16 February 2011

The Terrible Tube

We're alive and well and thought that you would appreciate knowing. Today was a bit rough, but things are looking up now. We got onto the tube okay, thinking we were going to a hostel, but then our couch surfer, Sylvia, text us to tell us we could stay with her. But, she did not give directions to her house. So we weren't sure if it would go through to stay with Sylvia, so we went to the hostel (getting a little lost). But it was 4x the price it said it was online, so we got back on the train and heading to a station that a worker at the station said was one of the only stations with luggage lockers. Well, we get there and it would cost $16 per item to store it for the day, so that was a no-no. So, we finally found another hostel for cheaper, reserved it online and then stopped in leicester square for a shared lunch and to get Les Miserables tickets. We had a nice lunch out on the terrace in the theater district. But we were exhausted and just wanted to put our bags down, so we stayed there for two hours. Sylvia text the directions and then we had to cancel the hostel we had reserved, which was a hassle in itself. Bleh! Then, we got lost on the way to the Les Miserables theater, but we made it just in time. They were super nice to us and we put our bags and jackets in the coat check for free. Free is nice in London. The play was absolutely wonderful!!!! It was the only one we wanted to see and we saw it as a matinee today! Whoop! Amy cannot believe she is still awake as she could not sleep on the plane out of excitement. She read half of the Rick Steve's Europe Through The Back Door Guidebook. So, anyway...after the play we enjoyed another "wonderful" 1 1/2 confusion of the tube and bus system before we got to this Walmart (called ASDA here) where we were meeting Sylvia. We waited for about 45min, and weren't sure if she was coming, b/c she didn't text us back for awhile. But, she and her boyfriend Nick showed up with their dog Kiki and they are ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!!! They are from Bolgaria, but speak pretty good English, own a cleaning service, had a jewelry business, and have been in London for about 3 years. We love them! Oh, they have a cat that jumps on us too haha. So, we will be able to leave our bags here tomorrow and have a much more restful day! Oh, we also met some nice people today, we chatted up a nice lady from Nigeria working in customs, inspired a new airforce deloyee named Carlos from Idaho in the baggage claim area, and made some British waiters laugh. Mostly we just bumped into a lot of Londoners with our large backpacks today. We know that we are clumbsy normally, but today was just chaos.

Cheery-Oh Mates! Prayers for more peaceful adventures tomorrow! But hey, we were just getting all our mistakes out of the way all at once...why not?

3 comments:

  1. Can't wait for the videos and pictures! Glad you both made it there safe and despite the craziness are already having fun!

    Did you guys get international cell phones for while you're gone?

    Love! <3

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  2. By the time you get this you'll be in Belgium! Hope that your 2nd day in London was calmer-- it is such a wonderful city.

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