Europe adventure, first day in London
written on train on netbook, thur 09/23, 09:12am
I am unshowered, yet I am wet.
Stayed on the internet until about 11:30 last night, including downloading another audiobook section in case I wanted it today. Went two doors down back to my own hotel. Man, I didn't like it there. I felt very uncomfortable. I read another Philip K Dick story then decided to try to get some sleep. I pulled the top sheet and blanket over but didn't want to put them on top of myself, so I just stayed fully dressed laying on the bottom sheet, on an extremely hard bed. I ended up getting out my plane pillows and a couple of travel blankets to try to soften it up some.
I had my alarm set for 7:45am, to give me time to shower (if the hotel's one shower room was available), head towards the station, grab breakfast along the way, and be there with time to spare for checkin 30 minutes before boarding.
Unfortunately after my alarm went off at 7:45, I fell back asleep until 8:22. That's obviously not too bad, could have been much worse and I could have missed my train! As it was, it basically just meant that I had to skip the showering/breakfast part. So I washed up some using the sink and soap and towel in my room, threw on a fresh shirt, found my ticket, and headed to the station.
On the first departure monitor I saw it just showed no platform number for the train, so I thought that maybe I was actually early (right at 1/2 hour before) and they hadn't decided on it yet. I checked the larger station platorm though, and it said 1st floor (which is usually the floor above ground here). Found the elevator up there, a turnstile to go past with my tickets, French border guards (for leaving France?), then UK border guards (yay new stamp! I didn't get one in Switzerland on that train).
After the customs line was a security screen. Similar to plane ones but less intense. Just bags through x-ray, and you through metal detector, no need to take off shoes or separate out laptop or liquids.
Though that may have *helped* me. See, back to that I'm "wet" part...
In the spa hotel they gave us bottles of Valser sparkling water in our room. In my first room I opened it up and tried it. In my second room I left the bottle intact. I'm not a big fan of sparkling water (until it becomes Italian soda). So, as I was leaving, since I was going to meet up with Marc in two days, and he loves sparkling water, I thought I'd bring it to him. Since it's, you know, foreign. And it seemed to be almost all they drank at the spa, there's gotta be something to it.
So in my thin little brown shoulder (just in case I need an) extra bag, with my pillows and blankets, was the huge glass bottle of sparkling water. I think it broke when I set it down right before putting it through the xray. I heard it make a noise, but either didn't think or was in denial that it was the bottle. Assembled self post-xray with bags, started walking, and realized my leg was pretty wet. Stopped near a garbage can, took the broken bottle in a plastic bag (so glad it was in that, broken glass to deal with would not have been fun), and then tried to ring out the bag/blankets as best I could since I didn't have much time to board.
In the end, the whole bottom of my bag, a third of my right leg, a spot on my left leg, and most of my butt are wet.
Seated now, drying off, bustling towards London.
They said breakfast would be by soon? Served in our seats I guess? That'll be good. I need food. I also need water. My Nalgene water bottle rim was starting to look nasty. It needs to be cleaned, and I didn't really feel like drinking from it, so I dumped that water out before I got to the train station.
All the seats here are across from other people. It's really weird, the forced facing of somebody. It also means less room to stretch out legs. I chose 1st class again. I wonder what the 2nd class seats were like. It may not have been worth it...
Anyway, a little grumpy right now. Looking forward, a lot, to breakfast of some sort and drinking something. I hope they come by soon.
================================
written in hostel room on netbook 10:38pm
Marc is in the shower so I am taking the time to recap some.
I got to the train station on schedule, but Marc's flight was delayed, so instead of meeting me there at around the same time, he was only there two hours later. I was a little worried for awhile, a little restless in the station near the luggage area where we were supposed to meet, etc. but in the end he got there and we joined forces.
After checking our bags into storage for the day we walked out of the station to wander and try to find lunch. We ended up at a decent pub with very reasonable prices, and eventually even a spot to charge our phones some.
Then we walked for a long time. Back past the station to Reagant Park. It's a very beautiful park. We walked through the length of it, stopped at a sausage place for tea/muffin/hot chocolate, walked past the zoo. We were going to take a bus back to the subway but ended up walking that length too, including going down by some water, taking the "Tow" path. It was a very cute area, ended in a heavy merchant street in Camden, then finally subway back to San Pancras.
Marc had a work call so we found a coffee shop that had some outlets around the corner so he could plug in the phone. Our host is away in Berkshire for the evening so we originally intended on taking the train out to meet him there, but we were wary of another hour of travel, so I started looking up potential hostel/hotel rooms. Marc's meeting was canceled and the internet was terrible so we went to the sushi place right next to the coffee shop. It had a train with little color coded plates. I got really full, but it was tasty.
Near the end of the meal the internet was behaving slightly better and we found a reasonable hostel room, twin private, so sharing two small beds, but with an attached bathroom, and only about 20 pounds more than the return trip trains would have been, but saving energy and time.
Two short subways later and here we are. The room is funny. It had an extra bed in it, which is nice because it means we don't need to share a bunkbed, and we can move the two single beds next to eachother.
Marc is out of the shower now, so I guess it's my turn.
