Catching Up

A combination of jet lag, a lack of an easily accessible internet connection, the need find housing and a dose of homework has prevented me from starting my planned travel blog until now. That means that there is a lot of ground to cover. Rather than go into the detail which will no doubt be a trademark of later blog entries, I will dedicate a paragraph or so to the high points of the trip in order to catch up quickly.

If you want to hear about the flight, head over to ricksfoodcritique.blogspot.com and read the entry about the food on the plane. That covers all the important parts of soaring above the Atlantic.

Below are the last two weeks in a nutshell.

August 28
Arrival and the Eye

We touched down in Heathrow after a relatively uneventful flight. My legs were screaming at me and I was ready to get off the plane right away, but whoever was manning the spot of air traffic controller had other ideas. The cramp in my quad and sharp pain in my knee were just going to have to get worse while we sat and waited to depart for over 30 minutes. Just before we were allowed to stand up, our captain informed us that they had some trouble attaching the tunnel to the side of the plane. Fortunately they managed to get it straightened out before we had take a page out of disaster movies and use the inflatable “emergency slide” to evacuate.

I said a few quick prayers for the eventual return of blood flow to my legs while limping to customs and the luggage pickup. Thankfully we got to do some more waiting at these two spots. I hadn’t had enough yet.

Next it was time for our Syracuse guides to direct us to the truck that was taking our luggage and the coach busses. Deb and I missed the cut off for the first coach bus and had to wait for the second – keeping with the theme of the trip.

Once we got on the bus, it was a bit of a ride into London. I would guess how long it was, but I really have no idea. Someone in charge was talking over the bus’s public address system and pointing out all the sights and history we were passing, but I couldn’t stay awake. The fact that I had not slept caught up to me right after we passed Madam Toussaud’s Wax Museum. I woke up just as we were pulling in to the hotel. I would grow to curse that sleep, because it had be completely disoriented for the rest of the day. I didn’t know North from South, and to be honest I’m still not sure where Heathrow is in relation to the city.

The hotel room was the smallest I have ever seen. The two beds were facing opposite directions in opposite corners, and if they had been a foot closer their feet would have touched. The bathroom was equally small, with the exception of the bathtub where I soon took the best shower of my life. I didn’t even realize how terrible I felt until that shower cleansed me and made me feel better.

We didn’t have any structured time for about 90 minutes after I was done my shower, and I wanted nothing more than to take a nap. Unfortunately, I didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize what was going to be a wonderful night’s sleep, and I didn’t want to delay getting on London time. I had no idea what time it was anyway, so I made the smart decision to try to find Faraday House, where Syracuse University London is located.

Armed with a map and no firm knowledge of my surroundings, I managed to find Faraday House about 45 minutes later. That’s 45 minutes later when the walk should take a total of five minutes. But I managed to not get lost and not get hit by any cars, which is a real victory.

Later that night SU sent us down to the “London Eye” or the Millennium Wheel. It is one of the biggest Ferris Wheels in the world, or something like that. Again, I was too tired to remember the information they told us. The cars were huge, and the view was incredible. Our car didn’t even have to be at the top before we could see the sprawl of London stretching out for what seemed like miles. Hopefully, I’ll have the photos posted on a photo blog soon.

Bedtime that night was absolutely divine.

August 30
Flat Finding

By our third day in London it was time to find a more permanent residence than the one Imperial Hotels was providing. The University gave us a list of recommended Landlords and it was time to dial our cell phones and start looking at flats.

Unfortunately, that was easier said than done. Some overzealous groups had found flats they day before, when we were doing silly things like getting our cell phones to work, figuring out how to navigate the city and attending the Beard Team USA rally in Trafalgar Square. (Wait until I get the pictures from that posted!) Add their tendency to snatch up living space to the fact that we had five people looking for residence – an odd number – and we were in a difficult position.

The morning wielded nothing and I was getting a bit frustrated at lunchtime. Fortunately, Lady Luck did not completely abandon us.

We were scheduled to meet a landlord at the HSBC on Edgeware Road to look at a flat. We met a landlord at the HSBC on Edgeware Road and he showed us the flat he was offering. It was quite nice, and we were beginning to talk about prices and terms of lease.

Then, the landlord we were scheduled to meet called us, and the group that was scheduled to meet the landlord to who we were talking called him.

Essentially we ended up stealing another group of SU student’s landlord and leasing the flat he meant to show them. It’s affordable, it is close to the Tube Stop and Hyde Park, and we are close to Oxford Street and the incomparable Edgeware Road. Apparently it has the highest population of Lebanese-born individuals living in London. It makes for a street of great smelling food and interesting sights. All’s well that ends well, I suppose.

September 2
Greenwich

The day before classes start is the perfect day for a university-sponsored bus tour of London and free time in Greenwich. Actually, any day is a perfect day for a university-sponsored bus tour of London and free time in Greenwich.

I got some great pictures from the bus tour and gained a better understanding of London’s layout. The Mayor’s office, Tower Bridge, the financial district, the surprisingly disappointing London Bridge and the Tower of London were all on the bus’s route.

Greenwich though was lots of fun. We took a walking tunnel under the Thames and came up near the Royal Observatory and the National Maritime Museum.

The Royal Observatory was noteworthy in particular. That’s where the Prime Meridian is based, and there were lots of people lined up to stand on either side of a silver strip that marked the famous line in front of the observatory.

Ironically, you could stand on either side of the meridian over the same silver line inside the observatory, and without waiting in line. I didn’t bother to stand in line or take my picture on either side of the Meridian, but it was still fun to be there. Now I feel like more of a world traveler – I’ve been in the Western Hemisphere.