Day 3: July 6, 2009 – First Full day in London

Today we woke up and had breakfast at the hotel, which sucked. Not even close to what I was expecting. Afterwards we showered; to say that was sub-par as well would be an understatement. There was absolutely no water pressure and the stall was tiny. After everyone was ready we took the Tube to a place near Trafalgar Square (I can’t remember the name of the station), which I can’t remember the name of – to see a “changing of the guard” ceremony on horseback. It was pretty cool for the first 10 or so minutes, then they sat and stared at each other…and then half the “new group” dressed in black went to their posts and the others sat and stared a while longer. Then unfortunately it started to rain and no one was prepared for that. When it’d stopped raining we walked towards Buckingham Palace, passing by Green Park, which certainly lives up to its name. Also it had the old fashioned deck chairs, the ones that are just a wooden frame with a piece of striped canvas. When we arrived at Buckingham Palace, it was different than I expected, the actual building was less regal looking than I expected, but there was plenty of gold in the statues and gates around the grounds. After we had spent enough time on the Buckingham Palace grounds, we wandered through a couple of gift shops, and then shortly after we decided it was time for lunch so we went to a nearby café. Since it would be cheaper to do “take-away” I grabbed a beef pie and a soda, and the pie was really good. Soon after lunch Jess, Keegan and I decided it would be as good of time as any to separate and try to get to Wimbledon for a tour…only to find out the grounds were closed since the finals ended the day before. After our failed attempt at visiting Wimbledon we took the train to a place called Covent Garden, which was also a waste because the place we were trying to find closed two years ago. We’d spent ages searching, but at least Covent Garden was a nice area.

After Covent Garden we decided to just go back to the hotel and relax a little bit. Then later I decided I really wanted some traditional fish and chips so we walked around for a while til we found a pub. Once we ordered it took forever to get the food, and we overheard that they’d ran out of fish I began to worry that we weren’t going to get our dinner. Finally about 30 min after we’d ordered we got our fish & chips. On the way back we went to the market to get a soda and then headed back to the reception to eat it…but unfortunately it was already pretty much cold. After dinner I was able to check email and write a couple of people, so that was a nice feeling, being able to stay connected. After I was done with the computer (or rather told it was the next persons turn) we went up to our room to play “cheat” which is a card game just like “BS”. I actually won, which was really cool since I almost never win at cards. Not too long afterwards we went to sleep, and it was already close to midnight.

Day 1 and 2: July 4/5, 2009 – London Bound

The 4th was basically a waste, I woke up, killed time most the day as I was already totally packed. We left for the airport around 4, arrived at 5, and texted friends in attempt to stay entertained until it was time to board. The plane ride itself was fairly smooth, but cold, even more surprising the in-flight flood was actually decent. The in-flight entertainment was pretty good too, I watched “Confessions of a Shopaholic” which was cute but pretty predictable. I took Dramamine this time, since in recent flights that are longer than six or so hours I start to feel nauseous, which actually helped with my ability to sleep on the flight, though that only lasted for about 3 hours on and off. When I finally reached London Heathrow, finding the Heathrow Express to Paddington Station was really easy, however getting out of Paddington Station proved more difficult. Luckily when I finally found my way (after asking a security guard at the station) Jess, Keegan and Bec were all there to greet me. Keegan immediately offered to take one of my bags, which was a relief after trekking through London Heathrow and Paddington Station. To my dismay the hotel we were staying at wasn’t right outside Paddington like I’d originally thought…there were a couple of stops left between Paddington and relaxation, but it was fairly easy, especially when Keegan took my other bag off my hands.

When we arrived at our hotel, The Hotel Radnor, it definitely did not live up to the expectations from the website, as they’d warned me. On top of it there were 96 steps through the quirky hotel, where at the top, sadly the TV didn’t work which was a major disappointment. I’d been looking forward to watching the Wimbledon finals in London for months, and because of the hotel I could hear the match but not see it. After a while I decided I needed food, so we left the room and walked around a bit and ended up at Burger King, the one thing I recognized nearby. Once I had the food in hand we headed back to the room to listen to more of the match however that proved frustrating so after a while, before the match was over, it was time for dinner and the first London excursion: the London Eye. Finding it was slightly difficult but we still beat the others there. When we met up they apologized for dragging me out with them on my first night…but I was feeling pretty good and didn’t want to miss out on the Eye either. Staring up at the London Eye made it seem like it’d be a lot scarier than it actually was. The ride takes about thirty minutes and it’s very slow moving. After the “flight” as the ticket referred to it as we hung around the area a while longer and ended up heading back to the hotel around ten, and by then I was getting hungry again. On Jess’ recommendation we stopped at SPAR, a local market for a tuna sandwich that actually was really good. Amazingly enough I managed to stay up till about midnight. Meeting the family was fun, but the kids, mainly Matt and Bec are really energetic, which was hard to be around coming off a 10 hour flight. Overall, not the first day/night I’d been imagining, but still it was pretty cool.

Merging of Passions: Travel and Photography

Merriam-Webster defines passion as an ardent affection, love, desire for or devotion to some activity, object, or concept. In the last few months I’ve become more addicted to photography and the idea of seeing the world, and I’ve kept a travel diary for as long as I can remember whenever I do get to travel. Through photography one has the ability to capture what a city is really like in a moment in time, not what the tour book says; it’s also a way to preserve the memory of travel. The idea behind “The Shutterbug Diaries” is to preserve memories and sights in one place, and in a location to share with others. Even though I have years of travel diaries written, I will be starting with my newest experiences through England and London, and continuing from there; older diaries through Australia, Italy and Mexico can be added upon request. Sometimes traveling vicariously through someone else’s experiences is the best option you’ve got, so I hope you enjoy what I’ve written.