I typed up an extensive and detailed itinerary to guide me through the hazards of solo travel (even in an anglophone country I'm well familiar with, in the company of friends) because the last time I tried to travel somewhere by myself it just went poorly. Peter was very impressed with my scheduling. Of course, irony of ironies, I forgot to print my itinerary at work and had to go on an excursion to bother another intern late in the evening during time allocated to pack!
As you can probably sense by the snide remark in the first paragraph, Austria did not want to let me go. Of course, Easy Jet does not have the reputation for being prompt and reliable. In short, it was the most disorganized boarding procedure you can imagine - waiting in 3 different wrong lines because they had improperly posted instructions or shifted the crowd. The security screening wasn't until we were getting ON the plane at the gate - so it took about an hour for everyone to go through the detector that was on our plane, one by one, after we were already delayed. We were 3 hours late in the end, but it seemed like 2 days.
But once in London...
The desk clerk told me I was eligible for a free promotion - an upgrade from a single room in Kensington to a king room in Mayfair... and transportion via a complementary black cab ride through central London. They probably overbooked, but this was the divine hand of providence.
My giant room was a 5 minute from the gorgeous pub where Caroline was with her friends. On the way, I happened to pass by the University College of London.
Which is where Jeremy Bentham rests... He is the father of utilitarianism and coined the words "international," "codification," and "maximize." In order for the college to inherit the sizable sum of money Bentham left in his last will testament, one eternal string was attached. Bentham requested to be stuffed and maintained in the college. During meetings, they record him as "present, but not voting." Apparently, arch-rival King's College of London stole his head in 1975 and used it as a football (gross) so the one you see here is wax.
Sorry it's not rotated properly. I wouldn't have made a beeline for this wondrous attraction, but it had been tucked away in my head as something awesome to see if I ever happened to be near. There was also a really cool print collection. The nice thing about repeat trips to London is each visit decreases the amount of time spent in tourist traps and increases the amount of time just enjoying the city.
Anyway, so Caroline and I had a joyous reunion (throwing arms and running across the street and dropping handbags - actually the handbag was just me) and ate at a perfect little Italian restaurant and wandered the banks of the Thames at sunset to a pub cozily called "The Founders Arms."
And then I collapsed in a huge soft bed for the best sleep I've had in months. It's hard for me to sleep unless I'm relaxed. Walking down the ancient streets of London town, I felt literally 12 months of stress release from the back of my neck and shoulders and everything just seemed perfectly right with the world. Don't know a creative way to say that. It was just wonderful and brought back all the happy memories I've shared in the city with family and close friends.
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