Trip to London
Note: this post is unfinished, and may not get finished, but here’s what I’ve written so far!
Day 0: Getting There
Dulles is a lot bigger than I recall! Thankfully the Silver Line goes out to Dulles now so getting to the airport was reasonably straightforward. Got to my gate about two hours before boarding started, giving me plenty of time to kick off vacation with a beer.
Picking a window seat was an excellent idea as I was treated to a view of the late afternoon sun reflecting off Dulles, followed by a glimpse of New York City at dusk.
Day 1: Jetlagged in London
After a connection in Dublin, I arrived in London around 8am local time— unfortunately, this felt more like 3am having come from the East Coast. I took the Picadilly line from Heathrow to London, getting off near Hyde Park to do some sightseeing on foot while waiting for hotel check-in.
Dragging a carry-on through the rough-paved paths of Hyde Park is admittedly not the best way to see London, but I found I was able to stay awake as long as I kept moving. I managed to see most of Westminster this morning, walking from Hyde Park to Westminster and briefly across the Thames.
2pm finally rolled around and I took the Underground the rest of the way to my hotel (the Hoxton, in Shoreditch) and laid down for a quick nap, having gotten no sleep on the flight.
That evening, I went out for a dinner at a bao restaurant with decent vegetarian options and returned—still exhausted from the travel—to my hotel.
Impressions, day 1
- learned where “mind the gap” originates - various trains and platforms are at different levels and require stepping up/down to get on/off
- amazingly rapid service on the underground, with trains approx every 3 minutes
- weather as predicted, cool and cloudy with a strong breeze (easy to see why wind power so common here)