris without much mishap.

The international charger I brought didn’t work. I have a two pin adapter and need a three. But I remembered reading somewhere that most TVs there days have an extra USB port on them and sure enough, this one does. I will only be able to charge things one at a time but I can make that work. If I happen to see a store while I am out tomorrow that sells converters, I will get the correct one.

I trust I will get lots of sleep tonight. I am ready to go to bed now. I am not hungry so will skip dinner and sleep instead.

Oh the adventures of traveling. Thank heavens most days aren’t like today. I am betting a good night’s sleep will make tomorrow go much easier.

Grateful for safe travels, grateful I held it together today, and grateful it is time to go to bed.