European Vacation: First Stop - London

My stepdaughter, R., didn't really seem focused on London during our planning talks.  Maybe it was because she knew that since I'd lived there, I'd take her to what I wanted her to see.  Maybe she just didn't realize how cool the city is, I don't know.  I confess to not really "planning" London for her...I figured it was my opportunity to go see and do the things I enjoyed and she'd enjoy them, too.  And in the end, that's pretty much what happened.

After the longest flight R. had ever been on - and one during which she didn't sleep at all - we were met at the airport by my wonderful friend, Catherine, who had taken an entire day off work for our arrival.  And we just about needed it to get through the morning traffic back to her East side flat!  All the things I'd come to take for granted were things that amused R. : the right hand driver seats, the kids in the school uniforms, the motorcyclists zooming in and out of the traffic.  And the route did take on us past some iconic landmarks, like Parliament, Big Ben, along the Thames, etc....so she managed to get some great shots from the backseat of the car. Eventually, sleep overtook her, and she curled up against her bag in the backseat.

I introduced R. to my "arrive in London" routine that I'd developed over the two years I was there:  Arrive at your destination.  Drink some water.  Go to bed.  For her sake, I eliminated the "unpack" step - as there really wasn't anywhere to unpack.  Tucked nicely into our bed, we slept for a few hours, and then I dragged a weary R. out of bed to get some daylight time.

Jet-lag has several "remedies", but I've found that some combination of a little sleep, lots of water and some walking in the daylight helps immensely. So that afternoon, Catherine & I took R. down Liverpool Street, introducing R. to London buses and crowds.  Big crowds.

I'm quite used to big cities now. I grew up in the Detroit suburbs, so while I appreciate small towns and quiet  lifestyles, cities are what I am used to, all the good and the bad.  So I cannot quite imagine how R. really felt coming from Middleton, Nova Scotia (population: <5000) to London, England (population: >10,000,000).  But, she was stunned.  We procured our Oyster cards (oh, how I wish I had not given mine away when I left!) and were now, I announced to R., Ready To Travel!

But remember, this is day 1, and we are still jet lagged, so we walked instead.  We wandered through the Spitelfields Market.  We looked at girly stuff, like the Benefit store.  We found a GBK and this made Amy a happy lady. I drank cider....sweet nectar from the gods....R. found a Krispey Kreme outlet at Liverpool Station. And we all went to bed early.

I won't go through a day by day account here.  It would take too much effort and space, and really, I'm not convinced anyone cares to read that much.  I knew we wouldn't be able to see everything, and told R. that.  Heck, Catherine has lived there for over 10 years and she hasn't seen everything.  That's the way it is when you live someplace - reality steps in and you take for granted what is around you (I still have never seen most the tourist attractions in Ottawa and I've lived here over 12 years now). But I made sure R. had the highlights and I didn't go see things I've seen 100 times.

We saw - in no particular order:

• A walk past Parliament and Big Ben, down Whitehall, pass the PM's pad to Trafalgar Square
• Westminster Abbey (new for me)
• St. Paul's Cathedral (new for me) where R. took covert shots of the dome from the whispering gallery...sssshhhhhh
• A  London Walks tour around Rotherite and the Brunel Museum, where the entrance to the original tunnel under the Thames - the world's first underwater tunnel - has been opened for the first time in over 80 years. The technology  served as the precursor to the all the world's metro and tube lines.  We stopped for a drink at the Mayflower Inn - I don't think R. appreciated it as much as Cath & I did.  But it did drive home the point that London is an old city and has the centuries of grime to go with that distinction.
• We did a London Walks tour of the British Museum and while waiting, saw the "May Day" Labour parade/protesters.
• We did a Ghost Walk with London Walks and at the end, took R. to see Buckingham Palace lite up at night.
• The Globe Theatre
• The Tate Modern where I gave R. her 5 minute art history lesson.
• Oxford Street shopping, down to Piccadilly Circus, via the very, very sexy Ambercrombie & Fitch store.  Ladies.....worth the visit.....although I have never felt so old and fat in my life! Ah, to be young, slim and sexy again.....those shirtless boys with the abs-to-die-for would not stand a chance.....
• The Tower of London and the Crown Jewels
• Borough Market and the George, over in my old 'hood....

I feel like there is more....but I can't recall it all now....

Cath arranged a party at her place one night and I was able to see some of my friends again, although sadly, not again during this trip....it was great to see team J2 (Jean & Joe), Rickey-Dean, Jose, Anouska, Toni....I miss you all already!

Cath - special kudos to YOU for taking R. out that evening.  Poor things was dying to see London nightlife but I was just too tired to do it.  At any rate, how would it have looked if some cute guy came up to her and she had to introduce the table:  ".....and this is my stepmom...." yeah, cool, huh?  LOL

Next stop: the fastest trip to Paris I've ever done, and, teaching R. the value of making sure your cell phones automatically time adjust.