Hello mate. Greetings from London.
The plane ride over to the other side of the pond was quite splendid. I sat next to an Italian woman Kamila whose life story was very inspiring so we bonded quite well. It also helped that we had nobody siting in the middle and she was pregnant so I got double the commentary drinks hehe. I could not sleep at all on the plane so I ended up watching two documentaries and a movie.
Getting off the plane and to my sister’s work was a bit challenging with a big bag especially trying to keep up with the average 4.8 mph pace of the British folks. With my sister’s instructions, I hoped right on the Piccadilly Line from Heathrow airport, switched tubes to District and on to Mile End where I walked along a street a few blocks to her work.
While she was working, I left for a walk down the way to a local market and picked up some grapes to eat as I strolled through one of Andrea’s old favorite cemeteries. It was surprisingly magnificent with tombstones overlapping all over and small dirt paths zigzagging through.
When I got back she gave me a little tour of her University, her building (G.E. Fogg), and alluring canals.
We walked back to the underground and took the tube back to Stratford, where we took a train to her apartment in Chelmsford (her daily commute).
That night, Andrea and Jose Maria took me to a local Chelmsford pub where we met up with a Polish, Italian, and Lithuanian couple. The more sips I had of my piney ale the harder it was to keep my eyes open. I’d been up for 29 hours and was absolutely knackered.
The next day Andrea and I had the entire day to ourselves, taking the train into London and walking down the Thames river crossing multiple bridges.
We shared a pastrami sandiwch and baked bean potato lunch at a pub overlooking the river.
I'm a sucker for farmers markets and fresh fruits and veggies and the Bourough Market might have been the highlight of London for me. (Second picture is a display of a variety of mushrooms, my favorite).
We stopped again at the Costa cafe, having more heart-to-heart sisterly conversations while sipping on some tea and lemon muffins.
We ended the night in China town, and took a red double decker bus back to the train station to Chelmsford, where Jose Maria was home waiting for us with a warm dinner.
On Thursday, when I rode solo to London to explore the city was when I fell in love with the train and tubes. It's a perfect time for yourself- having a good read, thinking back on the day quiet, calming, and peaceful. Then, doors open, mind the gap between the tube and platform, walk up the stairs, and your in the bustling city filled with life. Brilliant it is, really.
I met up with Hannah, a friend from my school, who has been living in London the past month for her study abroad. We met at platform 9 and 3/4 and took on the city by foot again. We walked along the canals to the Camden Market where shopped and ate the most amazing Italian and Turkish food. My quesadilla looking sandwich was filled with tomatoes, aregula, pesto mayo, and bre cheese.
Can't forget the fried oreos and Dutch pancakes for dessert!
And because I can't get enough of Westminister, I went again with Hannah where we enjoyed a cup of coffee and saw the Big Ben at sunset.
After Hannah left, I spent a little over an hour "getting lost" and adventuring around the tubes, jumping on random ones and poking my head up from the underground to see what was there.
My last day in London, I spent at the local farmer's market and had Thai food with Jose Maria and Andrea. I'm off now to another local pub with them.
Tomorrow I leave their apartment at 3:30am to catch a bus, then a flight to my new home!!!!!
I honestly couldn't have asked for a better time with my big sissy and brother-in-law; it makes me so happy to see them doing so well in their cute town of Chelmsford.