My flight from JFK to Heathrow left at 9:30pm Tuesday evening, arriving at 9:30am on Wednesday morning. Only six hours duration, I lost another six hours to the time difference. The result of all this is that my Tuesday/Wednesday was a combined 36 hour day, and I arrived in London feeling exhausted.
I lined up at the EU passport holders queue, and was processed fairly quickly with no more than a cursory inspection my passport. My Greek issued passport was not correctly read by the machine, and the officer said this is common with Greek passports. Denise said the same regarding her passport. I'm not sure if I should expect anything else.
I fussed around Heathrow for a half-hour, with various interdependent dilemmas. I didn't have Denise's mobile phone number, my mobile wouldn't ring long-distance to Japan to ask Paul Jones, I couldn't get my credit card to work in a pay phone, the ATMs are hidden from view, and internet cafes are non-existent. I then remembered that Raymond had given me two £50 pound notes for my birthday, which I could use to purchase a train ticket... Of course, the machine would only accept £10 and £20 denominations, and of course my credit card wouldn't work here, either. But thankfully I found a desk, actually manned with people, who were able to get my credit card to work. It cost £16 for the trip. Not cheap once converted, but quite reasonable pound-for-dollar.
I took the Heathrow Express to Paddington Station, with the journey lasting only fifteen minutes. Once at Paddington I had to find my way to Embankment station where I could meet up with Denise. I purchased an Oyster card, which is London Transport's really cool ticketing device. It cost £21 for 7 days unlimited use. Can you see the pattern emerging regarding transportation costs?
The 7 July bombing attacks have rendered inoperative some sections of some underground lines. The Circle line, which circles central London, isn't available from Paddington. So I had to take tubes to get to Embankment, for what might otherwise have been a simpler trip. Of course, that meant lugging two bags up and down stairs because there are no elevators at the stations I visited.
I love the feeling that tells me I have arrived at a destination, like emerging from Circular Quay train station in Sydney. With the bridge and the Opera House in view, I really feel that I am in Sydney. Flying into Heathrow the ground looked very English, with rolling farmlands etc. But it was only when I emerged from Embankment tube station, onto to a busy road with buzzing black cabs and red buses, that I knew I was in England! And what a glorious day to arrive. The weather was warm, and few clouds to stop the sunshine. Apparently, it's been like this for some weeks now.
After a quick coffee, and hello catch-up with Denise, I took a black cab to her and Anthony's flat in Brixton. It wasn't a long trip, but I got to survey some really different landscapes along the way. After dropping off my bags, I found a really good value cafe nearby, then headed home for a nap. The kind of overtired nap where I passed out, and woke up totally disorientated and totally unsure of where I was. Nice.
That evening, Denise and Anthony shouted me dinner at a nearby pub. The restaurant is very much in the style of the refurbished restaurant pubs that have popped up everywhere in Australia. I had a delicious Atlantic Salmon steak that I thought to be particularly good value at only £11.
I've mentioned prices a few time in this point. Which brings me to the issue of cost of living, because everyone I've spoken to says how expensive the UK (and London particularly) can be. I've only been here a day, and will no doubt revisit this subject, but it seems to me that there are two systems determining price differences between Australia and the UK. Some things, like food items from grocery stores, are approximately the same price once the cost is converted. For example, a smallish jar of good quality jam was around 90p, and similar to what I'd expect for the converted $2.35. But other things, like transportation or eating out, is priced pound for dollar. Hence what I was saying earlier about the fare from Heathrow to the city being what I'd expect pound-for-dollar. I'm beginning to wonder if service-oriented stuff is more in line with pound-for-dollar model. At least the taxes are usually included in pricing here. That kept throwing me off in North America when I'd have to remember to add 15% sales tax. And of course, the tipping model is closer to what we have at home. Yay about that!
I felt a little homesick overnight, and missed Paul terribly. I've noticed that this feeling comes in waves, and I am sure being jet-lagged doesn't help. So insomnia set in and it was hours before I nodded off. When I woke up this morning I thought it was 6am. Which it was, in New York... as it was actually 10AM here in London! (I'm sure I'll adjust the next few days.) But the good thing is that was able to get on to MSN Messenger and chat to Paul and Katherine, helping to allay the feeling the night before.
It wasn't until 1pm that I was ready to go out. I planned to go into town and just generally check things out. Anthony had shown me how to get to Stockwell and Oval stations the night before. Both are on the same line, but Oval is closer, so I headed there. It took me ages to realise that the sirens and slowing traffic meant something was going on. When I got to Oval I discovered that the whole area had been cordoned off not long before. There were lots of rubberneckers, whom I asked about what was going on. I found out that there was an explosion in the very tube station I was going to. The whole underground system was shut down, and there were reported explosions elsewhere too. Really freaky. What are the chances of going to one of the four tube stations (when there are so many), on the very day when something happens? Thankfully the incident seems to have backfired on the terrorists. Early reports suggest that the explosions only involved detonators, and only one person was injured.
I hung around for about a half hour waiting to see if the matter would resolve itself. In fact the opposite happened. The police decided to increase the cordoned area and I soon found myself crossing newly marked boundaries to get to the correct side. Denise and Anthony's flat is probably 600 metres from Oval station, and I'd estimate the cordoned to have been increased from 25 to 300 metres. The surrounding area was a sea of people, as the police ordered passengers off buses etc etc. I was very very impressed with how the police handled the incident. There were so many police. Perhaps 50 just hanging around the station, and that's not counting the many more I saw in neighbouring streets. At all times the police were polite, and no-one was panicking... just annoyed. One old guy, who I briefly chatted to, was mostly miffed that he wouldn't be able to get his pint this afternoon.
Unable to go anywhere this afternoon, I wandered around Brixton taking the odd photograph, and also did some grocery shopping. Brixton has a reputation for being a ghetto, but I really don't feel it. Nor do I feel unsafe. It's a lot like Surry Hills, or the terraced parts of Kings Cross.
When I got home I fired up the computer to check the latest on the bombings. It was really interesting comparing BBC's coverage to NineMSN. I read the BBC articles first, which described the events as disruptive, but fairly low-key. The Australian news source has blown everything out of proportion, and mentions John Howard's lunch meeting with Tony Blair in every article, as if John Howard is a key figure in this issue. I didn't even know Howard was in the country from the BBC articles. So I re-read them, and sure enough there was one small reference in one article. No doubt the other Australian news sources will have a field day.
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