London: Day 1

London Day 1: Dedicated to Cailey

To start off our epic adventure the three of us girls got up SUPER early (5:45 ish), packed (obviously that was left to the last possible second), called a cab and met Pendray at the train station. The cab ride there was super entertaining; the driver spent the entire time telling us about different steaks he has eaten over his life time while traveling in London, the side dishes which came with his steak and how his ‘misses was gobsmacked’ due to the high prices of said steak. To fully appreciate the conversation you really had to be there. 

On the train we lucked out with optimal seating, 4 seats together next to the first class section so it was nice and private. This was Caileys first train ride EVER and she got stuck with a backwards facing seat... judging by her facial expressions throughout the trip she may not have fully enjoyed it.  

We successfully made it to Clapham Junction (taking a train AND the tube with complete success!!), met Laura, Thom and Meagan and walked to our apartment share. The apartment was right on the Thames, really clean and had everything we needed. It slept up to 8 people so only having 6 there made it very comfortable. There was one bedroom upstairs with a king sized bed, a bedroom downstairs with a double bed and two pull-out couches in the main area as well as one full bath and one half. When we arrived at the apartment we dropped off our stuff and walked back to the overground station (lingo lesson for the Canadians: pretty much an above ground subway/tube station). We then spent the afternoon at the British Museum (free), amazing!

Highlights of the British Museum: the Rosetta Stone (the key for our current understanding of Egyptian hieroglyphics....a pretty big deal), the Egyptian exhibit (mummies, skeletons and sarcophagi, OH MY!)...I thought at one point that I was looking at the legit Cleopatra mummy. Turns out the name is quite common and I was quite excited for no reason, embarrassing. I also loved the Greek artifacts from the parthenon and the room FULL of jewelry, especially the pastoral themed items that focused on connecting man kind with nature etc made of coral, pearl and gold. I appreciated how the original cases for the jewelry were made with such care and attention to detail, specifically made for each piece. This exhibit basically made my desire for material possessions even stronger than it already was. 

We then bought groceries for supper, took the train home and a fantastic evening playing cards and planning our travels! 

Lessons learned today:

- Be aggressive! If you want a decent seat or standing spot then you best shove your way onto the tube or you will be stuck with the worst spot ever, if you get one at all.

-Don't stop or block the path of any true londoners. This is especially so if you are stopping to gawk at something which is relatively common place, such as a street sign, which somehow relates to a place or person at home and you obviously must immediately stop and take multiple pictures with at least 2 different cameras, 12 poses and 3 props.