London Lessons

Hey world! So we have been in London for about three days now, and I feel I have already learned so much about being a clueless Canadian newbie here.

Our Flight:

• We flew to London Gatwick via Iceland. One perk of flying Iceland Air is that they give you free Iceland water upon boarding the plane. It tasted more glacial than normal water, as far as I could tell, and almost made up for the whole "no free meals on the plane unless you're a kid" thing.

• My "in flight entertainment" consisted of a frozen screen. Luckily, Beth somehow found headphone splitters so we could both fall asleep to Mockingjay Part One.
• Descending down to London meant flying through about four layers of thick clouds, and I asked myself why I even bothered to bring my sunglasses.

Notes on Hostel Life

• Beth's program booked her a hostel for the first two nights, so we both stayed in different ones at the beginning. Hers was in a nice part of town, over a fun, lively pub. My area could essentially be described as very "Brantford". My hostel pub plays depressing classic rock ballads, and is usually populated by a mix of young people, and greying men watching football and singing along to said depressing ballads.

• When I arrived, all I wanted to do was nap and shower. The nap went great, but apparently I signed up for the ice bucket challenge as there was no hot water at all. It was... invigorating.

Some notes on London life:

• Walk as far from the road as you can when it rains. I got splashed by a double decker bus, and although I felt like it was a sort of initiation into London life, I would not recommend it.
• Blow drying your boots with a hostel hair dryer is not an effective way to dry them. Sure, it makes them warm and wet as opposed to cold, but then it just kind of feels like something peed in them. 
• Cars on the wrong side of the road = weird. Drivers on the wrong side of their cars = weird. Beth and I keep having minor freakouts when we see a "ghost car" with "nobody driving it".
• The tube/public transportation in general is so straightforward and convenient. Avoid rush hour though, unless you want to wait for four trains to pass before you can squeeze into one.
• Beer pong tables and beer pong being played at bars = normal? Also, as I type this, a bulldog is casually chilling on the floor of my hostel pub. London bars are weird.

Cool Places:

• Okay, so I am generally apprehensive about super "touristy" attractions. Maybe it's just because it's off peak tourist season, but the crowds at Big Ben/Buckingham Palace were not awful at all, and seeing the sights was totally worth it. It's not like other tourist attractions I've been to where it's a kind of crappy area surrounding the attraction, which you can barely see due to the crowds. The whole area surrounding these tourist spots is beautiful and definitely worth a look.

• Camden Town/Markets: I could write paragraphs on how cool this area is, but I will spare you the novel. Basically, it's like Queen Street West in Toronto times 10. Hipster/artsy/gothic/raver type shops, an entire outdoor street food market, and our FIRST CAT SIGHTING, YESSS.

Pretty banners at the market.

This cat sat in the doorway of the shop and silently tolerated people petting him and 'aww'ing at him.

A maze of shops.

Coolest food stand by far: "Cereal Killer", a custom cereal bar.

Crazy glow in the dark two-level raver shop with life-size robot people on the walls.

Your average Wonderland picnic.

All of this happened to be beside the river.

Well, that's it for now. Upcoming adventures include a Rugby World Cup party, and heading off to Bristol. But now, we are off to find some snacks.

Until next time,
C.