London 26-29 June 2009
I
finally managed to get back to London again, after three years – again
with Annika as a travel partner! This entry is actually copied from my English blog, Another Day - Another Destiny (which is now closed) - but if you haven't read that, or it's been a while, this is a fairly detailed description of my 2009-trip with Annika.
Enjoy!
June 26 – Friday
I
was meeting Annika at Gothenburg City Airport at 8.30 a.m. and had a
pretty intense morning before I got on the road. Lots of little things
didn’t work out quite as planned, but eventually they sorted themselves
out, and we met without major hitches. To avoid lots of extra costs, we
had decided to share one bag that we checked in, so we had to do a
little reorganizing at the Airport Carpark! Again to reduce costs we had
decided on “online check in”, and neither one of us had no idea how
that worked, but we managed to solve it without any problems! (Though it
took the City Airport check in as well as the Stanstead Airport check
in for me to “get it”, but I think I’ve figured out the benefits of it
now! Better late than never?!)
We were really early, as we had been
unsure of the check in, so we had quite a long wait at the airport, even
though our flight was on time. I know there are lots of security checks
now, which I think is really good, but I was still surprised at the
tiny little City Airport (they have like 4 check in desks and 3 gates!),
we had to show our boarding card five times (!) and there was even a
passport check – they usually only check your passport on arrival!
We
got good seats on the plane, despite barding rather late, and the
flight was pretty eventless. We did buy Stanstead Express tickets, but
I’m beginning to think I should look at other ways of getting those …
They started selling them really late, and they wanted payment in
Euros!! Since neither Sweden nor England uses Euros, you’re hardly
likely to be carrying any with you, and the steward selling the tickets
had no clue as to the exchange rate! For my next London trip, I’ll
definitely check out other options! It’s one thing if they are a lot
cheaper on board the plane, but somehow I doubt that! I think it’s
possible to purchase the tickets online, I’m guessing that’s the best
solution!
Before long we had gone through Stanstead Airport and boarded
the Stanstead Express – me with my usual after-flight-headache, but
still really really excited about being in England once again! Upon
arriving promptly at Liverpool Street Station, we bought Bus Passes and
had lunch at McDonald’s before finding a bus.
This is probably going
to sound silly, but I just love that first bus ride from Liverpool
Street. I know I’m a slave under habit and keep doing the same things
over and over – but if I’m happy with it, what’s the harm? It’s bus 23
to somewhere around Piccadilly Circus or Regent Street (or Oxford
Street), where there’s a bus change to get to Bayswater. And that first
bus ride, it’s just fantastic! You know you have the entire trip ahead
of you, all the possibilities in the world, and you get a good tour of
London as well. I have completely fallen in love with London, and it’s
great to see all the familiar sites again – first the financial
district, where the streets are crowded and the bus stops every 100
meters or so. Then the Royal Courts of Justice, a really impressive set
of buildings! You pass through Aldwych before arriving at Trafalgar
Square and Nelson’s Column. After that you reach Piccadilly Circus with
the famous Eros statue and then turn up on to the fascinating Regent
Street! We got off at Regent Street and waited for bus 94 to get to
Bayswater Road. I had a fairly good idea on where our hotel was, even
though we had apparently ended up in an area between Bayswater and
Paddington, that none of our maps really covered!
At this point
of our trip, the “Bus Problem” started. I know that public transport in
London is huge and not 100% reliable, but during this trip, it was
almost ridiculous!
Anyway, we waited for bus 94, and waited, and
waited … and waited! We saw a few 94s in the opposite direction, but not
a single one appeared at our Bus Stop. I knew that buses 15 and 23 went
near Paddington, and our hotel was actually between Bayswater and
Paddington, but I have always managed to get lost around Paddington – I
get really confused there – so I was reluctant to take any of those
buses! However, when we had waited probably about 40 minutes or so,
enough was enough!! We had a musical planned that evening and we simply
had to get to our hotel! We jumped on a bus 23 with me feeling quite
nervous. I wasn’t even sure where we should get off, but figured it
would be okay if we got off at Paddington station. As soon as we had
decided on that, the bus announced that it was going on diversion due to
some construction work! Thanks a lot!! Don’t ask me how, but we did
manage to get off at the “right” bus stop (even though we didn’t know
that at the time) and then started the uncertain walk to our hotel! Even
though it did take a while to reach the hotel, in retrospect, we
actually didn’t get lost! *yay us!* We didn’t take the very best way,
but it wasn’t a long detour either …
We had a twin room booked at
Paddington Court Rooms, but had been instructed to check in at the
sister hotel across the street, Paddington Court Hotel and Suites, as
our hotel did not have a reception disk. The check in presented no
problems, but we did end up getting a room at the Hotel & Suites
instead of Rooms … I didn’t protest, as the bill was the same, but we
did end up getting a double room instead of a twin. I guess that’s not
the end of the world, though I guess if we’d thought about it straight
away, we could have complained and probably gotten another room!
