Arrival in Gatwick! We were on our final approach not long after sunrise. The ocean and clouds were beautiful! I think it was the morning sunlight and our elevation above them. Everything was just surreal. Or, maybe it was my lack of sleep? I snapped a few photos shortly before we landed. [insert pic of me looking out window?]
Customs was not problem, even though the line looked initially very long. they were efficient and we sailed right through.
Then we had to figure out what’s next. Since our flight was delayed an hour and a half leaving Orlando, we could take advantage of the Lawn Guest House airport shuttle. It only operates between 9am - 9pm. Arriving any earlier would have meant hailing a cab. I gave them a call and they were out right away.
The Lawn was ultimately excellent. It is essentially a Bed & Breakfast as we know in the US. Adrian was an impeccable host and we very, very helpful with local information. The town of Horley is an interesting little place (more on that later).
After settling in a bit, we hopped on a local train to London. At the station we were harrassed by some local chaps! This very cute, for how young she was, girl came up and asked me what time the next train arrived … this was while she was standing directly underneath the digital board that posts the arrival and departure times. Then one of the boys in the group mutters something about “She likes ya mate.” I wasn’t quite sure what to say to that and didn’t say anything. He mumbled something else and moved on. Adolescent fun, I guess, as I am positive the girl had been on that train a hundred times before.
The transportation in London is amazing. We bought a 10 GBP day pass and more than got our moneys worth on trains, busses and the underground (tubes). We took the train to Victoria station and set out into London.
We grabbed a bite to eat at a slightly odd, very american restaurant called Garfunkel’s. It was ok, I guess. Edible. James had Tikka Masala Chicken, which smelled good, but I imagine was a pathetic comparison to the real Indian dish. I had their “famous” salad bar. Which was interesting because the salad bar had only one type of slightly stale lettuce and half the rest of the items were meat. Three dressings only - French, thousand island and … mayonnaise.
After we ate, we set out to meet up with Christina. We hoped on the tube to Southwark (pronounced southark, no W) to make our way to the Tate Modern Museum. We had James’ cell phone, which we could send text-messages from at $.50 a pop, or there are credit card payphones all over the place.
Once we got off the tube and started walking more toward the Thames, I started realizing just how HUGE London is. The area along the Thames is just awesome! I haven’t seen a city developed along a river like London is along the Thames. We didn’t see much of it, really, just what we saw from the bridge. It is quite a sight.
After a little coordinate and walking, we finally met up with Christina at the Black Friar’s Pub. James and I had a pint and Christina had a glass of wine. It was an interesting pub and a good meeting place.
Finished with alcohol, we walked back to Southbank to the Frost Fair. We actually a Starbucks gingerbread latte … which is something I wouldn’t do in the US, so I guess it was novel. The fair was festive - food, music, crafts, nothing that special I can remember. We ended up at Shakespear’s Globe Theater and paid the 1 Euro to get in. We toured the museum and got to see a short performance in the theater itself!
I was getting quite tired at this point. Even nodding off in the Globe several times. I really wanted to spend more time in London with Christina, but my body wasn’t having any of it. I needed sleep. And, we already had a 4:15 taxi scheduled for the next morning. And, we had to take the 40 minute train back to Horley AND find something for diner.
Diner was great! We ate at Ye Old Six Bells upon a recommendation from Adrian. It’s apparently a 1000 year old pub. The food was good and we were satisfied and totally exhausted for the night.
The Lawn proved to be a great sleep spot, albeit a short stay, and I will definitely stay there again!