Adventures Across the Ocean, Summer 2009: Mind the Gap!

I met Alex at Dulles after I landed from Cleveland and we went to get a bite to eat and some drink together while waiting for Michael. To our surprise, upon heading to the gate from the restaurant we found that the flight had already started boarding. Good thing we didn't wander the airport anymore! But that still didn't keep us from having our first crisis: Michael was nowhere to be found. It was a huge flight with many people and we kept looking up and down the line but he was simply nowhere. Upon boarding the flight we even had flight attendants page him over the plane's intercom. Still nothing. As the jet doors were closing, I called Michael's father from my cell (since I didn't have Michael's American cell number) and he told me that he had gotten stuck in beltway traffic in DC on his way to the airport and wouldn't make the flight. What an excellent way to start a 2 month trip!

Besides that, the flight was good. For most of the flight, I talked to a very nice older lady named Marty who was sitting next to me with her husband, Harry. They were from western Florida and she had a lot of interesting travel stories to share. She (along with the in-flight movies) made the flight seem really short. We arrived at London Heathrow at 6:01am GMT after getting almost no sleep.

With no checked baggage, getting deplaned was easy. Customs went quickly and soon we were on a bench getting everything settled. A very nice British girl helped us read the tube map and figure out which tube ticket to buy to get to our hostel. I'm Alex and I looked pretty silly talking to the map on the wall of the tube station under Heathrow trying to figure it out. An hour later we had made it across London to our hostel, Journey's Eye located in North Lamberth (about a 20 minute tube ride from central London).

A few observations about the tube. People are quiet! Everyone was reading or listening to music. Seriously, no one talked at all except Alex and I who were fiddling with our cell phones trying to pass the time. The trains were also very new and quiet, probably all electric. This is much different than, say, the NYC or DC subways where it's always loud as hell.

Anyway, we got to the hostel around 9am and checked in. The rooms are very tiny and sleep 12 people each. Talk about cramped! I went out onto the deck to explore and met a really nice, foul-mouthed Irish guy who was sure to inform me that the only thing to do in North Lamberth was drink. Everything else required a trip into the city. After Alex and I finished freshening up and getting things settled with our bags, we set off back to the tube station to head downtown. No sleep for the weary travelers!

Since it was the first day, we really had no plans of things to do or see. So we just explored the city. We did all the obligatory touristy stuff with the huge crowds of tourists with cameras: Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Parliament Square and Big Ben, and Trafalgar Square. I am constantly comparing what we do here with what I did in Israel when exploring, and I must say that seeing all these sights is much less meaningful without knowledge of the history behind them. Trafalgar Square was cool looking but pretty boring until Alex explained to me the history behind everything. Only then was it quite interesting to look at. Westminster Abbey was beautiful, and all the old tombstones inside were quite interesting and sad to read. The organ music and choir voices echoing through the halls helped set the mood.

And here is my first complaint about this place: everyone is too damned good looking! Alex and I both agree that there are more good looking people here than not, and it's quite humbling. My gaydar is completely on the fritz since apparently I can't tell the difference between a gay guy and a European guy. According to my readings, we are constantly surrounded by hot gay guys. It's like living an episode of Queer as Folk! Too bad I really need to work on fine-tuning myself to European looks and behaviors; I'm sure most of the people I thought were gay are in fact not even close.

On our way to Finsbury Park to take a power nap, I finally got a call from Michael. He told us he'd be arriving at noon the next day, which is awesome. Finally the full trip can begin! Our power nap was awesome. We were surrounded by hot shirtless guys and there was a cute little carnival in front of us with tons of people on bikes.

Eventually we decided to head back to the hostel to relax there. The people here seem nice, although this group seems pretty quiet. Except for the couple of people I've had good conversations with (including that Irish guy from earlier, a guy from LA, and an older man from Sydney), everyone seems to keep to themselves or their friends. Some of the people even stay her during the day just sleeping or watching old music videos on the TV in the lounge. I guess we're doing that right now, but we are just waiting for Michael to arrive so we can continue exploring.

Some other initiation observations about London thus far:

Left-side driving is ridiculously confusing. It totally screws with my head. Good thing there are "Look Left" and "Look Right" words painted on the ground at all intersections, or we would have been killed by cars multiple times.
Everything seems slower-paced and less rushed than in America. Even the doors of the tube trains stay open for a good minute at each stop, and people aren't running everywhere. It's a nice change of pace.
Strangers will make eye contact with you, smile, and say hello in passing pretty much as a rule. Everyone just seems so friendly! I'm used to RIT where everyone keeps their head down and makes eye contact with no one.
Car drivers go out of their way to stop for pedestrians. This is something I will probably never get used to. We could just be standing on the sidewalk at a crosswalk, not crossing, and traffic both directions will stop for us until we cross. I still haven't figured out if I'm supposed to smile and wave at them in thanks.

So now we just wait for Michael! Today we might hit up some museums. There's a Salvatore Dhali exibit Alex and I may be intersted in. So far I haven't felt very photographically inspired, probably due to extreme fatigue and jet lag. Hopefully once Michael gets here I will feel more artistic, but until then here are some touristy London glamour shots to hold you over.