The
hotel was the nicest one I’ve lived in during my four trips to London,
without a doubt! The room was small, but I know what you have to pay to
get large rooms in London, and I really don’t think it’s worth it! It
was really nice and fresh and clean, and the bathroom was fantastic!!
That is … it was fantastic once we figured out how to turn the lights on
in there! *lol* It was really a simple construction, and quite smart,
though it wasn’t easy to figure out – Annika actually had to call
reception since we didn’t get it. Just as you entered the room, there
was a box on the wall, and when you stuck your key card in the box, the
lights to the bathroom turned on!! Really smart – no risk leaving the
bathroom lights on when you leave the room – but not easy to figure out
on your own! :)
Time flew by really quickly, and we really only
had time to unpack and catch our breath, before it was time to get ready
for “Phantom of the Opera” at Her Majesty’s Theatre! I wanted to go
down to Bayswater Road and take the 94 bus, because I figured that would
be much quicker than a walk to Paddington Station, especially since
those buses where on diversion and I was really unsure of where the bus
stops were. Annika however was really unsure and argued that if the 94
buses didn’t arrive once we’d gotten down to Bayswater Road it might
just jeopardize ‘Phantom’. I figured it wasn’t worth the risk, so we
walked to Paddington and found a bus without any problems. We walked
from Piccadilly Circues and stopped for a sandwich on the way to Her
Majesty’s Theatre!
We got fantastic seats on the third row of
Stalls (Row D), and it was just amazing to see Phantom in London!!! (for
further details, see the London Musicals Pages!)
After
the show we did some shopping for breakfast the next day, before
catching a bus from Piccadilly. Things went smoothly until we got to
Marble Arch, where the whole traffic came to a complete stop! It was
impossible to see what was going on, but we were standing there for
quite a while. I’m the kind of person, who really wants to know what’s
happening, but it was completely dark outside and the traffic was at a
standstill so you couldn’t see anything. Yet another “Bus Problem” …
After a long wait, the bus had to take some kind of detour – as I said,
it was practically impossible to see anything, but I think we went down
to Hyde Park Corner and turned around there … but I’m not sure!
Eventually we ended up back on Edgeware Road and from there things went
okay!
We were both really tired, and practically collapsed when we got to the hotel – it had certainly been an intense first day!
June 27 – Saturday
I
didn’t sleep well at all the first night, I have to admit that I’m not
used to – or that great at – sharing a double bed for a start. I also
woke up several times with a headache, which was quite annoying. When I
woke up “for real” the headache had developed into a true migraine – at
the worst possible moment of course! I felt really dreadful, and not at
all ready to face an intense Day 2 in London, and I also felt guilty
toward Annika, I didn’t want to ruin anything for her. When she woke up,
it turned out she had a migraine too and was feeling quite sick! I
guess I didn’t have to feel guilty but it still felt pretty rotten that
both of us were so out-of-it when we were in LONDON! I usually have a
very hard time trying to get rid of my migraines, but at this point I
felt I had no choice, I simply had to do anything and everything in my
power to get back on track as quickly as possible! I managed to get up
and take a shower. After that I drank all the coffee we had in the room
and a number of my own headache pills (I don’t think I should get into
exactly how many …). The headache wasn’t all gone, but at least I felt
good enough to be able to deal with the day – but unfortunately Annika
didn’t! She managed to get back to sleep for a while, and could get up
after that – and I ran downstairs and got her a coke, which I think
helped a little.
We were both able to leave the hotel at about
11, and while I know we were really really sick, I can’t help but feel
it was a waste of London hours! I know there wasn’t anything we could
do, but I still can’t shake that feeling … I love London oh-so-much, and
I want to be able to make the most of every single hour I’m there!
