So, tonight I leave for London, and it got me thinking about the other times I have been there. The first time was many years ago and it was the first of several fun trips that Esther and I took together. She was planning to go to visit her friend, who was doing a study abroad program there, and invited me. She was traveling from Washington DC and I was traveling from New York, so we had to meet up there, obviously, where we would stay two nights at her friend's place. When I got off the plane and went through customs, the guy looked at my passport and found that I had a visa from the time that I lived in Norway. He asked if I planned to stay in England for a while, as I had in Norway. I said no. He asked where I was staying. It wasn't until this point that I realized that I had absolutely no idea where I was staying. I was being picked up at the airport by Esther and her friend. I started to wonder what would happen if, somehow, we did not find each other. I didn't have an address, a phone number, didn't know which school she was at and didn't even know her last name! All I knew was that her name was Becky, which may or may not be short for Rebecca. This was not very smart of me, and yet pretty typical. Fortunately, they were at the airport waiting for me as soon as I got out of customs, and it was the beginning of a super fun week touring the UK.
The next time I was in London was just a stopover on my way to Ireland. My former roommate, Julia, had been in Ireland all summer, once again for a study abroad program, and I came over at the end of her program to tour the countryside with her. My plan was to meet her at the dorms where she was staying in Cork, and this time I had all the information -- address and phone number. But somehow, I left all the information safely posted on my refrigerator at home. The bigger issue is that I missed my connection from Heathrow to Dublin and had to call her to let her know that I was not going to be there until the following day. As luck would have it, at that time, Julia and I had a subletter, who happened to be Jason, recently of my Montreal postings' fame. I called him from a pay phone to get Julia's phone number. Since I did not even have a pen on me, I had to use my eyeliner to write the number down. Talk about being prepared! It all worked out, though, and again, we had a fabulous time.
Trip number three begins tonight. I am traveling with Heidi, who befriended some Londoners who were in NYC for work some months back. They decided to do an apartment swap. So, once again, I'm traveling to London with no idea where I'm going or where I'm staying. I just hope she remembers to bring the information with her!
The next time I was in London was just a stopover on my way to Ireland. My former roommate, Julia, had been in Ireland all summer, once again for a study abroad program, and I came over at the end of her program to tour the countryside with her. My plan was to meet her at the dorms where she was staying in Cork, and this time I had all the information -- address and phone number. But somehow, I left all the information safely posted on my refrigerator at home. The bigger issue is that I missed my connection from Heathrow to Dublin and had to call her to let her know that I was not going to be there until the following day. As luck would have it, at that time, Julia and I had a subletter, who happened to be Jason, recently of my Montreal postings' fame. I called him from a pay phone to get Julia's phone number. Since I did not even have a pen on me, I had to use my eyeliner to write the number down. Talk about being prepared! It all worked out, though, and again, we had a fabulous time.
Trip number three begins tonight. I am traveling with Heidi, who befriended some Londoners who were in NYC for work some months back. They decided to do an apartment swap. So, once again, I'm traveling to London with no idea where I'm going or where I'm staying. I just hope she remembers to bring the information with her!
2 comments:
How adventurous of you. I would have a panic attack if I left any information at home. I always travel with a manila folder with my itinerary, confirmation receipts and maps. I have a slight fear of being lost somewhere I’m not familiar with. It all stems from being 18 years old, alone, and stranded on a highway in Houston at 3 AM not knowing where I just came from or where I was going.
Oh have fun!!!! I'm so jealous!
Post a Comment