Woo! London! With my boyfriend! Yay!
I am unshowered, yet I am wet.
Stayed on the internet until about 11:30 last night, including downloading another audiobook section in case I wanted it today. Went two doors down back to my own hotel. Man, I didn't like it there. I felt very uncomfortable. I read another Philip K Dick story then decided to try to get some sleep. I pulled the top sheet and blanket over but didn't want to put them on top of myself, so I just stayed fully dressed laying on the bottom sheet, on an extremely hard bed. I ended up getting out my plane pillows and a couple of travel blankets to try to soften it up some.
I had my alarm set for 7:45am, to give me time to shower (if the hotel's one shower room was available), head towards the station, grab breakfast along the way, and be there with time to spare for checkin 30 minutes before boarding.
Unfortunately after my alarm went off at 7:45, I fell back asleep until 8:22. That's obviously not too bad, could have been much worse and I could have missed my train! As it was, it basically just meant that I had to skip the showering/breakfast part. So I washed up some using the sink and soap and towel in my room, threw on a fresh shirt, found my ticket, and headed to the station.
On the first departure monitor I saw it just showed no platform number for the train, so I thought that maybe I was actually early (right at 1/2 hour before) and they hadn't decided on it yet. I checked the larger station platorm though, and it said 1st floor (which is usually the floor above ground here). Found the elevator up there, a turnstile to go past with my tickets, French border guards (for leaving France?), then UK border guards (yay new stamp! I didn't get one in Switzerland on that train).
After the customs line was a security screen. Similar to plane ones but less intense. Just bags through x-ray, and you through metal detector, no need to take off shoes or separate out laptop or liquids.
Though that may have *helped* me. See, back to that I'm "wet" part...
In the spa hotel they gave us bottles of Valser sparkling water in our room. In my first room I opened it up and tried it. In my second room I left the bottle intact. I'm not a big fan of sparkling water (until it becomes Italian soda). So, as I was leaving, since I was going to meet up with Marc in two days, and he loves sparkling water, I thought I'd bring it to him. Since it's, you know, foreign. And it seemed to be almost all they drank at the spa, there's gotta be something to it.
So in my thin little brown shoulder (just in case I need an) extra bag, with my pillows and blankets, was the huge glass bottle of sparkling water. I think it broke when I set it down right before putting it through the xray. I heard it make a noise, but either didn't think or was in denial that it was the bottle. Assembled self post-xray with bags, started walking, and realized my leg was pretty wet. Stopped near a garbage can, took the broken bottle in a plastic bag (so glad it was in that, broken glass to deal with would not have been fun), and then tried to ring out the bag/blankets as best I could since I didn't have much time to board.
In the end, the whole bottom of my bag, a third of my right leg, a spot on my left leg, and most of my butt are wet.
Seated now, drying off, bustling towards London.
They said breakfast would be by soon? Served in our seats I guess? That'll be good. I need food. I also need water. My Nalgene water bottle rim was starting to look nasty. It needs to be cleaned, and I didn't really feel like drinking from it, so I dumped that water out before I got to the train station.
All the seats here are across from other people. It's really weird, the forced facing of somebody. It also means less room to stretch out legs. I chose 1st class again. I wonder what the 2nd class seats were like. It may not have been worth it...
Anyway, a little grumpy right now. Looking forward, a lot, to breakfast of some sort and drinking something. I hope they come by soon.
================================
written in hostel room on netbook 10:38pm
Marc is in the shower so I am taking the time to recap some.
I got to the train station on schedule, but Marc's flight was delayed, so instead of meeting me there at around the same time, he was only there two hours later. I was a little worried for awhile, a little restless in the station near the luggage area where we were supposed to meet, etc. but in the end he got there and we joined forces.
After checking our bags into storage for the day we walked out of the station to wander and try to find lunch. We ended up at a decent pub with very reasonable prices, and eventually even a spot to charge our phones some.
Then we walked for a long time. Back past the station to Reagant Park. It's a very beautiful park. We walked through the length of it, stopped at a sausage place for tea/muffin/hot chocolate, walked past the zoo. We were going to take a bus back to the subway but ended up walking that length too, including going down by some water, taking the "Tow" path. It was a very cute area, ended in a heavy merchant street in Camden, then finally subway back to San Pancras.
Marc had a work call so we found a coffee shop that had some outlets around the corner so he could plug in the phone. Our host is away in Berkshire for the evening so we originally intended on taking the train out to meet him there, but we were wary of another hour of travel, so I started looking up potential hostel/hotel rooms. Marc's meeting was canceled and the internet was terrible so we went to the sushi place right next to the coffee shop. It had a train with little color coded plates. I got really full, but it was tasty.
Near the end of the meal the internet was behaving slightly better and we found a reasonable hostel room, twin private, so sharing two small beds, but with an attached bathroom, and only about 20 pounds more than the return trip trains would have been, but saving energy and time.
Two short subways later and here we are. The room is funny. It had an extra bed in it, which is nice because it means we don't need to share a bunkbed, and we can move the two single beds next to eachother.
Marc is out of the shower now, so I guess it's my turn.
Woo! London! With my boyfriend! Yay!