We
went straight to Queens Theatre and got our Les Misérables tickets for
the matinee show, and then we headed down toward Trafalgar Square. We
had bought some “food” (or whatever we figured we could eat, I had a
sandwich and Annika who’d been sick earlier had some crackers, and
popcorn … the popcorn weren’t that great though …), so we had some kind
of lunch next to Lord Nelson!
After that we took a walk along
Whitehall down to Parliament Square! I know I’m just repeating myself,
but I really love the atmosphere and the feel of London, especially
around these parts. It was however, quite hot, and my migraine was
quickly coming back! We did some photographing around Parliament Square,
but there lots of people and none of us were 100%, so we never went
over to St. Margaret’s Church and Westminster Abbey, though I really
wish I had had the energy to do so. We realized we had to take a bus
back, due to the heat, and I also really felt I needed something to
drink or my migraine would spin completely out of control. We walked to
the nearest bus stop and waited. And waited. And waited. Again with the
“Bus Problem” … It turned out the police had closed the entire street,
all the way up to Trafalgar Square, for a demonstration from Sri Lanka!!
At this point, I felt I was really close to fainting, and I honestly
didn’t know what to do! Luckily I had found a bench so I could sit down,
but all I could do was look at my own feet, as soon as I moved my head I
saw black spots in front of my eyes! Not funny!! I really can’t say how
long we had to wait, to me it felt like we sat there for hours, but of
course I know we didn’t! I guess it wasn’t more than maybe half an hour,
even though I felt we’d never get on a bus!
Since the buses were so
late, we had to stand up, and that was also a trying experience, as I
had struggled against fainting just sitting down! Eventually we did get
to Regent Street and rushed into a McDonald’s, and I got a life-saving
large Coke! Unfortunately when we were in line, some young kids came in
and one little brat decided to throw his opened juice bottle toward the
line – meaning both me and Annika got quite wet from orange juice!
Anyway,
due to all of this we were almost running late for Les Misérables so we
hurried up to Queens while I tried to drink my Coke.
And what
can I say!?! Well, one thing is for sure – I’m soooo happy that we had
Les Miz planned for this day, because I was feeling really rotten before
it started and had it been any other musical, I think it would have
been completely ruined for me. As it were, I didn’t have to pay that
much attention to the plot or the characters or the songs, as I know it
all by heart, and instead concentrate on the bits that really interest
me. That also meant I could relax a little bit during the parts I’m not
so into, so it was really lucky we decided on Les Miz that day! (for a
detailed review on the show, see separate entry!)
I did however,
feel completely out-of-it after the show, and we took a bus straight
back to the hotel! My migraine had come back and I’m pretty sure I had a
fever when we were on the bus. When we got to Paddington it started
raining, and by the time we’d gotten off, it was almost a hail storm!!!
The temperature dropped radically, and we rushed into the nearest store –
we had to do some shopping anyway. We got in there completely soaked,
and the store had full air conditioning! I don’t know if I’ve ever been
so cold in my entire life, I ended up standing in a corner of the store
just shaking! After a while the rain eased off a bit and we managed to
get to our hotel, even though we were totally soaked once we got there.
We had thought about taking a rest at the hotel for a while, and then
head out to Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens, but I was really ill when
we got back and jumped into bed straight away! Again feeling kind of
guilty toward Annika, but I was really out-of-it and I feel asleep
already at 9-9.30, I just couldn’t help myself!
June 28 – Sunday
I
didn’t sleep very well the night to Sunday either, but at about 4 a.m.
we opened the window and that really helped. I guess the ventilation in
the room wasn’t good at all (practically nonexistent) and we didn’t want
the air condition to run during the night – and I’m guessing that’s
what caused both our migraines and headaches … I did wake up with a
headache anyway but at least I felt better than the day before – though
Annika didn’t feel great.
