Wednesday, July 11, 2012

London: 7.11.12

Wow, it's been a year since I last posted in this blog! And I failed so spectacularly to finish recording that trip... I feel a renewed sense of interest in chronicaling my journies this time around, so hopefully things will be better...

I'm currently coming to you from Heathrow, in the midst of a very long and frustrating layover. The flight here was lovely - thanks to a British Airways 747 and Jon, who supplied me with the ticket - and uneventful. I entertained myself with screenings of Young Adult, which was less funny than I thought it would be, and Wanderlust, which I loved. I feel like I've met every single character from the Elysium commune in the film in real life. I think I nearly died when they explained that the preferred term is "intentional community," rather than commune. The whole film had "pretentious Burner" written all over it, and I loved every minute. Anyone who wants to see a funny slice of Playa life should definitely check it out.

The remainder of the flight was devoted to sleep, with a short interlude for a surprisingly tasty curried chicken dinner. You'd think "airline food" + "British food" would add up to disaster, but it was actually one of the better in-flight meals of recent memory.

My layover in London was supposed to be equally memorable, but alas - the gods of travel do not seem to be on my side here at LHR. My original plan for my 6+ hour layover was as follows:
  1. Take a train from LHR to Paddington.
  2. Take the tube from Paddington to Sloane Square.
  3. Walk to 16 (now 34) Tite Street, where Oscar Wilde lived.
  4. Walk to the Cadogan Hotel, where he was arrested.
  5. Stroll down the Serpentine through Hyde Park.
  6. Arrive at St. James's, where Wilde was married.
  7. Take the train from Paddington back to LHR.
I had plenty of time to accomplish it all - and probably more - and it was PERFECT. But then my flight was a bit delayed. And then customs took over an hour. And then the terminal for my 2nd flight changed. By the time I was ready to store my baggage and depart, I would have only had an hour in the city. It just didn't seem like the smart bet. Of course, once I'd passed through security at the new terminal, I found out my flight is delayed at least an hour, so I could have gone after all! I guess the next leg of my Oscar Wilde pilgrimmages will have to wait...

No comments:

Post a Comment