The Motherland of America

So I arrived in London very early this morning (i.e. 7:00am). I had high hopes that my flight would be quite empty, as it showed many empty seats when I was checking in. But it was all a conspiracy because the flight was full. Needless to say, sleep on the airplane was restless and fitful. So as I disembarked the plane and headed to customs, I was completely disoriented and overwhelmed by the magnitude of people who were also arriving at Heathrow at 7am on a Saturday morning.

Immigration and customs were very easy. I guess the UK government doesn't give Americans a hard time when traveling to London like the American government gives our fellow British companions a hard time. (Back story: my British friend was traveling to the U.S. from Canada to go to some meetings at a customer of ours and the U.S. immigration officers detained him for questioning for hours and finally let him through but told him not to come back to the U.S. without a work visa. Mind you, he was just going for some meetings and does not work out of or live in the U.S. smh. Ahhh...gotta love the U.S. government.)

I took the Heathrow Express from the airport to Paddington Square in central London. It travels 15 miles in 15 minutes, which is apparently a big deal in London. It was a very nice train and good experience. Then I proceeded to go to the Underground Tube in order to get to my hotel. A friend of mine had suggested that I not take the tube with all of my luggage because it's a lot of stairs and few escalators. But did I heed his advice? No, because I'm stubborn like that. Sooo...my friend was right. I should have just taken a taxi because my luggage and those stairs were quite the workout!! But, c'est la vie! :-)

It's about a 6 minute walk from the Tube station to my hotel on Holland Park Ave. I'm staying in Kensington, right on the edge of Notting Hill. Let me tell you...it looks just like the movie. Plus, it's still fall here (not full-on winter like Montreal) and it's very picturesque with the fall leaves and brisk breeze. I've seen the typical red, double decker buses that you always hear about. I also saw the stereotypical black taxi cabs. It still completely trips me out to see someone getting in the car on the "wrong side" in order to drive. I guess I'm an American at heart. ;-)

One funny thing is that at every cross walk, it's written "Look right" or "Look left". I have to wonder if this courtesy is for the tourists because traffic travels on the opposite sides of the street than most other places in the world. Or if this is written because the traffic is so screwy that pedestrians need a reminder which way to look. Anyhow, I will take a picture and post because I think it's funny.

Speaking of cross walks, I do find it difficult when crossing the street. You don't realize it, but you become accustomed to always looking to your left first, then your right in order to check for oncoming traffic. However, you need to do the opposite here. Several times I had to catch myself before stepping out onto the road because I quickly realized that there was oncoming traffic.

I also was able to see one of my friends from high school, as she and her husband are in London for a week visiting family and friends. I haven't seen her in 11 or 12 years so that was fun to catch up and see how she was doing. I also was able to visit a proper English pub, although I only had one pint of beer. But I expect that to be the first of many visits to the pub. I'm looking forward to grabbing some dinner tonight and just listening to the British accent. Oh how I love it. I'm a sucker for the accents...I can't help it.