We left the hotel at about 10, and took
a bus to The Tower. We got seats on the top floor so we ended up taking
quite a few pictures during the bus ride. I guess you always wish for
even better photos, a better camera and a better objective, but I still
like my series of pictures from that bus ride! I had been to The Tower
once before, but I enjoy it a lot and didn’t mind going back at all –
and Annika hadn’t been there before. Though it’s rather pricy (even
though I got a Student ticket which was cheaper), it’s very much worth
it. Since it was Sunday we weren’t exactly alone there (!), and I think I
would have liked it even more had there not been quite so many people
there. I really wanted to take one of the guided Yeoman tours, but there
were so many people, I don’t think we would have heard anything even if
we had decided to take a tour. But I really wish I would have studied a
bit more first, I have a strong feeling you’d get so much more out of
the visit if you knew more of England’s history!! We walked around for a
while and when we took a break outside the White Tower, we ended up in
the middle of a … live theatre-thingy … It seemed really cool, a couple
of actors gathered several groups of visitors, and acted out sort of a
play! We weren’t involved, but one group gathered just where we were
sitting, around an actor portraying the Archbishop of Canterbury! He was
really great, and it sounded so much fun – I wish we could have taken
an active part. Annika had unfortunately some problems with her foot,
and since the exercise did seem to involve lots of walking and running
around, we decided to take it easy and walk around in our own pace
instead.
Naturally we went in to see the Crown Jewels, and even
though there are a lot of video displays and not that much time with the
actual Crown Jewels, it’s quite an experience to have actually seen
them!
Pictures from The Tower:
June 29 – Monday
We
slept with the window open all night, and that did make a difference, I
woke up at about 7 a.m. and felt better than ever!! A bit ironic since
it was our last day! The plane left at about 2.30, and since it’s a long
ride to Stanstead and we were a bit unsure of the check in procedure,
we had decided not to plan anything else, but instead be able to take it
easy all the way to the airport.
We checked out at about 9, and
there were no problems there, and took a bus to Liverpool Street. It was
nice not having to change buses, since we had our bags with us this
time. We were lucky at Liverpool Street, as there was a train leaving
for Stanstead about 10 minutes after we got there! The train trip was
okay and when we got to the airport, we had lunch at Burger King. Annika
was kind and bought me lunch, as we had decided I would drive her home,
when we got to Gothenburg. We ate in peace, and when we were done, we
went over to the Ryanair check in desks. Again not so easy to figure out
how it worked with online check in, but after a while we had it figured
out and there were no problems with checking in the bag. Next stop was
the security check, and that worked pretty smoothly too, though I was
quite surprised. On earlier trips I have had a certain handbag with me,
and all the time it has been pulled aside in the security check! Last
time, in 2006, I had another bag, and that went through without
problems! This time I had the “suspicious” bag, but I had it packed in a
larger backpack … and it went through! Very weird!
We did some
shopping at WH Smith and then had to wait a while for our gate to be
announced – but once that happened things moved along quickly, and we
were only about 10 minutes late!
The flight went well, and it was
lovely coming into Gothenburg where we saw the entire Swedish West Coast
with the sun about to set out to sea – very beautiful!!
Going
through City Airport went quickly and there were no problems in
collecting the car, so before long we were on our way to Annika’s
hometown! I dropped her off before heading up to the summerhouse, where
Zorro was very happy to see me!!
Before this London trip I was
very nervous about how I would cope! I hadn’t been in London in three
years, and even though I generally feel a lot better now, I still felt
uncertain! And I’m thrilled to announce that I did cope better than I
could have dreamed of!! Despite being ill and coping with those sorts of
problems, I think I handled the trip in a really good way … and now I’m
very much hoping to be able to go by myself there fairly soon! Money is
definitely a problem that I’m not sure how to solve, but I really
really want to take a trip to London on my own – to once and for all
prove to myself that I really can cope!! I did go to London alone in
2004, when I had been there both with my Mum and Dad (on separate
occasions of course!), but I didn’t handle that trip very well at all –
so I would like to go now and really prove to myself that I can do it!!
*fingers crossed*
Other photos from the trip:
From Trafalgar Square and Admiralty Arch:
Heading down to Westminster:
St. Paul's Cathedral.
Photos taken from Stansted Express - the last one of our plane upon arriving at the Airport! :)
Finishing off with some photos of me, taken by Annika (thanks for letting me use them!):
5 comments:
That does bring back a lot of memories!! Except for some health issues (I really wish I could forget our first morning) it was a great trip I think ! :)
It does bring back memories! :) I hope I'll find the time to add some photos to this page as well soon!
Yeah, that first morning was really horrible (also, I totally was NOT feeling well when we couldn't find a bus due to the Sri Lanka demonstration - but apart from that it was an awesome trip!!
Yeah..I remember :( and my foot was basically falling off at the Tower... :( Health-wise not the best trip....but other than that - great ;)
Exactly - if we can just forget about all the health issues, it really was a fantastic trip! :)
I totally agree! :)
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