On the flight from Iceland I had the whole row to myself. ‘Nuff said; I slept most of the flight.
I had a layover in Hamburg in the middle of the night, and a new experience for me was to take busses to and from the terminal to the planes. It was strange to actually stand on the ground next to an airplane – but none of the huge jets seemed like they were actually going to squish me, and I was too tired to care anyhow. I don’t remember anything about the flight to London; I assume I slept through it. I got maybe 4 hours of sleep, which is, naturally, devastating for me.
Just like in Iceland, I was able to take the train from the airport to my friend’s apartment. That had been the idea at least; I fell asleep on the train and missed my stop, but fortunately was able to double back and change trains at King’s Cross.
Wait, I thought; THAT King’s Cross?? I was elated; I was actually there!! I finally got into my friend’s apartment to drop off my stuff, then went back to investigate.
London has fully embraced the Potter. I contemplated standing in line for the picture, but decided to stand in line for the store instead as the wait was about an hour shorter. No sooner had I had them print my boyfriend’s Hogwarts letter (#girlfriendpoints) than they evacuated the station! They instructed us to drop our unpaid merchandise on the floor and leave immediately. I don’t have it in me to walk out without paying so I dropped it on the floor, but I bet they lost more than one stuffed Hedwig in the commotion that afternoon.
As we made our way verrrryyyyy sllloowly to the door (no one was running in a panic! I couldn’t believe it), the unconcerned, gum-popping security guard was saying “nothing dangerous, they’re just evacuating. Keep moving.” After the past couple of years of US news I can’t imagine such a thing, and my eyes darted around nervously as we shuffled toward the exit.
It was probably just a power outage that was delaying the trains, not a mass shooting or anything like that. Of course, I’m an American so I decided not to stick around for the station to reopen, and walked back. No particular pride in that; far from it. I just figured, I’m on vacation; why spend my time in London doing something that’s so commonplace at home?
I spent the next couple of days sightseeing, going to the wax museum, having lots of afternoon tea, and finally getting that pedicure.
Protip: Groupon.
I highly recommend the circular cruise on the Thames – even without a regular tour guide and only a member of the crew to show us around, it was still highly entertaining, even if the seats were wet.
Straight out the gate: “On the right, you’ll see a building that was named by Prince Charles as “The Ugliest Building in London.” And he knows a thing or two about ugly things, doesn’t he? Buildings, of course, right.”
Or in reference to one of the many glass structures that line the Thames: “Like all new buildings in London, it has a row of shops on the bottom, a fancy restaurant at the top, and unaffordable housing in the middle.”
I did manage to get a nice dramatic picture or two in, just before it rained all the way back.
Unfortunately they were doing so work on the Tower, so I wasn’t able to have any closer a look than this.
I also visited Madame Tussaud’s, and although some of the likenesses appeared not to be very alike, I was happy to get some photos with some of my favorites.
Of course, the first ad I saw after I left the museum was too perfect to ignore. I’m convinced even British humor wouldn’t have thought of this.
